Packing with Purpose

The Need

When April Davis began her job hunt, it became clear early on that Bell Bank was the place she wanted to work – especially when she read about the company’s unique Pay It Forward program and saw some of the stories of giving.

Paying it forward as a Bell employee became even more meaningful to April when she ready about a giving opportunity that was directly tied to the 40th anniversary of the movie Footloose and SixDegrees.org, the nonprofit started by Footloose star Kevin Bacon. Bacon and SixDegrees.org were planning to stuff thousands of “BKxKB kits” – packs of essential items to be distributed to people in need across the country – and Bell Bank was the company committed to making it happen in the state of North Dakota.

When April heard about the effort, “it just felt like all these things coming together for me,” she says. “It ties in very personal to me.” April’s younger brother, Billy, played the character of Ren in his high school’s musical rendition of Footloose. A talented dancer, singer and musician, Billy was also “one of the most caring and giving spirits.” April recalls that he would go to be by a friend’s side at 2 a.m., or ride his bike to work to help a friend with money for rent or gas. Ever since Billy died of meningitis several years ago, April has tried to exemplify his “caring, loving, giving spirit” – and each year, she asks her friends and family to help her pay it forward in Billy’s honor.

The Impact

With Pay It Forward and the anniversary of Footloose, it all came together. April wondered if she could ask her friends and family again: “Can we collaborate and come together and help others in need and honor Billy in this way?”

She started by texting a few friends and close family members. After she also posted the project on Facebook, April was “incredibly overwhelmed” with the response she got.

“I thought I might raise $100 or $200,” she recalls. “And we actually raised over $700. Some of the people that donated were people that just knew me and never had met my brother, but they knew what he meant to me and they wanted to support me.” Others, including close family, wanted to give in memory of Billy and build his legacy. “So I was completely overwhelmed by the outpouring that I received,” April adds.

April not only donated the Pay It Forward funds she raised, but also drove 4 hours from her home in Minneapolis to Fargo, N.D., so she could participate in Bell Bank’s BKxKB project – helping stuff 1,000 kits for those in need.

“Every kit that I touched, I just said a little blessing over it,” April says. “I wanted the person that received it to feel the love that was coming from everybody that was here … And I felt like if my brother was here, he just wouldn’t have had words. This is something that he would’ve been so excited to have been a part of.”

Through the Pay It Forward program, Bell gives employees money each year to donate to people in need and causes they care about.