Bell Employee

Heidi Ihry

Fargo, N.D.

Recipient

Bonfas Loria

The Need

Heidi Ihry got to know teenager Bonfas Loria when her nephew and Bonfas became West Fargo Packers basketball teammates. Both families grew close, with Heidi’s in-laws becoming almost second parents to Bonfas.

Bonfas moved to the U.S. from Uganda in 2019 with his family, including his mother and his father, who had worked with the American Embassy. When 

Bonfas’s mother had a stroke last year, it was overwhelming.

“We had to rush to the hospital, and then I went to my game,” Bonfas recalls. “I don’t know how I did that, but after that, I ran straight to the hospital.”

Not only was his mother’s health precarious, but the family’s third-floor apartment, with no elevator, meant they’d need to find new housing once Bonfas’s mother began her recovery.

The Impact

Wondering how she could help, Heidi immediately thought of Bell’s Pay It Forward program. She talked to colleagues, as well as other West Fargo High parents, to let them know about the opportunity to pool funds.

“It really took off,” Heidi says, and eventually she was able to present a check totaling nearly $4,000 to help the Loria family.

It all came as a surprise to Bonfas – and provided welcome support during a challenging time.

“I had no clue,” he smiles. “I was walking the hallway, and I was like, ‘What’s Heidi doing here?’”

Heidi feels confident that Bonfas, who is attending Fort Hays Tech Northwest in Kansas and playing basketball, will make his way back to the Fargo area someday, and the two families’ paths will cross again.

And she adds, “I have no doubt in my mind that Bonfas will pay it forward to somebody else one day when he’s able to.”

Bonfas does not disagree. The Pay It Forward gift, he says, “just motivates me to try to help the next person, try to help the people who are in need.”

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