Pay It Forward - Meaning of Home

Bell Employee

Kasey Kier
Minneapolis, Minn.

Recipient

Project for Pride in Living

The Need

Kasey Kier’s passion for homeownership harks back to challenges in her childhood. When Kasey was a child, she came with her parents to the United States as refugees from Vietnam, escaping a war-torn country.

“Once we got here, we didn’t have anything,” Kasey recalls. “We lived in a two-bedroom apartment until we were able to save up enough and my parents were able to purchase a home.” Because of that experience, Kasey’s parents had always instilled in her the importance and value of owning a home and the generational wealth it provides.

“As soon as I could, I wanted to be able to help others achieve successful, sustainable homeownership,” says Kasey, who joined Bell Bank Mortgage in 2022 as national community development manager after serving for 27 years with the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency.

It was during her time at Minnesota Housing that Kasey first met Henry Rucker, a powerful advocate for homeownership for all. Henry is the associate director of homeownership and financial coaching for Project for Pride in Living (PPL).

Says Henry of PPL’s ongoing work, “We don’t care if you’re 18 years old or if you’re 77 years old, we’re going to meet you where you’re at to become a homeowner.”

The Impact

Because of how Kasey’s work dovetails with the “meaning of home” she’s embraced since childhood, she knew right away that PPL was where she wanted her Pay It Forward funds to go this year.

“What I love about Pay It Forward is the ability for employees to be empowered to give back to the community and to the things they care about,” Kasey notes.

Founded in 1972, PPL is a Minneapolis nonprofit organization that helps hundreds of individuals each year to improve academic and job skills, earn higher incomes, gain economic independence and move into affordable housing.

“If you’re on a fixed income or you have lower income, it’s a way for you to get into homeownership and still create generational wealth,” Henry explains. “There’s a sense of pride of having your own place to call home. That’s a more stable environment for the children as well.”

To Henry, support for organizations like PPL shows Bell’s commitment not only to the community as a whole, but also to the nonprofits that work in the community. Without a doubt, gifts like Kasey’s, in support of organizations like PPL, can ultimately be life-changing for the individuals and families the organization serves.

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