Bell Employee

Mary Voss 
Des Moines, Iowa

Recipient

Sydney

The Need

Mary Voss, a member of Bell Bank’s correspondent banking team, felt a real connection when she began talking with Sydney, a colleague she met at a conference for women bankers. Throughout the day, Syndey shared with Mary more of her personal story, including pictures of her young son. 

“Being a single mom is hard,” Syndey told Mary, “but I wouldn’t trade it for a moment.” Her son, she added, had come to her “as a gift from God.” 

Syndey explained that she worked with children entering foster care. When she took in a newborn who had tested positive for drugs in his system, she new instantly: “He was mine.” 

She went through the adoption process – and today, her six-year-old son is healthy and happy. 

“All the way home,” Mary says, “her story just stuck in my heart.” Mary knew she wanted to use her Pay It Forward funds to give Sydney some financial help.

The Impact

To deliver the gift, Mary met Sydney at her workplace, telling Sydney how inspiring she had been in changing a child’s life. 

When Sydney looked at the check, she began to cry in disbelief. During a recent storm, a tree had fallen on her home – and Sydney had just been trying to figure out how she would pay for its removal. 

“You won’t believe what just happened,” Sydney said. “This is the exact amount I needed.” For Mary, the experience is proof that paying it forward changes lives. She is grateful for that opportunity. 

“It doesn't just change the people's lives that we give the checks to,” Mary observes. “It changes our lives, too.”

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