Even small gifts change lives

Pay It Forward
Dec 03, 2017

Darby's Dancers

Marty Milan’s daughter loves to dance, but as a child with special needs, it became more and more difficult for her to keep up in class. That’s when Marty discovered Darby’s Dancers.

Performance of Darby's Dancers
“The Pay It Forward program allows us as employees to make a difference and to contribute to something that’s close to our hearts and means a lot to us, personally. Thinking about how Bell helps my daughter, I’m pretty happy and proud of that.” – Marty Milan, Bell Bank operations manager

Photo provided by Carrie Pyrz Photography

Marty MilanBell Employee

Marty Milan, operations manager

Woodbury, Minn.

Recipient

Darby's Dancers

The Need

Darby’s Dancers is a non-profit dance education program in Maple Grove, Minn., for children with special needs. The program does not charge families for the dance classes or costumes. Classes are taught by teens on higher level dance teams who volunteer their time.

“Each teenager is set up with a kid,” Marty notes. “It’s not an easy job, and so we’re just really appreciative of that.”

The Impact

Marty’s daughter was taking dance classes at the Woodbury Dance Center. When it became increasingly difficult for her to keep up with the rest of the class, she transferred to Darby’s Dancers.

“It’s an opportunity for her to dance,” he remarks. “She loves to dance.”

Because of how much the dance education program means to his daughter, Marty decided to donate his Pay It Forward funds to Darby’s Dancers.

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