The blessings to give
Pay It Forward: 12 Years of Impacting Lives
When our founders started this company in 1966 as a single bank location, they probably never dreamed of the growth we would experience.We thank all of our loyal customers, partner vendors, community members and friends for our success over the past 50+ years. Your support allows us to share our blessings by impacting the lives of others. That’s how Pay It Forward began, and why it continues each year.
The Big Surprise
At the company Christmas party in December 2007, Bell employees received a big surprise.
Joined on stage by an Oprah Winfrey impersonator, Michael Solberg announced an effort modeled after the talk show host’s “pay it forward” project. Michael shared that every full-time employee would receive $1,000 and every part-time employee $500 to give to an individual, family or organization in need.
Throughout 2008, employees gave individually, pooled their funds and partnered with other donors outside the bank. Eventually, the half-million-dollar employee commitment, along with additional gifts from employees, customers, other businesses and foundations, totaled more than $600,000 in the first year.
In 2008, with Pay It Forward novelist Catherine Ryan Hyde as a special Christmas party guest, the bank announced that the program would continue for years to come.