The Pay It Forward Challenge

The Pay It Forward Challenge gives Janifer and Mark Jorgensen an opportunity to donate to the Center for Women, Children and Families in Lexington, Kentucky, where Janifer once worked. The Center provides the Jorgensen's with a list of needs, and they buy every item on the list and more!

The focal point of the center is the Nest, a no-fee, drop-in child care center for parents who are looking for a job or working to better their lives in other ways. Many of the children come from homes where domestic abuse is common, so just being there can be a healing experience for them.

The Jorgensens, who live in Cincinnati, Ohio, take their 3-year-old daughter with them to shop for the center. They load two cars with bags of things to be donated and then drive the 85 miles to Lexington. Sarah, the center's director, is thrilled! The food and supplies will serve the center for several months and the $300 grocery gift card the Jorgensen's donate for extras will provide lunch and snacks at the center for more than a month!

"I have many good days at the Nest. Today was a great day!" Sarah says. To top it off, the board decides to match the Jorgensen's donation, adding $1,000 to the $2,000 the Jorgensens already donated.

"[The project] brought my family together and gave us feeling of gratitude for everything we have," Janifer says. Mark agrees, "[I feel] honored to have helped so many people, but also a little sad because I should have done it sooner with some of my own money."