by Maryanna Savage Phinn
When the pandemic hit in 2020, many people and families throughout Bucks and Montgomery counties experienced extraordinary and unexpected hardships that affected all aspects of daily life.
During that time, Munz Construction, a well-known family-owned business in Holland, decided to extend a helping hand to anyone that needed assistance and eventually established a program called, “Pay It Forward People.” Its mission is to connect those in need with those in a position to pay it forward. This community-based, neighbors helping neighbors program has grown significantly since the early days of the pandemic. Pay It Forward People recently received its nonprofit 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status to continue with its charitable work.
“During the pandemic we happened to know a lot of people in the community from doing construction,” recalled Kelsey Munz, whose father, Chris Munz, owns the business. “It came to our attention that a lot of people in our area were struggling to get food, diapers, formula and that sort of thing. Many people were not getting their unemployment checks. which put them in a difficult position especially with young children.”
Kelsey, the Director of Pay It Forward and Director of community outreach for Munz Construction, noted that it became more apparent that there were a lot of people living paycheck to paycheck in the community making it difficult for them to buy necessities especially during the pandemic’s peak.
“My dad actually put it out there first through Munz Construction. He said if anyone needs food, or formula or diapers or anything else to please reach out with no questions asked. A lot of people reached out for help. But, many people also reached out to help us with this initiative. People wanted to jump on board and find these people in need and pay it forward to them. We were absolutely astonished with how the community ran with this initiative. The community took it by storm and ran with it,” she noted.
In the early stages of the pandemic, volunteers delivered food, meals and other supplies. As the pandemic shutdown continued, Pay It Forward People opened a food pantry at donated office space at Munz Construction. In addition to food and essential household supplies, the program helped out with other projects such as: conducting a crayon drive at a Morrisville elementary school; removing fallen trees and installing a new roof for a person in the community having difficulties; donating baby supplies to a foster mom for a newborn placed in her care; and raising funds to replace the gravel from a washed out driveway for an elderly woman.
“We’ve done everything from food delivery to emergency tree removal to roof repairs, in order to help out families. Basically, we try to provide resources to a population that otherwise wouldn’t be able to get help. We foster a network of connections, but we also provide services. It’s a combination of both connecting people but also giving them the resources directly,” Kelsey said.
Pay It Forward People has plans for continued growth now that several years have passed since the pandemic. In addition to Kelsey, its volunteer board members include: Greg Millevoi of Millevoi Auto Brothers, Ian Mullins, Miriam Miller, Amy Wisner, and Becca Morton (all residents of Bucks County), as well as many other volunteers in the community. The board and its volunteers have worked on raising awareness of its mission by partnering with local groups at their events such as Octoberfest 4 Vets and Pawzibilities Animal Rescue. They have connected with other community-based organizations such as Doylestown Neighbors United, Animal Lifeline and the Bucks County Opportunity Council. Kelsey noted they also can provide information on many other resources ranging from senior services to mental health support to transportation options to food pantries.
“We have definitely connected with a lot more organizations. What we hope is that we can get a bigger team together so that we can help out more people. We hope to continue to grow and pay it forward.”
For more information visit payitforwardpeople.net or to get involved, go to the Pay It Forward People Facebook Group and request to join. Currently, Pay It Forward People has more than 6,400 members in its group.