For customers in need of an item or service that our current programs do not cover, an investment from CCI’s Pay It Forward Program can help them reach their goals. For Aubrey Jones (name changed for confidentiality), a Pay It Forward award provided her with the gas money she needed to complete an internship and, ultimately, her degree.

Aubrey is a participant in CCI’s Maine Families program. When she received the award after being nominated for the Pay It Forward program by her Family Visitor, she had just completed her course study at a local community college for a Hospitality Degree. To finish the degree, she needed to complete a 10-week internship at a resort an hour away from her home, forcing her to quit her job of 12 years to do so.

“It put us in a very tight spot financially,” Aubrey said. With high gas prices and the cost of childcare for their one-year-old child, Aubrey’s family was struggling to afford their bills, even with Aubrey’s husband working a full-time and part-time job to help support the family while Aubrey finished school.

“Being a parent is difficult, especially financially. All kinds of things come up that you don’t even think about,” she shared.

Knowing covering gas for the duration of the internship would help Aubrey finish her degree and ease the family’s financial burden, Aubrey’s Family Visitor submitted a request for a Pay It Forward award. Once approved by the Pay It Forward Committee, the Home Visitor provided Aubrey with $750 worth of gas cards. Following Aubrey’s internship, she shared that she was hired full-time at the resort for the rest of the season and plans to continue to further her education.

“It was very much appreciated. It’s been very nice,” Aubrey said. “I just really appreciate everything that Maine Families does for me, and the fact that this program exists is great.”

CCI’s Pay It Forward Program is funded by generous donations from community members and supporters, including Norway Savings Bank.