‘Pay it Forward’ stories of success! :)

Another great ‘Pay it forward’ Story of how the love and service of Operation H.O.P.E., Inc for this community is touching real lives one person at a time:)

My appointment at Operation Hope last month changed my life.  I am so thankful for the medical care I received as well as being treated with kindness from the clinic staff.  The one thing that was life changing to me was when the Dr. was explaining the “pay it forward program” and he mentioned that “our lives are valuable”!  This really stuck with me, because for many years I have not taken care of myself… i am very good about helping everyone around me, but for some reason, i just didn’t matter to me!  The comment he made about our lives having value, really spoke to my heart.  I see life and myself a little different now!:)

I did many small “good deeds” as an attempt to “pay it forward” such as letting an elderly woman at Walmart go before me in line.  All the small things I valued at $50 each.  But what I did that had the greatest value was… I had the “your life has value” talk with a women who has done the same thing I did for so many years.  Take care of everyone else but herself!  Watching her make changes in her life has been such a blessing:)  She seems to see life from a different perspective now too!

Thank you. C.D.

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Included in this section are what we call ‘Pay it Forward’ stories of success!  These are the letters that patients have written back to our HOPE medical and dental clinics.

‘We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give’

                                                                              -Sir Winston Churchill-

HOPE medical and dental clinics require patients who have been helped by one of our doctors; to turn around and help someone else 3 times the amount of service that was provided to them.  By helping the uninsured and the low-income population of our community with this ‘pay it forward’ concept,  Operation H.O.P.E., Inc can in fact help not just one person but an entire family, neighborhood, city, state, and ultimately the world!

This ‘pay it forward’ strategy for Helping Other People Everywhere gives those in need a sense of responsibility to go and do good deeds on behalf of others in the community.  Each patient seen by our clinics are asked to simply write us back within 30 days to tell us what good things they did to help someone else.

We don’t want others to view our services as merely welfare or another program to take advantage of because it’s ‘free’.   Unless there is a truly legitimate reason, a patient who does not follow through and do their part of helping others within the 30 days will not be seen by our clinics after their first visit.

When patients take responsibility and begins to make effort by Helping Other People Everywhere around them, both dignity and respect is now being built up in that individual’s life.  The process of healing and hope begin to arise when they begin to think about how they can help someone else and then do something about it.  When I think about how good it feels when I am able to help someone else, it’s very clear to me that others can have the same emotional response just by helping someone else and seeing a smile on the face of the person you just helped.  Most people truly appreciate it when someone goes out-of-the-way to help.

A Great ‘Pay it Forward’ story of how Operation H.O.P.E., Inc. is touching lives through our HOPE medical clinics…

My name is E.K. I’m a believer in faith. I’ve worked for the teamsters for 18 years. However, the last few years been challenging. With my new contract, I lost my medical insurance. I’m 47 years old and I’m suffering from extreme high blood pressure, heart trouble, and gout. This is my third time at the clinic, and I’m paying it forward by helping people with housing. By passing on the word of God in the process. Recently, a friend of mine was blessed with a second job and starting to attend church at Trinity. He’s understanding the word now, and has one of his co-workers attending with him. God bless all of you who are involved with the clinic working with the community. From the bottom of my heart I would just like to say thank you. E.K.

Pay it forward story brought to us as a beautiful poem by Diana 🙂

I WOULD LIKE TO START BY TELLING YOU, THANK YOU IN A SPECIAL WAY, 

BECAUSE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME IS MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY.

I CAN EXPRESS HOW MUCH YOU MEAN TO ME, BY MY ACTIONS DAY BY DAY.

I FELL MY WHOLE LIFE CHANGING, BY JUST A SMILE AWAY!

WITH ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT OF ANGELS GOD SENT ME ALONG THE WAY,

i PLAN TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL THIS YEAR IN HOPE’S TO GET AN ‘A’.

IMPROVE MY LIFE AND GIVE BACK TO THE LORD AS HE GUIDES ME ALONG THE WAY,

BRING BACK LOST FAMILY AND FRIENDS THAT I HAVE HURT WHEN I’VE GONE ASTRAY.

STAYING AWAY FROM PEOPLE AND THINGS THAT MAY PROVOKE ME IN BAD WAYS,

TAKING THE TIME TO SMELL THE ROSES AND ENJOY THE BEAUTY OF EACH DAY.

REMEMBER TO THANK THE LORD FOR SENDING ANGELS LIKE YOU AS I GET STUCK ALONG THE WAY,

YOU GUYS HAVE GIVEN ME THE HOPE AND INSPIRATION TO LIVE A  HEALTHIER WAY.

I LOVE YOU ALL, THANK YOU!!!

-DIANA-

Maurice wrote:

Attention Operation Hope dental clinic, I had waited for 5 years to get my bad teeth pulled, but I am a Veteran and they couldn’t help me.  Although I had a 3 way by pass and I was told the teeth that were bad should be pulled out, I couldn’t afford then I found you-a life saver.  You asked me to write what I did to help others.  I helped my landlady around the house with two dogs.  I pick up the yard and empty trash daily.  I take out 3 big containers twice weekly.  I clean the pool daily.  I help her carry or move objects too heavy and also carry in groceries after shopping. I loaned a homeless needy person my best heavy coat as the winter came along.  I am a helping hand person and I so appreciate your help Operation Hope dental clinic. 

More ‘Pay it Forward’ stories of success coming soon…..

A GREAT ‘PAY IT FORWARD’ STORY FROM CHRISTINA!

Dear Operation Hope dental clinic,

Hello Operation Hope dental clinic, my name is Christina and I’m one of the many people you’ve so graciously helped last year at the Huntridge Teen Clinic. I believe my visit was some time in November and you gave me this email address to write a letter after I did/do something to pay it forward. Since my visit I’ve done several things to pay it forward and to show my gratitude for what was so freely given to me. Last year was an amazing year and God blessed me with so many opportunities to be a blessing as well be blessed that I’ve made it a point to give back a little something everyday. Wether it be my time, a smile, a random act of kindness, or just be that support or shoulder to cry on I’m there. I definitely have been blessed with a heart to serve my community in any way I can and recently, well in December, I had the opportunity to volunteer at a local community center called The Las Vegas Indian Center for the holidays. Talk about amazing… I had the opportunity to decorate their facility for Christmas and let me tell you it came out beautifully, decorated stockings and hung them with care, organized things, helped wherever they needed me, wrapped gifts for children and worked closely with Santa when it came time to give them out. I’d say I did about 60 hrs. of volunteer work and loved every second of it. I can honestly say that it was one of the biggest projects/opportunities that I ever had been a part of.  I’m so excited to see what more God has in store this year! There are other organizations that I’m looking into volunteering for and at this point I’m just taking it one day at a time with my eyes and heart open looking for that chance. Sometimes they find me and I love it!! Giving back to the community or just giving wherever and whenever possible feels good.. Dr. Ting thank you so much for making me feel comfortable the day you extracted a few dental roots that had been bothering me. On that day it started my journey in getting my dental work done… Unfortunately there’s lots of work to be done and I can’t quite afford it at this time nor have I done anything since then, I’m hopeful that a door will come open and God will provide a way for me to have an amazing and beautiful smile again. Like everything else in this life there’s a process and part of that process was writing this letter… I’m so glad I finally did!! Once again thank you for being so gracious and doing all that you do in our community, I know God honors that and you are truly blessed.

I hope you have an Amazing and Happy New Year!!!!!

Sincerely,
Christina