New Hope Church Partners with MHS for a “Pay It Forward” Challenge

It is well known that teachers and faculty give so much to students – but it’s not every day they are presented the opportunity to gift students or their classroom Target gift cards.

But due to the generosity of New Hope Church and its members, Manteca High School students are benefiting from the notions of kindness and the spirit of giving through the church's “Pay It Forward” Challenge.

The “Pay It Forward” Challenge, also known as PIFC, began three years ago as a partnership between New Hope Church and MHS and will soon be implemented at Sequoia Elementary this upcoming spring for the first time.

The PIFC process begins with representatives from New Hope introducing the Challenge to the school’s faculty at a staff meeting (at the invitation of the Administration) and inviting everyone to participate. Each faculty member who volunteers to participate is then presented with a $75 gift card to Target, and they are instructed to use the card to “Pay It Forward” however they decide.

New Hope Church requests in return from participating faculty members a “My Story Card” explaining how the card was used and whom it impacted.

On a Sunday following the PIFC, New Hope representatives invite a couple faculty members to share some of the stories with the New Hope congregation, where they can celebrate all the “wins” that were accomplished through the Challenge.

“The creativity staff has shown in who they select and why they select them has been endlessly phenomenal!” stated New Hope Youth Pastor Tim Kemptner.

Hearing faculty members speak about how they “paid it forward” is always particularly illuminating for Mr. Kemptner and his fellow pastors at New Hope. “Some of the stories help us to discover other specific needs where we can lend further support to the school community.”

Some notable MHS “My Story Card” submissions include faculty members who donated their gift cards to students living in hotels, displaced due to financial hardship amid the coronavirus pandemic, and teachers who passed their gift cards along to help purchase new band equipment for students mourning the recent loss of beloved MHS English teacher and music lover, Mr. Fontanilla.

“I have a former student that graduated in May that I keep in touch with. He was very active in band and music and played guitar at many of the rallies and football games. He recently reached out to me because he found out about Mr. Fontanilla’s passing and it has really impacted him. He confided in me that he was very close with Mr. Font and looked at him as an uncle of sorts and that he was one of his favorite teachers, even previously buying one of Mr. Font’s old guitars to fix up. This young man asked if I’d be willing to sell him one of my old guitars so he could use some of its parts to fix up Mr. Font’s old instrument. I agreed, but instead of selling it, I went to his house and gave him the guitar, along with the gift card to buy cleaning and repair supplies as needed. He was extremely grateful for the thought, and I felt that this was a great way to ‘Pay It Forward’.” - Wes Ayala

For Mr. Kemptner and all New Hope representatives, the Challenge presents an opportunity to create positive changes in our community by continuing to give back.

“We would definitely love to see other churches and businesses use the PIFC as a catalyst to connect with a local school so there can be ongoing support,” said Kemptner.