University News
Western Student "Pays It Forward" to Help Area Residents
November 2, 2006
MACOMB, IL – When Western Illinois University junior social work major Erin McNamee from Schaumburg heard that Oprah Winfrey was doing a show on “paying it forward” (helping others) she knew she had to be a part of the experience.
McNamee was a part of the studio audience last week and like the other audience members, was given $1,000 and a video-camera – with the orders to give the money to someone in need that she didn’t know and to videotape the experience. McNamee’s wheels were already turning: what if she could take that $1,000 and turn it into something bigger with her community’s help? That’s when she started pounding on doors of local businesses and asking for assistance.
“What I kept hearing was ‘Where is this money going to go?’ I realized that if I wanted to add to this $1,000 I had to have an organization or charity named, and that’s when I decided to enlist the help of local school children and residents of Wesley Village,” she explained. “I wanted to get the young and old alike together to come up with ideas of how to help others.”
McNamee, along with a few residents of Wesley Village, met with Shelly GlaserÂ’s fourth grade class at Edison School yesterday to discuss who they were going to give the $1,000 to and why. After much brainstorming, the group came up with two recipients: the Western Illinois Regional CouncilÂ’s Project Santa program and Todd Watts, a National Guardsman from Bushnell whose daughter is currently being treated for cancer at St. Jude ChildrenÂ’s Research Hospital. Project Santa and Watts will get at least $500 each from the $1,000 that Oprah provided, but McNamee is hoping to get more donations to help even more.
“I've only been given a week and I really want to prove to Oprah I can turn that $1,000 into something big. I am documenting everything on camera as we have to show Oprah what we did to make this work,” McNamee said. “This is what I call a once in a lifetime opportunity for Macomb to get involved in a unique project that helps others in the community.”
McNamee has to send the camera in documenting her expedition to Oprah this weekend, so she’d like to be able to look into that lens and say “Oprah, Macomb Illinois paid it forward and donated another $1,000 to help Project Santa and the Watts family.”
For more information or to make a donation by tomorrowÂ’s deadline (make checks payable to either Project Santa or Todd Watts), contact McNamee at 847-306-0263 orEE-McNamee@wiu.edu.
Posted By: Darcie Shinberger (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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