PAYPAL X TORONTO SHAY x BGG



" Everyone copes with difficult times in different ways. For me, I like to talk, I like to share, I like to educate and when I can, I try to give back. For me, giving back is a coping mechanism. So when PayPal reached out and asked if I wanted to be apart of their #PayPalItForward initiative, I was all in. #PayPalItForward is an initiative where PayPal is empowering people like me to make a financial contribution by way of a Peer to Peer PayPal transfer to people that could use some extra love during this time. I’ve chosen three families that I will be giving $2000 dollars to ($6000 total) and I will share their stories with you over the next several days."


The first family is @LeslieBangamba’s; For those of you that don’t know Leslie, she’s a women that I’ve never met in person, but who I’ve gotten to know over the past year through Instagram voice notes and video chats. Leslie has always been kind, supportive and lots of fun to talk to, so I was obviously heartbroken when I heard about what happened to her daughter Amélie.
On April 9th, 2020, in the midst of the chaos of a worldwide pandemic, Leslie and her husband Astrel, lived through one of the biggest nightmares any parent could possibly experience. While Leslie was loading her dishwasher, their daughter Amélie suddenly collapsed and was rushed to the Red Deer Regional Hospital. Upon admission, an X-ray revealed a foreign object was ingested and was wreaking havoc on her tiny body. An extensive cardiac surgery would confirm that it was a button battery. Unfortunately, this disaster placed a massive financial strain on their family. Her husband Astrel had to take time off work and Leslie who was on maternity leave was unable to return to work due to lack of childcare for their two older children during COVID-19. Obviously given this crisis, a return to work for Leslie was out of the question for the immediate future, so they obviously came to mind when this opportunity to give back came to my attention. Swipe left for pictures of Leslie, Astrel, Amélie and their beautiful family or head to their page to learn more about them and their story. #PayPalPartner *ad #PayPalItForward

This is my third and final post with @PayPal for their #PayPalItForward initiative. I’ve given away $4000 so far and this week I am giving away another $2000. For those of you that don’t know, #PayPalItForward is an initiative where PayPal is empowering people like me to make a financial contribution by way of a Peer to Peer PayPal transfer to people that could use some extra love during this time. This week, I would like to introduce you to Mirian Njoh. Mirian is someone that I’ve been inspired by since the day that we met. She has always been open about growing up with Albinism and how it has shaped her into the woman that she is today but in spite of the hurdles she’s faced in life, she has never allowed those hurdles to stop her from pursuing her dreams. One of which was to get married to her soul mate on June 12, 2020. Unfortunately, Mirian had to call off her wedding because of COVID-19. Sean and I were excited to watch her walk down the aisle, but unfortunately that won’t be happening for the foreseeable future so I thought that Mirian would be the perfect person to give my last $2000 payment to. I’m so excited for Mirian and wish her the best as she begins this new chapter. Swipe for photos of Mirian and head to her page to learn more about her and her story. #AD

PayPal is empowering people like me to make financial contributions by way of easy peer-to-peer PayPal transfers to people that could use some extra love during this time. I’ve chosen three families that I will be giving $2,000 dollars to ($6,000 total) and I’ve shared one story so far and have two more to go. This week,
I would like to celebrate @jon_roth_ and his family. This is their story;
Jon and his wife Tasha have been helping their son Kai recover from a recent heart surgery where things didn’t go as planned. After the surgery, Kai ended up in critical care and Jon (who is a small business owner of a few barber shops in Toronto) had to temporarily close the doors to all of his businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sean has known Jon and Tasha for years, so when we were thinking of a second family to give a little extra love to, Jon, Tasha and Kai were an easy decision. Swipe left for pictures of their beautiful family. How are you paying it forward?
