Flathead's generosity changed one family's life forever

A thank-you note I got in the mail this week spoke volumes about the goodness of Flathead Valley residents.

Two weeks ago I wrote a story about a family in Marion that was struggling to raise enough money to move into an apartment in Kalispell. It was the quintessential working-poor plight: both parents working full time at low-paying jobs, three kids, a broken-down vehicle, bad tires on the vehicle that was still running, $300 to $400 monthly gas bills to commute to Kalispell, and no possibility of getting ahead.

When the mother, Cairi Passler, came to the harsh realization that assistance programs tend to favor people who are unemployed, being evicted or are already homeless, she took her message to the street, staging a one-person protest over a system that seems to cast aside families that are trying to do everything right and still can’t get ahead.

After her story was published Oct. 11, it immediately hit a nerve with readers. I spent the entire morning that day fielding calls and answering e-mails from people who wanted to help the family. Offers of cash, tires of every shape and size, moving assistance, a used vehicle, and mechanical help to get the family’s pickup truck fixed poured in. People wanted to help with school supplies the parents hadn’t been able to afford, such as an expensive graphing calculator.

I’ve always subscribed to Anne Frank’s way of thinking, that “despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.”

But this outpouring of support was, in a word, amazing, and truly restored my faith in humanity.

One woman called to tell me that Cairi Passler “told all our story.” Many called to offer help because they, too, had been in that mother’s shoes at some point in time.

One of the most unusual offers of assistance came from a passenger on Amtrak, who read the story when a copy of the Inter Lake was slipped under his sleeper door as he passed through Whitefish. How could he help; where could he send a donation, he asked via e-mail. Talk about an act of random kindness.

The truth is, there are hundreds of families like the Passlers, struggling to make ends meet in an economy that’s also still struggling. We all need to look beyond our own little worlds to find ways to help one another. Here’s another Anne Frank quote that seems so applicable: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” If you’ve forgotten who Anne Frank was, she was the young Jewish girl who wrote in a diary about her time in hiding in Amsterdam during World War II. She died of typhus in a concentration camp.

I’d like to share Cairi’s thank-you note because it wasn’t my story that made a difference in their lives; it was your involvement.

She wrote: “Thank you for running our story. The kindness of others has changed our lives, not only momentarily but forever! Our family has moved to a nice little house in town and we have been able to get out of the hole we were in, because of the loving kindness of other people’s hearts. We have seen the grace of God. Love, Cairi and family.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.