Pay It 4ward: Woman honored for donating supplies to New Mexicans in need

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – One Bernalillo woman is pitching in by taking care of the people who take care of her community.

“She just likes to do things for others. She’s constantly doing things for others,” said Shirley Christensen, Pay It 4ward nominator. 

Christensen has known Valerie Forbes for about four years, and says Paying It 4ward is just part of her daily routine.

“One day, I met her up at Albertsons, and there was some fireman in there with his uniform on from Albuquerque, and she followed him around, and she bought a whole shopping cart of snacks and stuff for him to take back to the firehouse,” said Christensen.

Christensen says Forbes spends most of her time purchasing snacks and supplies to donate to local fire stations, veteran centers, and some tribal schools in Grants.

“She’s doing this constantly. That’s basically all she does,” Christensen said. “She does so much for other people that she doesn’t ev- a lot of them she doesn’t even know. That’s what inspires me.” 

After years of Forbes giving to others, Christensen thought it was time to flip the script.

So, it was time to Pay It 4ward with $400.

Watch the video above for more.