Five congregations in Kentucky are joining together to purchase and forgive at least $3.5 million in medical debt in the Appalachian region. Temple Adath Israel, Central Baptist Church, St. Michael's Episcopal Church, and First Presbyterian Church, all of Lexington, and Union Church in Berea, have formed the Commonwealth Forgiveness Project. The Commonwealth Forgiveness Project seeks to buy and eliminate $3.5 million of medical debt, forgiving it as a holiday gift to those most in need. 

Medical debt represents a crushing burden to many Kentucky families. Debts from medical care, even for those with insurance, can quickly deplete savings and eliminate every financial resource. In the United states, 66% of all bankruptcies and 25% of all credit card debt is tied to medical bills, resulting in over 100 million Americans, one in three, struggling to pay off medical bills.  

To purchase and forgive this debt, The Commonwealth Forgiveness Project is working with the nationally recognized charity RIP Medical Debt. You can donate via credit card by this link.  All donations are used to buy debt in bundled portfolios, millions of dollars at a time at a fraction of the original cost. The debt is then forgiven and credit records restored.  On average, every dollar has 100 times the impact. Every $1000 in donations eliminates an average of $100,000 in original bills. Though all of the congregations would love to help everyone who needs assistance, the Commonwealth Forgiveness Project cannot abolish medical debt for specific individuals. If you have medical debt, please click here for resources that may be helpful. Instead, CFP will leverage the purchasing power of acquiring large portfolios of debt to help thousands of people at once. The goal of the Commonwealth Forgiveness Project is to raise $35,000 before the end of the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays. 

Individuals and groups wishing to support the Commonwealth Forgiveness project can make a tax deductible contribution online here, and click the Medical Debt tile or mail a check to any of the congregations with Commonwealth Forgiveness Project in the memo.  You may also donate directly to RIPMedical here. All donations will be credited to this campaign. 

Individuals, houses of worship, clubs and businesses are invited to be a part of the The Commonwealth Forgiveness Project by contributing or by raising funds as partner organizations. Each contribution will be recognized and will make 100x the impact of the dollar amount donated. For more information or to have one of the clergy speak (via Zoom) to your group, please contact The Rev. Laurie Brock (St. Michael's Episcopal Church), The Rev. Mark Davis (First Presbyterian Church) The Rev. Mark Johnson (Central Baptist Church), Rabbi David Wirtschafter (Temple Adath Israel) or The Rev. Kent Gilbert (Union Church). 

Together, we can make a difference in the lives of the people of Appalachia this holiday season.
Press Conference on November 19, 2020 announcing The Commonwealth Forgiveness Project