Debt Jubilee Project
Debt Jubilee Project is a charitable program in North Carolina which purchases past due medical debts in order to forgive them and free the debtors from collection and credit issues. It is based on the Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25:8–13.
Organization
Debt Jubilee Project was organized in 2022 by John Jackman, a Moravian pastor, while serving at Trinity Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, NC. Jackman had noted that many assistance cases involved medical issues, and had been frustrated by the difficulty of helping people with substantial medical debts..[1] The program was originally designed to focus on central North Carolina, but since has attracted international attention. The program partners with RIP Medical Debt, a New York-based nonprofit that is organized to purchase and forgive past-due medical debt.
In the first two years, Debt Jubilee Project and its partner projects had purchased and forgiven virtually all the available medical debt in 10 central NC counties, totaling over $8 million.[2] The church celebrates each round of debt forgiveness with a symbolic "debt burning" ceremony.
Going Viral
In early 2023, the local television station in Winston-Salem, WXII, did a report on the church’s debt burning ceremony, at that time forgiving $3.3 million of medical debt in Davidson County, NC.[3] The report went viral on April 11, 2023 on Reddit[4], Twitter[5], and TikTok[6], promoting national and international attention to the program.
Healing For the World
The Moravian Church Board of World Mission and Moravian Ministries Foundation, inspired by the impact of the program, asked permission to use the model and logo for a denomination-wide program, and challenged other Moravian churches and individuals to give $50,000 in 50 days, a portion of which would be used to forgive medical debts at the church-run medical clinic in Ahuas, Honduras. The balance would be used to purchase and forgive medical debts in US areas where the Moravian Church has a presence. The campaign raised over $100,000 and was able to forgive over $10 million in medical debts in several states.[7]
National and International coverage
The Debt Jubilee Project has been featured on several national radio programs such as The Glenn Beck Show[8] and The New Yorker Radio Hour[9], and Medium[10]. La Croix International, the French Catholic newspaper, did a feature story on the program[11].
Casey Ryan McIntyre
Casey Ryan McIntyre, a young publisher in New York, saw the video about Trinity’s Debt Jubilee Project[12]. Suffering from stage 4 ovarian cancer, she was inspired to set up her own campaign with RIP Medical Debt which would be triggered upon her passing. The Instagram post announcing her death asked her friends to donate to her “debt jubilee” to forgive medical debt for others[13]. This campaign in turn went viral, attracting massive news coverage. The campaign raised over $600,000, and became the largest individual campaign in the history of RIP Medical Debt[14]
External Links
- Official Website
- Trinity Moravian Church
- Moravian Church Board of World Mission
- Moravian Ministries Foundation
- RIP Medical Debt
References
- ↑ [email protected], SCOTT SEXTON (2022-10-02). "Trinity Moravian in Winston-Salem buys and forgives nearly $1.2 million in medical debt for local residents". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ↑ "Debt Jubilee Project". Debt Jubilee Project. 2022-07-11. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ↑ Peters, Kara (2023-03-26). "Winston-Salem church forgives nearly $3.3 million in medical debt for families". WXII. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ↑ WhoIsJolyonWest (2023-04-11). "The members of Trinity Moravian Church in North Carolina purchased nearly $3.3 million of local residents' medical debt for just $15,048. Then, they held a debt jubilee ceremony and burned up the debt, canceling it all". r/WhitePeopleTwitter. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ↑ "https://twitter.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1645868010547052546". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 2023-11-25. External link in
|title=(help) - ↑ "More Perfect Union on TikTok". TikTok. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ↑ "Debt Jubilee Project: For the Healing of the World | Moravian Church In America". 2023-06-30. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ↑ "The Glenn Beck Program: Best of the Program | 4/14/23 on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ↑ "How to Buy Forgiveness from Medical Debt | The New Yorker Radio Hour". WNYC Studios. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ↑ Walker, Paul (2023-04-29). "It's the Year of Jubilee! Church Buys $3.3 Million of Debt — and Cancels It". Backyard Church. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ↑ "Aux États-Unis, les églises au secours des Américains endettés pour leur santé". La Croix (in français). 2023-07-28. ISSN 0242-6056. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ↑ Culture, Alice Gibbs Senior Internet; Reporter, Trends (2023-11-16). "Mom, 38, dies of ovarian cancer—how her dying wish wiped millions in debt". Newsweek. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
- ↑ "Nationwide". RIP Medical Debt. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
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