Rev. Kris Snyder, senior pastor of Union UCC in Neffs turned 60 this June.

She invited her friends, family, colleagues and church family to a party with the catch it was going to be a fundraiser too.

Last year, churches in Bethlehem raised $25,000 together and erased $3 million worth of medical debt through an agency called Undue Medical Debt.

Helping with this cause has been a dream of hers and these churches inspired her to use the same agency and to bring people together to make a dent in the $132 million of medical debt existing in the state of Pennsylvania.

She’s been sharing the invitation and folks have been donating since June.

Every $10 donated relieves $1,000 on average of undue medical debt for families in financial need.

Every donation was an emotional moment for her, knowing so many people are struggling with debt right now.

On Aug. 9, she hosted the party at Kornfeind’s Market.

At the time of the party, they had raised about $6,000 and that night they were able to add another $3,000.

This week the donations reached $10,000.

“I never knew 60 could feel this good,” Snyder said. “Together a church, a community and a bunch of family and friends raised over $10,000! We have helped to erase at least $1 million of medical debt in our state. I think we often feel that alone there’s not much we can do to make a difference in the world. But together, well together and with God’s help, we can do so much more. Which is what we just did in a simple yet important way.

“Thank you to the people of Union UCC who said ‘yes’ to another one of my wild ideas and for their incredible financial generosity of donations and spirit,” Snyder said.

She also thanked area businesses and churches who supported the event, including Kornfeind’s Market, The Buttered Crumb, Crooked Row Farm, Crystal Spring Dairy, the Heintzelman Funeral Home, the Harding Funeral Home, St. John’s UCC Laury’s Station and Jordan UCC, Allentown.

Visit the website https://unduemedicaldebt.org to learn more about this agency’s work and to hear the powerful stories of lives transformed by support like Snyder’s event.

“One of the biggest gifts people receive is the repair of credit scores and the improvement of economic security allowing them to rebuild their lives. Some of you shared your own stories of knowing what this kind of debt is like. I think many of us are one crisis away from knowing this could be us,” Snyder said.