From the earliest days of the charity we co-created (RIP Medical Debt), I saw in day-to-day action the qualities that the Beloved Community Awards award requires of its recipient – excellence in leadership and the pursuit of community social justice.

As reported by NewsOne Atlanta, the red carpet which recognizes individuals and organizations keeping Martin Luther King’s legacy alive, lived up to expectations. Awards were given to nationally known figures in civic leadership, education, youth influence, corporate social impact, and on. Perhaps the most unique was Craig’s work earning a Beloved Community Spotlight on medical debt forgiveness in the black community. None of this could have happened without the processes instituted by Craig while CEO of RIP Medical Debt (now Undue Medical Debt).

Erik Antico especially appreciated his father being featured in a video montage highlighting ForgiveCo’s work. ForgiveCo? After completing his tenure at RIP, Craig and his son, Erik Antico, opened a Public Benefit Corporation called ForgiveCo. Here, they broadened and deepened their impact by ridding people not just of medical debt, but unbearable and unpayable no matter the source.

The Reconnection – and expansion

Craig reconnected when he learned I had left RIP to found the 501(c)(3) private charitable foundation End Veteran Debt (EVD). A proven (and foreordained?) fit. We both liked ridding people of debt, both had just the right vehicle for that work, and both held veterans in high esteem. 

The result is that ForgiveCo is EVD’s partner as its agent to use EVD donations specifically to locate, purchase, and abolish unpaid and unpayable veteran debt – by the millions! (This will be achieved within Operation Debt-Day.)

So, a toast to my friends and longtime co-conspirators, Craig and Erik Antico, and best wishes to the endeavors of our affiliated communities in lifting debt burdens from the backs of our fellow Americans.