So far, the Tenderness Tour has raised nearly $117,000 and eliminated $16,794,049.15 in medical debt for 7,607 Hoosiers

Campaign Created By

Richard Propes

$34,939.10

raised of $500,000 goal

This campaign is not currently accepting donations.

Recent Donations

$1,000 David M. just donated$397 Anonymous just donated$106 Kelie K. just donated$26.80 Adam R. just donated$128 Joyce H. just donated$750 Deliverance B. just donated$106 Ina Van D. just donated$500 Sally And Gary B. just donated$1,100 William R. H. just donated$50 Dwain S. just donated$1,000 Anonymous 2. just donated$53.20 Nina E. just donated

Campaign Info

Campaign Details
How Undue Works
FAQ
About Undue
More Campaigns

Share On Facebook

Share On Twitter

2025-2026: Tenderness Tour Continues

Richard Propes is serious about eliminating medical debt.

An Indianapolis-based activist who has traveled over 6,000 miles in his wheelchair working to improve the lives of children and families, Richard has set his sights on using his award-winning Tenderness Tour to end medical debt in Indiana. A paraplegic with spina bifida and a two-time cancer survivor, Richard turns sixty this year and wants to turn this amazing benchmark year into something special for Hoosier families.

He wants to eliminate their medical debt.

Richard wants to reach $60 million in medical debt eliminated and then keep going all the way to $100 million in medical debt eliminated for Hoosiers. Or more.

Once Richard hits $100 million in medical debt eliminated for Indiana? He’s setting his sights on debt relief nationwide.

Over the next year, Richard plans a series of Tenderness Tour events to continue his journey toward eliminating medical debt in Indiana. It all starts with a late Fall 2025 journey along the Vandalia Trail, a trail meaningful to Richard as it passes by the funeral home where Richard said goodbye to his father in April of this year. Richard continues to plan other trips throughout the next year.

In Fall 2024, filmmaker Andie Redwine and her small film crew climbed on Thor, their trusty golf cart, and followed Richard throughout the 2024 Tenderness Tour. “The Tenderness Tour,” a feature documentary, resulted from that trip and is having its world premiere in October 2025 at the Academy Award-qualifying Heartland International Film Festival. The film is specifically set up to further support Richard’s vision for a medical debt-free Indiana and a world where medical debt is no longer taboo, the healing journey is shared, and disability is normalized as part of the human experience.

BE PART OF THE TENDERNESS TOUR VISION

Richard wants you to be a part of the Tenderness Tour vision.

Richard is looking for opportunities to speak, preach, wheel, and otherwise engage with non-profits, community leaders, churches, schools, hospitals and other organizations to talk about eliminating medical debt, improving access to healthcare and getting involved. Richard does one-day, weekend, and week-long appearances and wheeling events throughout the year and throughout Indiana.

Richard wants you to join him for a one-mile challenge. Every individual and organization that walks, bikes, wheels or joins Richard for a mile (or holds a one-mile walk to join Richard in spirit) will receive a special Tenderness Tour medallion! From Indiana’s celebrities to folks like you and me, Richard wants to have Hoosiers join him as we walk a mile in the shoes of those with medical debt.

Richard is always looking for road crew, or “roadies,” to provide support during Tenderness Tour events and appearances. From wheelchair repair to personal support to event logistics, your gifts are invited and new ideas are welcome.

This year, Richard wants to encourage more kids to get involved – “Tenderness Tour Kids!” encourages schools, youth groups, sports teams, and churches to get involved in changing the lives of others. “Change” donated throughout the Tenderness Tour will also support other local organizations working to improve access to health care and communities of care.

For more information on the Tenderness Tour, visit The Tenderness Tour – Home.

Watch for “The Tenderness Tour” documentary!

You can reach out to get involved – [email protected]

You can also find Richard on Facebook (@richardpropes), Instagram (@tendernesstour), Threads (@tendernesstour), BlueSky (@richardpropes), LinkedIn (@richardpropes), and Substack (@richardpropes)

Campaign Support Recipients

Indiana

Campaign donations will show on website within 1 business day of gift submission.

How Undue Works

Over a hundred million Americans, one in three, struggles with the weight of medical debt.

Who We Help

Debt Resources

You make a donation
- We use data analytics to pinpoint the debt of those most in need: households that earn less than 4x the federal poverty level (varies by state, family size) or whose debts are 5% or more of annual income.
Undue buys medical debt at a steep discount
- We buy debt in bundles, millions of dollars at a time at a fraction of the original cost. This means your donation relieves about 100x its value in medical debt.
Together we wipe out medical debt
- People across the country receive letters that their debt has been erased. They have no tax consequences or penalties to consider. Just like that, they’re free of medical debt.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my donation tax deductible?

Yes. We are a 501(c)(3) charity and your donation is 100% tax deductible.

Who qualifies for medical debt relief?

We provide debt relief based on financial need. To qualify, an individual must either:

Earn at or below 400% of the federal poverty level
Have medical debt that exceeds 5% of their income

These criteria are built into our system and apply to all debt we purchase. We do not collect or require information about immigration status. We also cannot target relief based on medical condition, age, or other personal characteristics.

We never collect on the debt we purchase, only relieve it.

Do recipients of debt relief have any adverse consequences?

No. With your help, we abolish medical debt permanently. Recipients have no adverse tax consequences, obligations or strings attached.

Medical debt relief is a gift from a detached and disinterested third party (Undue) as an act of generosity, so relief of the debt does not count as income to the debtor. We will not file a Form 1099-C with the IRS.

Can donors see whose debt is relieved by their donation?

Due to HIPAA laws, Undue Medical Debt cannot disclose the names, contact information or any other specific details of the debt relief beneficiaries.

Can I apply for debt relief?

Undue Medical Debt cannot relieve debt by individual request.

While we would love to help everyone who needs assistance, Undue cannot abolish medical debt for specific individuals. We acquire large, bundled portfolios of debt to help thousands of people at once and we can only erase debts that providers like hospitals and physicians are willing to sell to us.

Because medical debt affects so many people who may not have debt accounts in the portfolios we purchase, we have compiled a list of resources that may be able to help.

About Undue

Undue Medical Debt is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit which leverages donations to buy large, bundled medical debts at steep discounts, providing immediate, no strings attached relief to financially vulnerable families. On average one dollar donated erases $100 of medical debt. We also help people with medical debt share their stories, which informs our approach to fixing the healthcare system, whether by policy solutions or collaborating with likeminded partners.

Want to start your own campaign?

Join us in our mission to end medical debt

Start a Campaign

Explore Campaigns