A few pictures I found on the internet. The first one is just a list of some kind actions that can be done. The second is a picture that I thought really shows how a person choose their own way and actions. The third is a cartoon joke I found that showed that kindness can make a difference and surpass violence.
On Oprah's website she has these calendars (from her magazine O) for each month. Each one has 2 ideas (24 all together) for the reader that pertain to Random Acts of Kindness. All of the ideas that are given are something that is actually easy to do. People wouldn't have to go crazily out of their way, just tweak their actions a little bit. I found the calendarshere
In 2006 Oprah decided to have one of her giveaway shows. This one would involve the gift of giving back. She gave each one of her audience members $1,000 to donate to their choice of a charitable cause. The people had only 1 week to complete this mission and were given debit cards and dvd handycams to showcase their actions. This giveaway made a huge impact, creating many headlines in the news. In the end 314 videos were returned displaying all the acts of kindness. On the website there are many stories of the audience members as well. I found the information about the giveawayhere
I found this really good site calledhelpothers.org, and its all about random acts of kindness. This is a good site because it gives plenty of ideas for people to do as well as stories from people who have either done an act or received an act. The site also has groups to join as well as things called smile cards. They want people to get these cards and leave them with the act that they wish to perform. The cards help explain the whole process and act as a game of "tag" as a way of spreading the kindness. Smile cards help keep the ripple going and spread this idea even further.
One thing that impressed me was the fact that you don't have to pay to get the smile cards. The reason? The site takes donations from regular people like you and me in order to cover the cost. At first, the people who started the site covered the cost, but realized how much this idea was spreading and soon realized they couldn't continue to pay for the cards. Since they wanted to keep them, without charging people, they have asked for donations instead. Each $1 that is donated, 20 cards are made and shipped. They also give the option of donating stamps as well. This idea is really intriguing because if you donate, you are essentially paying it forward and allowing someone else to get these cards for free.
This is a music video by country group Lady Antebellum. The song title is "I Run To You" and the lyrics are about how you go to that one person when things in your life aren't going well. It talks about how the world keeps moving and spinning faster and how they run to a certain person.
Why I wanted to post this video is more based on what they show during the song. It shows a bunch of people doing small things for strangers and how it makes an impact. Each person pays it forward and helps some new stranger out..kinda like the Liberty Mutual commercial I posted before.
Here are a list of some quotes that I found relating to Pay It Forward and Random Acts of Kindness. When looking, there was so many different quotes I found so most of these on the list were my favorites. There are some by famous people, some are unknown, and some by not as famous people. Hope these quotes make an impact on how you see this whole movement. "If you can't return a favor, pass it on." Louise Brown "Be the change you want to see in the world." Gandhi "Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the and the blind can see. " Mark Twain "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." Aesop "Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out." Frank A. Clark "Don't wait for people to be friendly, show them how." Author Unknown "Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless." Mother Teresa "For attractive lips, speak words of kindness." Audrey Hepburn "Kindness comes from different directions... kindness comes to you, through you and from you. It's just a matter of when you want to start!" Vangie Fuentes, RAK member "Today, make an investment in someone else's happiness." Unknown "Strive to be first: first to nod, first to smile, first to compliment, and first to forgive." Unknown
I found a really great article whose author writes for the Boston Globe. The article was about Paul Levy, the CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. In March, he had to make some difficult decisions about layoffs and how he was trying to do everything he could to not have to layoff any workers. The article talks about how Levy decides to walk around the hospital and noticed how the transporters (people who push patients in wheelchairs) were making the patients feel better, how the workers who delivered food talked with the patient and family, and how a lot of the other workers who are taken for granted made an impact on his medical center. This is when he realizes that many people need this job, due to the economic downfall.
The article goes on to talk about how Levy proposes the idea of having no layoffs, in return for some sacrifices from other workers, in a meeting with the workers. Levy is surprised to see that the workers are cheering and showing support for this idea. As time goes by Levy receives numerous suggestions about how to make this situation work.
Reading this article, I really liked how Levy went about doing things. He was able to see the point of view of many of the workers who get overlooked and make a good and positive change. Each one of the workers who were willing to sacrifice also made an impact since they were helping others while receiving nothing beneficial in return. I thought that this medical center was really onto the right idea and made me appreciate this CEO much more.
Educational Credit Unionin Topeka Kansas has started to get involved with the Pay It Forward concept. During their Credit Union week(Oct. 13th-16th) all of their branches gave $20 to the first 25 participants. For the $20 they want the participants to answer the question "If Educational Credit Union gave me $20 to help someone else, I would...". All the participants need to do is make a video talking about their intentions for the money then do a follow up e-mail to let the Credit Union know what actually happened. Once the e-mail is sent, the Credit Union will post each participants video onto You Tube, where people can vote for their favorite by posting a comment. The participant with the highest votes will then receive $500 for themselves as well as $500 for the charity of their choice.
The Credit Union and its branches decided to do this to share their values with other people. The Credit Union believes in people helping people and want to share that idea. They hope that this money will continue and expand through the people and that many people can get helped by such a small and easy start.
To see 2 good videos explaining this event you can check out this siteand watch the videos there.
I was able to find another blog and its by Nina Simosko. She is really into the role of leadership and how it can make an impact on various things. While most of her posts don't pertain to paying it forward, I found agood postthat does. Her other posts, though give a lot of new ideas on leadership! In the post I found she lets the readers know how the Pay It Forward idea has impacted her life. Nina talks about how she has been on both ends, helping someone and getting help, and I really get the sense that she really likes this concept and applies it to her everyday life. She gives a few examples of what she does to make a difference like how she volunteers for the non profit organizationReading Partners.
There is also an old shampoo commercial from the 70's that she has put into her blog. The video is another good way to show how Pay It Forward is supposed to work-spreading the kindness to 3 new people. The video made me laugh since it was so old, but I liked that she referenced something that most people probably wouldn't have looked at otherwise.
This weekend I got a surprise when I went through the drive thru of a fast food restaurant, and my order was paid for. I couldn't believe that someone had done the Pay It Forward thing on me and it definitely made me smile and think of my blog. I was happy to see that there were other people implementing this idea into their lives and that there are people actually doing nice things for other people.
I do think that this made an impact on me and it made me want to pay it forward. This reminds me of the Liberty Mutual commercial I just posted, since the commercial shows how one action can impact so many people and how each person decides to pay it forward and help someone else.
Here is a really good commercial by the insurance company Liberty Mutual. It shows people witnessing nice acts being done and how they spread the kindness. Essentially these people are partaking in Pay It Forward. Thought you might enjoy:)
While researching about the whole Pay It Forward movement I started seeing information about Benjamin Franklin and how he actually was using this concept a long time before it was really well known. In 1784, he wrote a letter to Benjamin Webb, describing how he is giving him some money to help him out with his debts. Instead of Franklin askingWebb to pay him back, he wants Webb to help someone else who might be in a bad predicament. He essentially wants Webb to Pay It Forward and hopes that this act might go through many hands before it gets stopped. Franklin also describes that this is a trick of his..something that would produce a good deed while using little money.
Benjamin Franklin was known for doing a lot in his lifetime, but finding this out doesn't really surprise me. I just thought it was really cool that this idea of helping others out (while getting nothing in return) was going on for such a long time. I hadn't realized this idea had been reinvented over the years.
If you want to lookat the letter, I found it atWikisource
After the bad day at work I had the other day, I decided that today at work I was going to do little things for other workers that might help improve their mood/attitude/morale. Whenever someone had trash, I offered to throw it away. If someone asked me to do something or get something for them, I said yes. I worked extra hard to make sure what I was doing was helping and making the situations for other people better.
Even though after my shift I was exhausted from running around so much, I really thought that I might have impacted the other workers. Hopefully they might want to work hard and help other workers out too. I know that not everyone will be effected, who's to say I would even be if someone did something nice for me at work, but I really hope I helped brighten at least one person's mood.
I also realized that I felt a lot better while working and didn't get so frustrated with the people around me. The impact that your mood and attitude can have is very huge and I'm starting to see what kind of impact it can have on me and those surrounding me.
"I guess it's hard for people who are so used to things the way they are - even if they're bad - to change. 'Cause they kind of give up. And when they do, everybody kind of loses."
I found this quote and its by Trevor McKenney, the boy from the movie Pay It Forward. He was having an interview with a reporter, after what he'd been doing with pay it forward had gotten attention nationwide, and he said this about people and change. I just thought that this kinda went with my previous post about how people talk to each other. People are not used to talking to people in positive ways when stressed out, so trying to change and talk to people in a better way could be really challenging. This made me realized the other point of view and how it must be for the person talking to me. It could seem like a difficult change and many people just take the easy way out and snap at people and talk negatively to them.
So I was just thinking about how people talk to each other and how that impacts the person. I started thinking about this because of my work. I work at McDonald's restaurant and there's a lot of stressful times, and a lot of communication that needs to happen between everybody. Yesterday while at work I was getting really frustrated because of the way a few managers were talking to me. I realized that due to the way they talked to me, I didn't want to help them or go out of my way to make things better for them; I didn't want to work as hard. This got me thinking about the whole Pay It Forward thing and I started to see that I do more for the managers at work who talk to me in a better tone/way and those who don't make me feel incompetent. My attitude also changed from good to bad when I started to get frustrated from the managers, which then affects all the other workers around me. Just the way one person talks to another person can really have an effect on a lot of people.
I really believe that the way you talk to a person really changes the way they behave. Just imagine the impact something like this could have on people and all that would have to be done is just change the way you talk to people. I know from my experience at my work, that I definitely work harder for the managers who talk to me in a more positive way. This makes me think of how I talk to people and how what I say has an impact. So maybe this will help you see how what you say may have an impact too.
This blog is about the ideas Pay It Forward and Random Acts of Kindness. Both of these concepts deal with people performing acts of kindness to strangers in order to make their life better. Both try to brighten peoples day through the use of kindness. These acts can range from small things like opening up a door, sending a thank-you, or paying for someones coffee or they can be bigger like donating money to a charity, or helping a friend move into a house, etc. These acts are done in the hope that they really make an impact on the person and hopefully change their attitude on life and even pass the kindness on (by paying it forward). This blog therefore, is about these two concepts and how they are affecting my life, as well as people in other areas.
I am 21 and am currently attending Saginaw Valley State University where I am in the Nursing Program (hopefully I'll make it out of the program alive!). I'm a total book lover and also love spending time with my dog, Eddie.
Paul Levy 
Educational Credit Union in Topeka Kansas has started to get involved with the Pay It Forward concept. During their Credit Union week(Oct. 13th-16th) all of their branches gave $20 to the first 25 participants. For the $20 they want the participants to answer the question "If Educational Credit Union gave me $20 to help someone else, I would...". All the participants need to do is make a video talking about their intentions for the money then do a follow up e-mail to let the Credit Union know what actually happened. Once the e-mail is sent, the Credit Union will post each participants video onto You Tube, where people can vote for their favorite by posting a comment. The participant with the highest votes will then receive $500 for themselves as well as $500 for the charity of their choice.
