Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Pay It Foward Project!

I am starting the Pay it forward Project! Paying it forward is so important to so many people. The great thing about paying it forward is that it can be something small to you the giver, but be something so huge to the person receiving. You never know.

Paying it forward does not mean it has to be monetary to mean something. Holding a door for a person with a baby carriage or telling the frustrated mother with the screaming kid in the grocery store that it is okay and asking if she needs help. If you have a little extra money maybe it is paying for the elderly mans coffee in front of you.

This Pay it Forward project, for me, is to teach my kids about what it means to give to others. We have payed it forward before and It taught me and my kids a lesson.

6 Years ago, My kids and I would pass a homeless man everyday when we would drop off my husband at work. Same spot, same time, everyday.  Honestly, I would turn my nose up and look away, everyday. My kids started asking me why he holds that sign asking for money. Everyday from then on out I would look at him, first reading the sign then looking at his face. His sign said "Vietnam Vet, Homeless and Hungry". I started thinking where is man could have come from, where he has been, and where he may go. It was pretty sad. Now, I don't have a lot but I did have more than this man had. My kids asked me to give him the money I had in my pocket, which was probably $5 bucks. I could have rolled down my window, given him the money, and rolled along. But, I told them no, I was not going to give this man money. They asked me why and I told them I had something better planned. The next day I packed my husbands lunch for work and I packed my homeless mans lunch. I packed a brown bag with a ham sandwich, chips, a soda, and some snacks. My husband thought I was crazy, but I explained to him that this was going to teach our kids to be generous to others. When we rolled up to the light where he stood, I rolled down my window and handed the brown bag to him. I said, "I don't have money to give to you but here is a lunch for you to eat today".  He said "God Bless you, I will not be hungry today".  My kids felt so good that they had done something nice for him. Truth be told, I felt so good inside. Maybe, he payed it forward in someway. Maybe that brown bag lunch started some kind of chain of events that made someone else have a great day.


I want this to be something that is talked about. Kids and adults alike can learn from this project. So, for the next week, I want to hear your stories about what you, your kids, or your family have done to pay it forward.

Talk to your kids and tell them about this project. Ask them at dinner what they did to pay it forward and tell them what you did in your day to pay it forward.

This project is going to spread kindness and compassion. Remember, something small you might do can change the course of events in someone else's life!

Melanie~