I was watching the news yesterday and heard about a local challange to Pay-It-Forward. It’s not a new concept by any means.
Pay It Foward, as a movement, really became an inspired community effort from a novel written by Catherine Ryan Hyde, which later released as a movie. If you haven’t seen the movie, ya gotta go get it now!
Apparently, back in November (2006), Oprah handed out $1000 debit cards to her 300 person audience with the challange to pay-it-foward. This single deed inspired hundreds to reach out and do good for others. Not only did the individuals in the audience come through.. but the story has since been told across the nation.
Now, my own local channel 4 news is challanging viewers to participate. They are asking that viewers submit an idea of how they’d pay-it-forward if they were given $1000. 5 of the submissions will be picked and individuals will each recieve $1000 to again… pay-it-forward.
So, anyway, this got me thinking…
What could I do?
What would you do?
What have I done… and what can I continue to do?
Here’s what I have done this year…I run a very small cafePress store, Design for a Cause, which currently offers 5 different original designs. Each focuses on a specific cause with 100% of my commissions being donated to related charities.
In addition, I have a number of additional designs scattered throughout other shops… donating a portion of the commission to the cause they represent (most all currently focus on Breast Cancer).
Some of the designs I donate with…
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I have to admit…
It’s very inspiring and uplifting to know that although I may not be able to donate time nor money out of pocket all the time… I can create something, offer it to someone else and between us, we can make a difference somewhere.
Isn’t that what it’s all about? Standing up and not only doing something.. but taking someone else’s hand and working together?
How many of Oprah’s audience members could have offered the support they did, without Oprah’s generation help? Sometimes helping does take money… and sometimes it just takes some time…
Either way, it always takes some effort and a bit of a warm heart.
Now I asked before… what can you do? I challange everryone who reads this, to stop for a moment and think of how you too can pay-it-forward!
Tell me about your ideas.. I’m all eyeballs.
😀 -jgoode
More info…
CBS’s Channel 4 Denver: Pay it forward Colorado
Pay It Foward, the movie – reallly inspiring, go rent it!
Pay it forward movement – message from Catherine Ryan Hyde
[tags] pass-it-forward,charity,donation,jgoode,oprah,giving,tuesdays topic[/tags]