A complete stranger paid $10,000 so a woman could have a liver operation that she otherwise would not have been able to afford. The donor remains anonymous to this day, but the woman who received the gift is forever grateful.
A woman in possession of airline tickets she would no longer be able to use contacted a local hospital to see if there were any families with travel needs. As a result, one family was able to travel across Australia to be with a very sick family member in hospital, a trip they wouldn’t have been able to make without her good deed.
After receiving a ten minute neck and shoulder massage, a woman left money and a Pay It Forward Day card with the masseuse so the next person could have a massage for free.
A young boy noticed a parked car was about to receive a ticket due to an expired meter. He asked his mother for change to extend the time. The young boy saved someone from receiving a $79 fine.
A man shared the experience of not being able to afford textbooks upon starting college. A generous lab technician paid for the books and refused any form of repayment. Five years years later, a friend of the man was entering college and could not afford her textbooks. The man was finally able to pay forward the act of kindness he received years before.
“It is my wildest dream that the concept of paying a favor forward instead of paying it back would take over the world and results in a cascading flood of people helping their fellow human beings. This may never come true but I believe that if just one of the people I help does the same for another person then it has made a difference to the world. I do not have a lot of money, I am not extremely gifted or intelligent, I don’t now how to make things better for everyone but if I can help anyone in some small way, whether that be opening a door for a lady who has her hands full with shopping, directing a lost tourist, informing an elderly man as to when the next bus will arrive or even just saying “thank-you” and smiling at a sales assistant who appears to have had a bad day, I know that my small favors somehow, somewhere make a difference, and that’s enough for me. Don’t pay it back – pay it forward. The world wont change, but you can.” -a post from a kindness website written by “Bree” from Australia, age 20
“Two, cute little dogs ran across the street near where I live and almost got run over. I stopped to see if I could help them find their owners. Both dogs had no collars on and no name tags and I knew if had left them there they might be run over. So I contacted my dad to help transport them to my sisters place for the evening whilst we called vets and the RSPCA to help find the owner. The following day the owner was so happy to find them and the dogs were ecstatic. I wonder how many other drivers saw the dogs who had travelled some distance and had driven straight by. It is awesome the difference we can all make if we take the time to care. Who can you pay it forward to with a random act of kindness today?” a post from the Pay It Forward Day website written by “Blake” from Sydney
After having read the book Pay It Forward, Sarah-Jayne realized that the world would be a better place if everyone did just three favors for others. Having lost her own father at the age of eight, Sarah-Jayne felt a great sense of empathy for children of a family friend who had just been widowed. Sarah-Jayne made time every day to chat with the children, talking through their fears and offering comfort. This small act of kindness not only a made a difference in the lives of the children, but it helped to ease the troubles of the mother as well. The success of Sarah-Jayne’s first good deed prompted another. Sarah-Jayne set up a counseling service at her school aimed at putting an end to bullying and reaching out to those who had been bullied. The third good deed was carried out for a neighbor, an elderly woman who was losing her sight. The woman happened to be the person who had introduced Sarah-Jayne to the book Pay it Forward. The woman was an avid and enthusiast reader, but due to her onset loss of sight, reading had become difficult. Sarah-Jayne began reading to the woman in the evenings. “I couldn’t believe at first how three small favours could help so many people and all the people I helped have promised to pay the favor forward.”A post from a kindness site written by Sarah-Jayne Wright from the U.K., age 18
“My current employment is parcel delivery for Australia Post which I do three days a week. I get to meet a lot of people because we deliver the parcels personally to each house. I had to give a parcel to an elderly couple, and somehow the wife made the comment “age before beauty” saying that I was “beauty” and she was “age”. Well I told her that I thought she was beautiful. She didn’t know what to say, and she made me repeat what I had said to make sure that she had heard it right. I could see that it had really touched her, and she told me that as you get older, the compliments you receive become less and less. She insisted on giving me a tip, and gave me a $5 dollar note. I thanked her and continued on my parcel run. I wasn’t going to do anything special with the money, but I have changed my mind. After reading some other peoples stories I have decided that I am going to buy her a flowering plant and go back and “deliver” it specially to her! And I will ask her to continue it on and do kindness to someone else.”
“I have another story I remembered. I was near the end of my parcel delivery run for the day, and I drove past an elderly gentleman who was obviously walking home from town. He was walking slowly and looked tired. I felt sorry for him, but kept on my way, driving to the next house on my run. After I had delivered this parcel, I turned up into the next street which runs up a long and quite steep hill. I noticed that this same gentleman was still walking, by now looking quite weary and puffed. I pulled over, wound my window down and asked if he would like a lift. I don’t normally do this sort of thing because I am a female. He looked most relieved and grateful. I made room for him to sit in the front seat, putting the remaining parcels in the back, and drove him to his house, right up to the front door!! I told him to have a great day, and he replied that he definitely would, now that I had made his day! But the best thing about it was that for the rest of my day, I had a great day!!!! Yes it was a little inconvenient having to rearrange the parcels twice, but seeing that look of absolute gratefulness and thanks in his face made my inconvenience seem trivial in comparison.” a post from the Pay It Forward Movement website written “Joyous” from Australia
A man named Stephen shared the story donated a kidney to his 40 year old sister whose first kidney had failed at the age of 23. Stephen’s sister paid the act forward by completing her music degree and becoming the caregiver of their grandfather until his death at age 99. Their grandfather spoke of the joyous feeling experienced by the person who carries out the act of kindness. Stephen, now homeless at the age of 65 years, still cherishes the memory of what he did for his sister and how she repaid the gift in kind to their grandfather. The memory still brings Stephen great joy and pride that he was able to extend my sister’s time on earth. “For one shining moment, God called and I answered. This gives me the strength and faith to continue my spiritual path, no matter where it may lead. I was able to pay it forward and for this I am truly thankful. May God bless you all.”
In the world we live in today, we are bombarded with advertisements for ‘things’ we can buy for ourselves. Technology has advanced so much that we can almost literally never leave the house. This culture of consumerism has the ability to bring out the worst in humans. However, there is an innate need instilled within us to seek out other humans and it is this need for connection that will save our society. Random acts of kindness have the ability to restore our faith in the love and compassion of the human spirit. Many people have discovered the happiness experienced through helping others. People who know the joy of giving tend to smile more, laugh more and show a caring spirit toward the world in general. Recipients of kindnesses are, in general, more grateful and happier people. When a person experiences an act of kindness, there is a great likelihood of that kindness being paid forward, however great or small. Doing just three good deeds for others creates an ongoing ripple effect that has a huge positive impact on society.
Stories found on PayItForwardDay.com
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