Pay It Forward photo by flickr/tangenghui
It’s great to read a story about something and/or someone who makes a difference in peoples’ lives. So many individuals are more caught up in their favorite team’s stats than are caught up with the needs of others around them.
There is something truly magical about giving; especially when the recipient has no idea that you gave it to them. I love it when people choose to do things like Secret Santa in their workplace or among their own families; it is a lot of fun. Try it sometime!
The following story reminds me of the great television commercial about an insurance company…can’t recall which one it is, but you see someone watching another person doing something nice, then that person who witnessed the act of kindness does the same for another person, etc., creating a chain of helpful acts that the original “giver” becomes the beneficiary of. In other words, if you sow kindness into others’ lives, you will reap it in your own.
Doc Compton has learned that it truly is “more blessed to give than to receive.” The McKinney, Texas man wants others to share in that experience too.
He stuffed 100 envelopes with a dollar and a note telling the recipient to keep the money if they needed it, or to follow his lead by adding to it and giving it to someone else. He then passed out the envelopes to complete strangers both in McKinney and at the Dallas Arboretum. That act of kindness and faith in humankind has prompted others to contact him with the desire to do the same thing where they live.
He even started a website called NeeditKeepit.org and a Facebook Page as well. One individual, Tonya, said “Think of how awesome it would be if we could have the entire state of Texas ‘Paying it forward. ”
What gave Doc the idea? He said, “I was going to a convenience store and saw a couple of people who were clearly down on their luck, and I walked up and gave them the cash in my wallet. It was $10.00. I said, ‘Have lunch on me.’”
He said, “I was overwhelmed after I did that with how amazing that felt, knowing that I changed their day and maybe restored their faith in human nature.”
“There are so many things that go viral, so many inane things with no social impact,” said Doc. “I thought, ‘What if we could make something like this go viral and get big and in so doing change some people?’ It’s not about the money; it’s not about whose hands the money ultimately lands in. It’s about the hands along the way that get to experience the gift of giving.”
One couple blessed by their efforts on Sunday said they found comfort in the gift.
Both Tracy Bruce and her husband Darrell were laid off in 2009. Tracy said that she’d found a part time job, but her husband is still unemployed and looking.
They were discussing their finances as they traveled to Towne Lake Park for a Sunday picnic with their young daughters, about the fact that they have enough money in the bank for one more house payment. The couple was deeply affected by Doc Compton’s kindness.
“I was just shocked,” said Bruce. “The first thing out of his mouth was, ‘I want to give you money with no strings attached.’ Before I even opened it, I had tears in my eyes.”
They decided to keep the dollar and when they can, they will add to it and “pay it forward.”
“We felt like this was our sign from God that he was going to take care of us and everything was going to be OK,” said Tracy.
It doesn’t take a lot to make a big difference. Even a smile and a kind comment to someone you meet in a store, on the street or on the train, can affect them in a positive way and leave you feeling good about your efforts!
Why not take the time, right now, to check out needitkeepit.org and/or the facebook page and start getting greedy about giving. I’m warning you right now…it’s addictive!
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