If someone pays you an act of kindness, then someone deserves an act of kindness from you without asking for anything in return. The kindness can be returned to the person who was kind to you, or to someone else, known or unknown to you. Neither the giver nor the receiver needs to know each other – it can be a random act of kindness. It does not necessarily involve money – it can involve giving time to help someone in need.
The global Pay it Forward Day this year will be held on Thursday, April 26.
The global Pay it Forward Day this year will be held on Thursday, April 26.
Last year, participants paid it forward in 35 countries. This year the aim is to inspire over three million acts of kindness around the world. Acts of kindness can include helping a neighbour, tidying the landing of your neighbour’s apartment, taking a cake to someone at work, buying someone’s coffee, helping a person carry their groceries, baby-sitting for a friend, and so on. The idea is to make a positive difference in someone’s life and for it to have a ripple effect of good deeds.
The idea originated from Catherine Ryan Hyde’s book “Pay It Forward” which was made into a movie in 2000 (starring Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment, and Jay Mohr). It embodies the power of giving – one good deed at a time.
Ideally, good deeds should be undertaken every day. Pay it Forward Day is a reminder of the positive energy associated when people give to others without expectation of receiving anything in return, just because it makes the world a little bit better – at the community level.
It's so encouraging that people are still enthusiastic about the pay it forward initiative!
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