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That is such a wonderful story thank you so much for sharing!! Of course it made me bawl my eyes out but in a good way! :)
Originally Posted by crashnquilt
I am a firm believer in PAY IT FORWARD and WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND.
It was raining very hard one day. I saw a woman and child walking down the road. I stopped and asked if she needed a ride. She got in with her daughter and was told she was going to the Woman's shelter. She really did look worse for the wear and the daughter wasn't much better. When we arrived, I could almost hear her relief. Before she got out I gave her $100 bill. She asked me for my name so she could pay me back. I said, "No, just don't let this be in vain. If ever you find someone else that needs help, please, do what you can." The woman smiled and said "Pay it forward" Just a week ago, I stopped at the bank to make a deposit. (yahoo) I put my deposit in the canister and sent it on it's way. The canister came back with a two photos. One was the woman and her daughter taken about the time I had picked them up. The other was a photo of them today! I looked back at the bank and there she was waving wildly at me. I went into the bank, she came running out, gave me a huge hug while she was crying. She said to another girl, "THIS IS THE LADY I WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT!" She told me that day was a turning point for her. She said, "If someone thinks enough of me to give me this money, I'm not such a bad person afterall." She got her GED, got a BS in Business, and is buying a small home for she and her daughter. Her daughter is doing very well in school and every night she prays "Bless the lady that has the white car." Needless to say, THAT has truly MADE MY YEAR! For PAY IT FORWARD, she volunteers at the Woman's Shelter and helps other women get education and work to better themselves. BUT, she is still a single mother and loves it. |
i am just loving everyone's stories of paying it forward!! They are all special in their own way and so are all of you ladies!!
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Thanks so much for this thread. I've enjoyed reading all the stories. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't take the time or space sharing all the random acts of kindness bestowed upon me. As a result, I am constantly trying to pay it forward in any way I can. Just a smile, a hello, hold a door. These are the small things I do.
One story: I was just out of college and going to Texas to visit friends on vacation. I was broke when I left so my Mom gave me her gas credit card for the trip. What I didn't know when I left was that that particular card was only good at certain gas stations. On my way back to Arkansas I ran out of gas still in Texas just before the Oklahoma border. A total stranger gave me money for gas to make it to the next state where I could use the card. Thanks to that person I made it home safely. He wouldn't give me his name and address to repay him. I've tried to pay it forward ever since. Next story: A very similar situation happened while I was still in college. My siblings and I were going to CA to meet our father for the first time. Long story short, I lost (not really, my sister stole) all my money for the return trip. When we arrived at the airport we didn't have the money to get my car out of long term parking. We were more than 2 hrs away from home. A taxi driver offered to drive us, but that would have cost too much. Jokingly, I asked him to loan me the money to get my car out and to my surprise he gave it to me. I got his name and address and returned the money with a bonus and a nice note to let him know I would pay it forward since he was so kind to me, a total stranger. I've been trying to pay it forward ever since. Just such a small act of kindness could be all it takes to change a persons life. You just never know another persons situation and by being kind, saying something nice, or sharing a couple of dollars is all it takes to turn someone around. Problem is: You never know how much of an impact you have on them. I know how much it's made a difference in my life, so I can only hope my acts of kindness have affected others in the same way. That's why I won't stop paying it forward. Even though most of the time I won't know what impact I had, I know I had some kind of impact. |
Originally Posted by crashnquilt
I am a firm believer in PAY IT FORWARD and WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND.
It was raining very hard one day. I saw a woman and child walking down the road. I stopped and asked if she needed a ride. She got in with her daughter and was told she was going to the Woman's shelter. She really did look worse for the wear and the daughter wasn't much better. When we arrived, I could almost hear her relief. Before she got out I gave her $100 bill. She asked me for my name so she could pay me back. I said, "No, just don't let this be in vain. If ever you find someone else that needs help, please, do what you can." The woman smiled and said "Pay it forward" Just a week ago, I stopped at the bank to make a deposit. (yahoo) I put my deposit in the canister and sent it on it's way. The canister came back with a two photos. One was the woman and her daughter taken about the time I had picked them up. The other was a photo of them today! I looked back at the bank and there she was waving wildly at me. I went into the bank, she came running out, gave me a huge hug while she was crying. She said to another girl, "THIS IS THE LADY I WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT!" She told me that day was a turning point for her. She said, "If someone thinks enough of me to give me this money, I'm not such a bad person afterall." She got her GED, got a BS in Business, and is buying a small home for she and her daughter. Her daughter is doing very well in school and every night she prays "Bless the lady that has the white car." Needless to say, THAT has truly MADE MY YEAR! For PAY IT FORWARD, she volunteers at the Woman's Shelter and helps other women get education and work to better themselves. BUT, she is still a single mother and loves it. |
Where I work we have temps come in once a year to help count inventory. Last fall one girl just really impressed us. She later got a job (still through a temporary agency) where my daughter works. My daughter just thinks the world of her and said she is one hard worker. She and her husband had recently moved here and they had no family here and didn't know anyone. About two weeks before Christmas, her husband was laid off. They have two small children. My boss and I both put $100 in an envelope with her name on it, and took it to the temporary agency that she works for. (I taught Sunday School with the owner for years, and knew she would get it the one it was for.) I told them not to tell her where the money came from. That was the best Christmas present I could have gotten.
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Originally Posted by Ninnie
easy ways to "pay it forward" is to pay for the car behind you when going through a toll booth, or pay for someones coffee who is inline. There are lots of small ways to pay it forward. it doesn't have to be anything big.
even the subway is over $2 :roll: . |
Wow, I have just sat and read all 8 pages of comments on Pay It Forward and I have to tell you my heart is really feeling the love. I have cried through the stories and even admired the wonderful acts of kindness. I guess it cannot be said enough what a great bunch we are here on this Board.
I,too have tried to pay it forward and just received a PM yesterday from someone I sent some scraps to. I appreciate the fact that she let me know she recived them and thanked me. I am so glad she will be able to use them. it made me feel good to help. I sent a package to another person but have never heard back whether it was received. I will have to track it down.I have tried to teach my children the importance of Paying It Forward and so far have not been disappointed. |
I was in one of our local grocery stores, checking out, the man in front of me looked homeless, he was buying some cat food, 2 yogurts and some veges and fruit. Well, he didn't have enough to pay for it, and the clerk was treating him really bad, which no one deserves, so to make a long story short I paid the left over bill for him. On the way howe I was almost in a really bad 6 car accident, I think some one paid it forward for me. I have never seen that guy agsin, I guess he was transient.
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On this board I have both paid it forward and have been paid forward, This is the most heartwarming site I have ever seen! When I was working I sent a lot of packages out now that I am laid off it is wonderful to receive that package in the mail.
It is so hard to say a proper Thanks to the great people on here as Thank you sounds so lame!! WE need to come up with a new term as it truly melted my heart each time I received something from a board member. When my granddaughter learned to quilt she was showered with squishey's and the smile on her face could not be properly conveyed to the people that sent her things. You guys are the greatest in the whole world!! |
I also am a nurse. Last week one of our young nurse techs who is a poor nursing student got word from her older sister that her mom now had mets to the liver and she should come home to Chicago immediately. I was able to give her the money she didn't have so she could fly home. She didn't want to take it and like many of you I told her, let me have this opportunity to do something for you and someday just "pay it forward". Every time the occasion happens when I am able to help someone else, it makes me feel as if I am the one who has received a special gift. Is that how ya'll feel?
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