Aindrea's Pay it Forward

Part 1:

Paying it forward is when one person does a simple act of kindness for three people. The people that received the act of kindness will then pay it forward by doing an act of kindness for three other people and so on. A chain of people doing an act of kindness begins.

Part 2:

What was your Pay It Forward act of kindness?

My act of kindness was giving toys and candy to kids that go to my church.

Why did you choose this activity? 

I chose to do this act because my church is something very close to my heart (as cheesy as that sounds) I wanted to give something to my church but I didn't know what. My mom gave me the idea of giving toys and candy to the little kids after their lesson.  

Who did you help?

I made the kids happier since they never expected anything after their lesson, so the treats and gifts became their reward for that day's lesson.

When did you do you act of kindness?

We bought the toys on January 4th and also wrapped them up on the 4th. I gave them to the kids on January 5th.

Part 3:

How did your act of kindness go?

My act of kindness went well. It was really fun and it made both the kids and myself smile.

What Happened?

My mom asked their teacher if I could hand out my treats and gifts for the kids and I waited for them to finish what they were doing at the time. I then came in to their room and explained to them why I was giving them gifts. I finished by handing out the gifts and candy. The candy was surprisingly shared throughout the whole church. (Even our pastor was eating candy.)

How did you feel?

I felt quite happy since the kids were smiling more than usual and the adults were walking around with gummy worms in their mouths. It was really funny to watch.

How did the person or people react?

The kids were kind confused since Christmas already passed and I was giving them presents, but after I explained they played with their toys and ate candy. Their teacher asked why I was doing such a random thing and I explained why. After I finished explaining she looked like she liked the idea of "paying it forward".

Did you ask the person or people to "Pay It Forward"?

I actually forgot to tell them to "Pay it Forward" so after their class when they were waiting for the church service to finish, I went up to them and asked them to "Pay it Forward"

How did they react to your request?

Some of the kids said "What does that mean again?" and I explained to them what it meant. Others smiled and agreed.

Part 4:

Why is the idea of "Pay it Forward" important?

It is important because one simple act of kindness becomes one big change. Paying it forward is different because you aren't doing a nice gesture because you have to, but because you want to. After someone has paid it forward they didn't force others to do it but simply said "Pay it forward." It's an easy thing to follow, so the ripple effect moves quite quickly. 

Has your act of kindness made a difference?

All my act of kindness did was made little kids aware of Pay it Forward and put smiles on their faces. Some may count that as making a difference while others don't. To me it is because now they'll have the idea of paying it forward even though they're still young.