Monday, September 11, 2006

The Story of Pay It Forward: Imagine what would happen if, on one day...

Imagine what would happen, if on one day, hundreds of people spent time and a little money helping out a stranger in Central Texas.

On the second anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, employees of Tuerff-Davis EnviroMedia Inc. did just that.

EnviroMedia President Kevin Tuerff started Pay It Forward (Gratitude to Gander) on the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks as a symbolic gesture of thanks to the generous Canadians who opened their homes, schools and churches to house and feed tens of thousands of stranded airline passengers trying to return home to the U.S.

Kevin was one of those stranded passengers. Although he couldn’t get home to Austin on one of the darkest days in U.S. history, the experience provided him with an opportunity to develop a bond with a caring bunch of people from Gander, Newfoundland, that he'll never forget.

On Sept. 11, 2002, Kevin asked his 20 staffers to fan out across Austin to spend a corporate contribution of $1,100 on strangers in whatever way they wanted.

Employees returned to the office late in the day to share emotional stories of how they were able to Pay it Forward with Central Texans, honoring the kindness and compassion of the people of Gander. Each year since then, the tradition has continued at EnviroMedia. It also has inspired others to start their own traditions of kindness.

The purpose of this exercise is to challenge ourselves to look at how we treat the strangers among us, and to help people realize just how far a little kindness and generosity will go. The idea behind Pay It Forward is to change the world, one favor at a time. Hopefully, every person who receives a favor will turn around and do one to another.
Posted by at 09:35:56 | Permanent Link | Comments (15) |
Comments
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1 - Two of the members from this organization just came into our office and gave 5 people in line $20.00. This is a wonderful deed and you all will truly be blessed. Our customers were in awhhhhhhhhhhhh and were so thankful.

May God bless you all. (Comment this)

Written by: Yolanda at 2006/09/11 - 11:17:30
2 - wow! great service. if more companies followed your example i'm sure this world would be a much nicer place! thanks for existing. (Comment this)

Written by: Mary at 2006/09/11 - 11:22:15
3 - My company participated in this event this year. My partner and I first went and bought craft/school supplies and an assortment of other games/toys/electronics and delivered them to CHoA. On the way out of the parking garage we gave the attendant $100 to pay for the parking of everyone behind us until the money was gone. Fun times. (Comment this)

Written by: Frederick at 2006/09/11 - 12:36:45
4 - I just filled the empty cereal shelf at our local food pantry then tossed HEB gift cards into randomly selected teacher's boxes at my kids' school. I loved the anonymity of it. Keep spreading the idea, Enviromedia. (Comment this)

Written by: Melanie at 2006/09/11 - 15:59:19
5 - The three of us went to the gift shop at the local children's hospital. Parents who go in there are always having a tough time. We helped them out by buying $50 worth of toys, food and other items for the parents who came in to buy stuff. (Comment this)

Written by: Steve, Patty and Whitney at 2006/09/11 - 18:13:14
6 - We wanted to PIF to some people who work very hard for very little money. We went to the H20 car wash on Lamar and had our car washed (not with the PIF money of course). It was a humid morning and five people wiped our car down inside and out. We gave each a $20 tip. They were very surprised, and very grateful. It immediately caused a buzz among all the hard-working car-wash employees. (Comment this)

Written by: Val & Millie at 2006/09/11 - 18:36:08
7 - My co-worker and I went to Brackenridge Hospital to Pay it forward. I spent a lot of time at Brack after my dad had a stroke so I know how stressful it can be--both for the families of patients and staff. We went to the cafeteria and gave the cashier $100 and asked her to let us buy breakfast for everyone who came through her line. People were surprised, and in some cases, even hesitant, to let a stranger buy their meal. However, once the cashier explained what was happening and showed the customer the note card explaining Pay it Forward, they were pleased. One person asked, "So now I go do something nice for a stranger?" There was a little humor in our PIF effort. The manager of the cafeteria had to come see what was going on. Apparently they monitor their cashiers by hidden camera and became suspicious when no one was paying for their meals. After we explained what we were doing, the manager was very appreciative and said she'd heard about the PIF movement. It was a nice morning and a simple way to make someone's day. It also made me realize how easy it would be to do something like this more often--pay for someone's lunch, gas or dry cleaning. PIF inspires me to be a better person and reminds me how a little kindness can make someone's day. No need to wait until 9-11. (Comment this)

Written by: Ted at 2006/09/11 - 18:39:19
8 - For Pay It Forward this year, Kyre and I chose to spend our time and money with Animal Trustees of Austin (www.animaltrustees.org), a local organization that helps lost, abused and abandoned animals and also offers affordable sterilization and wellness care services. For the cats and dogs, we donated a box full food, treats and supplies. Next, we asked The Upper Crust Bakery (www.theuppercrustbakery.com) if it would be willing to provide the center's staff and volunteers with a surprise breakfast. The bakery very generously gave us a huge box of scones, muffins and pastries to bring to the ATA. And to encourage animal owners to have their pets spayed and neutered, we paid for three procedures today, hoping it would make someone's day a little easier. (Comment this)

Written by: Adrienne & Kyre at 2006/09/11 - 19:17:19
9 - I was in NYC over the weekend and took a walking tour around Ground Zero with volunteers from Tribute WTC. Our guides included a woman who lost her cousin on 9/11/01 in the WTC (96th floor), a woman who escaped the Marriott in the WTC and a woman who was a medical volunteer on 9/11 and during the research and recovery phases. It was extremely powerful to hear their personal stories and come to understand what former Mayor meant when he said 9/11 was the worst day in NYC and 9/11 was the best day in NYC.

At the end of the tour, I was able to tell these volunteers about Kevin's experience in Gander and how the "pay it forward" movement he began in Austin was inspiring kindness amongst strangers in many places. The people were moved to tears as they learned about the ripple effect of paying it forward.

On my way out of town, I used $100 to purchase pre-paid phone cards and handed them out to folks working at the airport and flight crews preparing to fly on the eve of September 11. I respect the fact these people all have to work harder to make the skies safe for all of us and I can't imagine what kind of fears they must face to show up on 9/11 for work. (Comment this)

Written by: Sara at 2006/09/11 - 23:04:32
10 - My two Pay It Forward Partners and I went to a local bagel shop where we used our funds to anonymously pay for patrons' bagels and coffees. The manager just happened to be running the register that morning and he was glad to help in our small effort to help make the world a kinder place.

As he was ringing people up, you could tell he was enjoying telling the customers to keep their money and that someone was buying breakfast for them that morning. Some people refused the gesture, but we could also tell that a couple people were really touched. Even the staff in the shop seemed to enjoy watching people's reactions. (Comment this)

Written by: Belinda at 2006/09/12 - 14:22:42
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