Pay It Forward, Canada!

My Neighbor

2009-05-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

I live in a house with 3 women. This winter was pretty brutal for us and the hired snow removal company never seemed to show up when they were needed. One day I was shoveling the walkway when my neighbor, a young high school boy, saw me struggling. He insisted in helping me and of course I said yes. I immediately thought that someone inside my house hired him to shovel the walkway. I ran inside and told both my mother and sister. They were shocked because neither had asked him to help. I was in utter disbelief that a young boy would offer to help me shovel. I ran back downstairs and saw that he was finished and had gone home. I immediately rang his doorbell and informed his mother. I told her that I wanted to give him compensation for his hard work and asked her if it was alright. She said yes. I gave him $10 and told him how special it was that he helped me in a time of need.

Honest Taxi Driver

2009-05-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

There was an excerpt in The Gazette in March about a Concordia University student that took a taxi to meet her friends for breakfast. The story was included in a section titled "Random Acts of Kindness." It stated:
"On Saturday morning I took a taxi to meet a friend for breakfast. Upon arrival at the restaurant, the taxi driver mentioned that he thought the total amount was too high and thought that he may have forgotten to clear the previous fare. I also thought the fare was high but not unusual. About 10 minutes later the taxi driver showed up at the table and stated that he checked the meter. He did overcharge the student and gave her a $5."

This taxi driver took the time to check his meter and return the $5 bill, despite the fact that the customer did not verbally question his mistake. Considering today's economic crunch, it was incredibly kind of a taxi driver to reach out to a customer.

If you witness a random act of kindness, inform The Montreal Gazette:
mtldiary@thegazette.canwest.com

TNT: Working to Fight Leukemia and Lymphoma

2009-05-04T12:32:00.000-07:00

Every 73 minutes, a Canadian is being diagnosed with a form of blood cancer. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world's largest volunteer organization dedicated to funding blood research, education, and patient services. "The LLS's mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families."

Team in Training (TNT) is both the fund raising campaign for the LLS and an endurance sports training program. TNT organizes marathons and trains participants and fundraisers to run or walk either a half or full marathon.

Team members that participate and raise the minimum amount of funds receive: a four to five month training program (includes both gorup and personal sessions), hotel accomodation, and airfare. TNT members receive motivational support while partaking in the marathons.

Since 2007, the Montreal Chapter has worked to raise funds for those suffering from Leukemia and Lymphoma. The Montreal Chapter organizes marathon's for local residents who wish to raise money for the cause. There are three marathons this year, the first is in Montreal, is on September 13th. The second is in Chicago on October 11th. The final marathon is in San Francisco on October 18th.

To find out more about TNT or the LLS you can contact the Montreal Chapter:
Montreal Chapter
1255 Universtiy, Suite #705
Montreal, QC
H3B 3W1

Kiva - Microlending with a Purpose

2009-04-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

My generation grew up seeing the Christian Children's fund commercials. The commercials always asked for viewers to call in and donate to children in impoverish countries that are in need. Though successful, those commercials are rarely seen these days because the Internet has replace them with micro-lending.

Kiva is an organization that lends money to entrepreneurs in third world countries that wish to create businesses for the purpose of being financially independent. It's mission is to alleviate poverty and connect people around the globe. Kiva is a micro-lending organization that has merged the recent "pay it forward" movement and brought it to a whole new level.

Kiva allows individuals to lend directly to entrepreneurs around the globe. As a lender, you can browse entrepreneurs profiles and choose someone who best suits your ideal profile. Loans range from 6-12 months and as a lender, you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. If you are satisfied with this process, you can then re-lend the money to someone else in need.

To do this, we are using the power of the internet to facilitate one-to-one connections that were previously prohibitively expensive. Child sponsorship has always been a high overhead business. Kiva creates a similar interpersonal connection at much lower costs due to the instant, inexpensive nature of internet delivery. The individuals featured on our website are real people who need a loan and are waiting for socially-minded individuals like you to lend them money

The Pay It Forward Game

2008-12-29T20:19:00.000-08:00

Akoha is a Montreal based website, founded in 2006 by a group of techies, that are "passionate about the power of play." This group has started a Pay It Forward Game where players accumulate points. It is a reality-based Pay It Forward Game that can be played among friends.

In order to play, each participant must recieve a card with a tracking number or order cards. If you get a card, you must login on to the website and enter your information. Upon login, the participant can view others that have played with the exact same card (i.e. how many hands it has passed through).

This game encorperates fun into fulfilling acts of kindness. Though these acts are not random, they are self-less. If you want to perform acts of kindness for your loved ones, check out the website!

The Kindness Crew

2008-12-06T19:30:00.000-08:00

A group of 4 guys from Victoria, BC started a group in 2002 called The Kindness Crew. Brad, Erik, Chris, and Val started after one of their members, Brad, lost his mother to Cancer. Brad claimed that his mother was a kind woman and he aspired to be as kind as her.

The guys got together to perform acts of kindness. In August 2002, they traveled across Canada in a motor home for 3 months performing acts of kindness. In the past, the group has been acknowledged for giving out free hugs and massages. They have been featured on CBC's Canada Now feature: Bright Lights and CTV.

Today, the group funds other projects, such as rebuilding community facilities, by speaking at schools and consulting within companies. If you are looking for a holiday gift, ask for their book: "Cool To Be Kind: Random Acts and How to Commit Them." It gives tips on how to incorporate more kindness into your life!

Teaching Life Lessions

2008-12-02T21:34:00.000-08:00

There is a teacher at the John Molson School of Business (JMSB) in Montreal, Qc that exemplifies passion. Most of this mans students consider him to be a leader. Yet, others think of him as a comedian, because he begins most of his classes with jokes. Even though this professor may seem unorthodox, he is one of the most desired marketing professors at JMSB.

The comedy is not the only reason that this professor is not ordinary, he sets goals and asks students to help accomplish the objectives. This man has been throwing parties every Christmas for the past 8 years. This is not any normal Christmas party, it's a fundraiser for needy families in the Montreal area, solely executed by the professor and his students.

In the first year, he chose to "adopt" three needy families, knowing only the number of gaurdians present, number of children, ages, and sex. Yet, he manages to provide Christmas for countless families year after year. Each fall semester he proposes his idea to his students and asks them to help by generating donations. Every year the number of last years accomplishment becomes the current years quota plus 1 (i.e. in the 7th year, 36 families were provided for and 37 is goal for the 8th year).

He once said to me: " I grew up in Verdun. I believe in giving back to your community. All of the families that I help are living in that same area." Those words impacted me and they resinated in my brain all evening.

Overall, this professor enstils life long lessions in the students that enter his classroom. There are many things that I have learnt from this one man but the most important thing is that kindness never hurts and a smile can go a long way.

A Little Change Can Go A Long Way

2008-12-02T09:38:00.000-08:00

I was just about to head to the library to study for my last final and right before I ran out the door, I happened to check my emails. I received a nice Facebook message from a friend. I have posted his story below exactly as I received it because it was a perfect example of a random act of kindness. It goes as follows:

"So after reading all your lovely examples and because I find your cause and motivation to be inspiring, I decided that I would share a story. Now this is not a straight example of a “pay it forward” situation, however it does coincide with the message and the whole concept of good deeds that beget good deeds. A certain exchange of positive energies that subsequently parallel much like the concept of Karma.

A few years back when I was at Dawson, I would constantly forget to pay my parking meter, which consequently leads to receiving parking tickets. I remember at one point I was actually averaging about 3 a month. I remember a few times when I would remember to pay the meter, I would be walking to the car, and I would see other parking meters on empty. One specific time, there was one spot with an empty meter and I saw the meter maid approaching from a distance. I decided to put in a quarter in this person’s meter because I sympathized with the unfavourable outcome of getting a ticket (at the time a quarter gave you a lot more time then it would today).

Remember now, at this time, paying for parking until 9p.m. was only on Thursday s and Fridays. So one Thursday, I had naturally forgot to pay my meter after 6p.m. Walking to my car to go home at around 8:45 I realised that I had forgotten to pay and thought that I’d undoubtedly get to my car and find a nice present on the windshield that would cost about $42. But to my surprise, the meter was full. I couldn't’t believe it. At the same time, the guy who was parked behind me came up to his car and told me I shouldn't’t forget to pay my meter. He was paying his, and saw I was on empty and decided to put some money in for me because HE saw the meter maid approaching. I didn’t know this guy at all, but he came through for me. After that, regardless if a car was next to mine, or on my way to my car, if I saw a meter that was empty, and I had an extra quarter, I would buy them more time. Because the one time I did it selflessly, it was done back to me, selflessly. Again, this isn’t heroic, and this guy didn’t do it for any type of gratification, just to help out."

An Early Christmas Gift - Vancouver, BC

2008-12-01T10:49:00.000-08:00

It seems as though Canadians on the west coast are taking part in the movement!

On Friday, an article was published in "The Province," one of the major papers in British Colombia. The article contained information about a local woman who "Paid It Forward."

Some Canadians went to dinner in Vancouver at a place called the Cactus Club (a restaurant in downtown BC where dinner can easily cost $50/person). They sat across from a nice lady who decided to Pay It Forward. She treated them to their dinner and told the waiter to inform them that it was "an early Christmas gift." When the recipients asked what they could do as compensation, they were told to "Pay It Forward."

Check out the article: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/letters/story.html?id=2a400e0b-d53d-4563-82b2-bae33a6226db

Pay It Forward Movement

2008-11-29T21:43:00.001-08:00

Hi Canada!

There has been a movement sweeping the world. The Pay It Forward Movement has gotten its name from the Movie produced in 2000 by Warner Brothers. The Movie showed how people can be influenced by random acts of kindness. Despite the current downturn in the United States economy, this movement is sweeping the country.

It is funny considering that Canadians are always seen as "the nicest people." After all, Canada welcomes in immigrants from all over the world. Yet, though we remain patriotic, we also remain modest. Canadians are fighting for the war in Iraq. We also participated raising funds after Hurricane Katrina and the attacks of 9/11. We constantly provide aid to countries in need throughout the world. But there must be something in the cold air that prevents us from providing random gestures of kindness to fellow Canadians.

The purpose of this blog is to share stories about "Paying It Forward" in Canada. Let's get on the band wagon and participate in this movement. After all, what the world needs in an economic downturn is kindness. These random acts of kindness can spread happiness, which is infectious, throughout Canada.

Please send a short blurb about things that you may see or do in order to Pay It Forward in Canada to: payitforwardcanada@gmail.com.