Do you believe in the notion of “paying it forward”?
While kindness to others is not new, the Pay It Forward Effect began as a campaign in the United States in 2018 – there’s a website so it must be true! It was based on the idea that there was too much negativity in our world. The two goals of the Pay It Forward Effect campaign were:
• Look for opportunities to spread kindness to people in your community. The act of kindness can be completely random, or targeted. The size of the act doesn’t matter either, just that you did it.
• People can remain anonymous to the recipient. The movement has a numbered card that reads, “Pay it Forward.” The idea is that the good deed occurs, and the person leaves the card behind. Then the person who received the kindness can pay it forward to someone else.
You might also remember the movie called Pay It Forward. In it, Hailey Joel Osmont is a young boy who starts a pay it forward movement to make the world a better place. The idea is that one person does something good for three other people. Then each of those three people would do something good for three more people, and so on. The movie was based on a novel by the same name by Catherine Ryan Hyde.*
Ultimately, what all pay it forward movements have in common is the domino-like effect of spreading kindness and good deeds in a ripple effect. The idea that kindness begets kindness is a grassroots effort to improve lives. It’s a philosophy that Women’s Network Australia embraces and encourages. And it works – at many levels. I’d like to thank the many WNA Members who have being paying it forward this year. Our Network is strengthened by these efforts.
Building gratitude with the idea of paying it forward can make you and your team feel good about the work you do. It’s an excellent way to improve corporate culture. And you might find it also pays dividends for your business bottom line too.
This morning I’ll by paying it forward for WNA by joining Member and former Australian Cricket Captain Jodie Purves (Fields) to present our sponsorship of the 2022 Young Cricketer Development Scholarship to Maryborough’s Grace Collins. Grace is a young player with immense talent. More importantly, she demonstrates leadership and commitment to her education and through her conduct off the field. Keep an eye on the WNA social media channels for more news on this.
Pictured: Jodie Purves (Former Australian Cricket Captain), Grace Collins (Scholarship Recipient) and David Goffage (Queensland Cricket)