Pay it forward...and Win a Venator Survival Kit!
I was at the post office today, in line for the self-service automatic postal service machine, and I got to talking to the woman behind me.She was holding a big box, and this was the second time she'd been at the crazy post office that morning, she told me, because the first time she came in with the box, they'd sent her back home to cover it up--it was a carton that had shipped beer (Bell's Oberon, in case you're interested), and she couldn't ship the box as it was. So she had to go home and repackage everything, and then come back.
Anyway, we got to talking and I had about seven things I had to mail, and there was a man in front of us who was holding a nine-month old baby under his arm, and with his other, he was processing probably 10 different packages one-handed (doing really, well, too). So I told the woman behind me that she could go ahead of me since I wasn't really in a hurry...and of course, she was very appreciative.
And that got me to thinking about the whole "Pay it Forward" movement. This is the perfect time of year to Pay it Forward--everyone is so stressed out, in such a hurry, and so focused while we try to get things done to make our holiday perfect, that sometimes we forget about little courtesies.
So I'm going to challenge you all--even you lurkers who don't post here (I know you're there) to do one kind, unexpected, unncessary thing for someone else this week. Pay it Forward.
And then, post here in the comments section (I'll keep this post open until Friday night at midnight EST) about your "good deed."
For every good deed you post in the comments section, you'll be entered in a drawing to win a Venator Survival Kit in honor of the countdown to the release of The Rest Falls Away!
What is a Venator Survival Kit? you ask.
It will include:
- a stake
- a vis bulla (every Venator must have one...that tiny silver cross you see in the picture)
- a Born Venator t-shirt (your choice of size and style [eg, fitted/baby-doll, regular, or tank])
- an autographed copy of The Rest Falls Away
Right.
So, you have several chances to win:
1) Link to this post by putting the Pay it Forward icon on your blog with a link (and then add your link below)
2) Do a good deed and tell us about it in the comments section. (If you do two good deeds, write two comments. If you do three...)
So...have at it. I'll draw a winner on Saturday December 9th!
Colleen Gleason stepped onstage at 12/04/2006 12:06:00 PM
66 Comments:
First good deed of the week...I held the door open for someone with a mountain of things to carry :)
I just put the contest icon and link under the About Me section on my blog sidebar :)
Actually I changed the location of the icon and link, putting it in a post, for better visibility :)
Sweet idea (and the prize looks great too!)
I'll have to post a link to this tomorrow..
though I'm hoping to get a copy of the book anyway... :)
What a great contest, Colleen. I've posted a link and will post a good deed or two as well.
Today, I helped entertain and calm a crying baby at Walmart so her stressed mother could load her cart and pay for her items. She was thankful, but I think I got the better end of the deal. Her baby was a doll with a cute giggle.
I'll post a link in my blog tonight for you, Colleen.
Let's see ~ I let a lady go in front of me at Walmart. This poor old woman had 2 things in her shopping cart ~ the lines were as per usual this time of year. I could not believe that anyone wouldn't let her go in front of them. So, friend and I had two carts full of things (we're getting ready for a big bake-off) so I actually went and got her and walked her back to our line so she could go in front of us. I mean ~ she had two items; we had two carts. It's really a no-brainer, isn't it?
Great idea! The kind deed I did today was to carry a load of personnel files downstairs to HR for one of the directors at my work who is not in my area. I thought that she deserved a break (we're in the middle of a big audit), so I took this duty off her hands.
I don't know if this really counts as a good deed or not, but here goes..
My hubby returned to work this morning after being home four months due to back surgery. Now.. I suffer from panic attacks and having him home all that time was so reassuring to me. I know he was nervous about returning to work. I put aside my own fears of being home alone and focused on him.. trying to make him feel ok about leaving.
Am posting about this on my blog, too.
I'm letting a friend stay over at my house Wednesday night. She has to be at the airport early the next morning, and she lives over an hour away. It'll be a bit of an incovenience for me, since I'm having a cousin stay with me the next night. I'll be tight on time to wash the sheets and tidy up before the next guest, since I have to work all day! But she's a sweet girl, I couldn't say no.
As much as I can't stand humanity most of the time it never fails to surprise me that I'm always doing something or other for strangers. Of course that's because it' easy to do stuff for people that are in need. lol.
#1 - gave a jacket away to a boy selling something on the street. Actually did this with mom since we drove by and saw said boy and figured he needed a jacket.
#2 gave money to a friend who barely had so she could pay her rent and buy some food. Also gave said friend tons of food. No, we are not rich, trust me on that, but man did she need it way more than we did. The woman had nothing to eat and wasn't getting paid for two whole weeks! Sad.
#3 saved a stray...but we always do this so I don't know if that counts. All 3 of our dogs are strays. LOL.
My good neighbour and friend recently lost her long time best friend. About a week after the funeral, while she was trying to cope with that loss, she received news that her Mother had gone missing. Soon after, she received news that her Mother killed herself. She told me yesterday, at the mail box....the two of us standing there, me comforting her as she sobbed.
She needs some serious healing right now, and I know that material things won't do it, but I am going to bring her a poinsetta, and hope that somewhere in herself she can find a comforting place.
Love the idea, Colleen, and have added a button on both my blogs.
My local Curves is collecting Toys for Tots, so i'm taking in a toy when I work out tomorrow.
#2 ~ I donated to the Salvation Army last night when I was shopping.
#3 ~ I put the rubber divider (What is that thing called anyway?) behind my groceries so that the person in line behind me could start unloading their stash.
Ok. Last night I posted a link and comment on my blog for Pay It Forward. I think this is a wonderful idea to get us all in the spirit. Contest or not. :)
Ok I don't know yet if it worked but I tried to put this on my blog
Pay it Forward, yesterday I was Christmas shopping with my 21 yo old daughter and we wear talking about some of her friends with kids. Now I'm an adopted grandma to a 3yo little boy whom I adore so kids are a weakness of mine. Well a couple of her friends don't make much and have babies and toddlers so I bought clothes for all of them. People in my life did it for me when I was broke so I can do the same for them
My first deed for the day. Driving to work in a sudden snow squall and the traffic was horrendous. I was sitting in a line of traffic thinking about Paul, dogs, work and blogging when I remembered the pay it forward. I decided to let a bunch of people out of the side street in front of me. They had been sitting there trying to get onto the road for a while. The traffic behind me didn't love me but those folks did.
One good deed.
What a wonderful Idea!
The icon and link are added to my sidebar. Thx!
It worked so cool
Now I know a new thing
I backed up in the parking garage to let someone into the exit lane. ;)
Ideas like this give me hope for mankind.
What a great idea! I suppose my first good deed is to take my mother's friends son to his basketball practice because she has to work. If I get there, the weather is not making for nice driving conditions...
In any case, I will post about this on my blog today or tomorrow.
#4 ~ I coordinated a Blood Drive for my office and signed up to donate.
Today my son and I were at the grocey store and when we where leaving an ederly women we see there alot was having a problem pushing her cart so I offered to push it for her.
My 3 yr old son got a 5 dollar tip so we went to Mcdonald's I bought him a small fry and bought the person behind us lunch.
Both my son and I felt good about what we did.
I was just making him a cheese sandwich and he said he wanted to share it with our niegbor.
That made me feel even better.
(Of course when I asked him if really wanted to share his sandwich he said..
"no maybe later mama")
Great idea, this seems so appropriate for the season. Any season.
Well, my latest good deed was to hold a door open for a neighbor with heavy bags to carry. But that's just common courtesy. Must get out to do more...
Although this might be considered cruel and unusual punishment rather than paying it forward, yesterday I bought a Quick Trip hot dog for one of my co-workers as a surprise. She is in love with these things, as hard as that is to believe. She was appreciative and we all got a good laugh out of how silly it is that she loves these things.
#5 ~ I stopped to let a car into the flow of traffic during rush hour.
Posted the icon and linked to this post in my journal! Will surely have some good deeds to enter soon.
Another Day another Deed.
I let the lady with one baby and three toddlers in tow in front of me at McDonald's on my lunch "minute" even though I knew her kids would take forever deciding nugget or burger.
:)
At the libary I added money to two meters.
A young man at my workplace has just been diagnosed with leukemia. He will be off of work for several months and money will be tight for him at this time. Staff have set up a box for bringing in food items to help him out at this time. My "pay it forward" was to bring in a full bag of groceries.
There is a tree decorated with cut-paper trees that have the gender and age of a child written on them. The object is to pick one and purchase a suitable Christmas gift and add it to the collected gifts. We chose a lovely doll for a young girl 6 years old.
casswoman@duotronic.com
My daughter is in piano classes that she attends once a week. Her piano teacher is a lovely woman and my daughter just loves her. She's one of these people that talks so much she pretty much annoys any adults that happen to be around her though. The only thing that she does for income is teach piano. She doesn't have any type of contracts.
The winter time is difficult (especially in the snow and cold) to make the weekly classes. We had considered pulling our daughter from class until the Spring. Before I could talk to the piano teacher - she called me. Just two weeks ago she discovered that she has a lump in her breast and they are fast tracking her into surgery. The piano teacher was positive but I knew she was upset. She was also worried about her family. The piano classes are all she has. She was afraid that parents might pull their students if they found out she was sick.
I told her that I would continue to pay her every month - whether she was well enough to teach the class or whether or not our daughter made it to class because of the weather. The next day I sent her the pay to cover the next 5 weeks of classes.
Consideration can do so much.
Whoops! Don't know if I was supposed to link if I didn't link to you first...will do it after T13!
I waved three drivers in front of me today--in three separate places. Two of them didn't even acknowledge the courtesy, which I confess, surprised me. And after I waved in the one who did, I had to sit through a painfully long light one more time.
But I thought of this little challenge and smiled. A perfect contest for the Season!
Ok, this wasnt me, but this really struck me as something special. A friend of ours, Mrs Duck's best friend actually, offered to take our Kittie to the vet when we have to do the deed that we dont want to do, because she knows it will be very hard for us. All she said was she knows that we would do it for her. Thats above and beyond.
Can I nominate my mom, since you know her fairly well also, and she's internet challenged?
Anyway, my mom drove all the way to Plymouth, MI to see my church band play 2 songs in a christmas concert and then took me and 2 of my friends out to dinner afterward at Max & Erma's. I thought that was pretty rad.
I am sending a pile of books for an older lady to read because noone should be without books and she is home alone most of the time and hopefully these won't make her so lonely :)
I dropped off a toy for our Salvation Army toy drive and made a small cash donation. I've also been making a point of spending more time with my girls.
Thanks for getting me motivated and into the Christmas spirit!!
While waiting in line I let a lady with heavy packages go first :)
I was in a car accident on Tuesday (I was rear-ended) and while I waited in the police car for my husband to come and get me, I told the police officer how much I appreciated what he does every day. He seemed to be VERY pleased with that comment.
In the grocery store a lady in one of the motorized carts dropped something she was trying to put in the basket. I quickly went over and said, "Let me get that". I rode one of those carts for a while after my knee surgery and I knew how hard it was to get have to get up and down from them.
P.S. I am putting the icon on my blog!!
I have really gotten into this idea. Trying to spread some Christmas (or holiday) Cheer. Anyways I've been a busy deed girl.
1. I had a huge box of granola bars in my cabinet. I brought them into work and left them on the counter secretly for the company next to mine to have.
2. My mother was looking for a family to help out at Christmas time. (one deed for her). A "poor" family. My daughter has a friend who qualified. I gave her name and her 3 younger brothers names to my mother and sizes. I then told the mom of the friend that I entered her into a contest and she might win some free stuff for the kids. I knew she would feel bad taking a handout. My mother went along with this idea and the kids are going to have an even better Christmas now.
I try to live my life by the "paying it forward" method. ( I stay with my grams during the week- do her housecleaning and grocery shopping, I always look for opportunities to put myself second, give a secret donation of money to people I think need it over the holiday season ... things like that)
In fact I encourage my bf to do the same, (he wasn't raised to think like that as I was), and jus the other week he surprised me. He had this old truck he decided to get rid of. One night a man stopped by his house seeing the for sale sign. The man was from a slovic country, and had left his country to avoid being forced into the army once again- he was brutalized that last time he was forced to serve. (BF said his nose had obviously been broken and his some of his fingers were at odd angles.) Anyway, the man had very little money, and was about to leave after hearing bf's asking price. I guess bf has been listening to me- he sold the guy the truck for $60. (I'm so proud of him!)
Despite that, you've challenged me to go beyond!
i can't wait to see what I can do to pay it forward this year!
I have me husband getting the act too.lol His Boy Scout troop went out in the cold last night and haned out Hot coco and cookies, with no planning for no reason. I'm a proud wife.
Oh i almost forget I made lunch for work (20) ladies..just soup, salad and cookies but they loved it. I try to do this once a season cause i know how hard they work.
There was a lady in front of me in the supermarket and she was short ten dollars so as she went to go put something back, i gave the cashier twenty bucks and told her not to tell the lady i had done it. The woman was very grateful and never found out it was me :)
I drove behind a slow car, reminding myself patience is always useful, while everyone else was passing the poor thing on the left side of the road *it was just a lil two laner in the middle of nowhere* i hate having cars pass me at rapid speeds so i thought i'd give the lady, erm or man for all i could tell, a brake (haha)
I LOVE pay it forward - what an awesome idea! Thursday nights I volunteer at the hospital - surgery wing. Tonight I stayed an extra couple hours to help out.
Hope to get the 'thingy' (kinda brain dead here tonight) on my blog tomorrow.
Tuesday night I was at Wal-Mart, & I always offer someone behind me "up fronts"...the guy didn't take it, but thanked me & let me know he appreciated the offer!
I don't comment on everyone's blogs I read, but when they make me feel good, I always make sure I do. I love it when someone tells ME I made them feel good - I hope they feel the same.
1) I took the day off of work tomorrow, even though I'd already taken off a day this week, because my mom is having a root canal; even though she said I didn't have to, that she would go alone, I took off anyway because I don't want her to have to go alone.
2) Tonight, at the grocery store, I let my grandmother and little brother sit in the warm car while I loaded the groceries--in the freezing cold. In the freezing, WINDY cold.
3) I posted a link to the contest on my blog. :-)
I donated my kids out grown, well cared for clothes to charity instead of selling them on Ebay.
I did one thing yesterday, thinking specifically of your contest: As I was exiting the subway station, I noticed a dad on the as-yet-unpaid side while his wife and kid had already gone through. His wife was trying to tell him how to work the machine ("It doesn't take cash!), and it seemed like a stressful situation. I turned around and handed him my unlimitied Metrocard, good for unlimited rides for one day, and told him I was going home, and he could have it.
My prior to this contest good deed is picking my friends' kids up from their afterschool program and taking them to her house. Problem is, they're in Manhattan and I'm in Brooklyn, so my son and I have to truck into the city every Friday to do this--not always fun. But her husband is off getting some help for some issues, and she is stuck by herself with two kids and a taxing job. So I offered.
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I try to live like this always; it makes ME feel good, you know? This week, I donated Mom's coats to a charity (ha, I spelled it charioty first); I dropped off two toys at Toys for Tots; I plan on tipping 30% during lunch on Sunday in honor of my mother (she would've been 84 this Sunday) and I'm backing cookies this weekend as well, and taking some to the nursing home my mother lived in for the last 9 months of her life. The people who live there, as well as the nurses and staff are always happy to receive baked goods!
GREAT idea, Colleen :-)
Okay that's strange. I was signed in when I made my comments but, today, they are showing up as anonymous.
So...the first three comments are mine and so is the one dated Dec 7 at 8:44 am.
I posted your link on my blog.
These are thing I have already done and I will try to do more.
1.I was in class yesterday at college where in this class with have to read an article every class period, when after reading my article the next person did not have one. I gave her one I had extra so she would not get counted as not having her assignment. I try to be this way all the time.
2. I decorated my aunt's house for Christmas because she has no children or a husband.
3. I put my all my change from a shopping trip at Walmart, which was around $11.50 in the kettle outside the store.
4. I went with our group to give gifts out to a nearby nursing home in our city last week.
5. When I am at work at a nursing home, I always take the time to talk to the patients and ask how they are doing and what they need.
Well with over 7000 print books at home I picked out 1000+ and donated to the library and some other places this week.
And for tomorrow I'm teaching a craft class to gets and bought all the supplies myself.
We're going to make Christmas Card Holders out of Coffee cans with yarn holly berries etc.
Then the youngest daughter and I adopted 2 soldiers
I was shopping tonight in JC Penney's and had about 12 items, mostly clothing for Dad and my brother. I'd just dumped them all on the counter (they were heavy!) when a woman came up to the register. I asked her if she just had one item, she said yes, and I said "Why don't go you in front of me, then?" She was like...really??? She smiled, the clerk smiled...and I smiled, too. Thanks, Colleen, for the reminder!
The link back will be up soon.
I'm taking care of my Dad now and it reminds me how hard it was for my Mom to take care of me when I was sick... Dad recently was diagnosed by Mom that he got stroke and few other health disturbances.
Maybe it's not a good deed since it's my responsibility to take care of my own father, but anyway - I feel like playing here :)
The link back is up now and I hope you don't mind that I use my own button that any of you can use it, if you want :)
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