COLUMN: Paying it forward Facebook style
The latest trend in Facebook challenges is rooted in literature, and may be one of the best chances of doing lasting good in the new year.
As some of you may have noticed, the "Pay It Forward" initiative is making its rounds on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. While some students are probably familiar with the term "Pay It Forward," only a portion of them have watched the 2000 film of the same name. Even fewer have likely read the 1999 novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde from which the movie was adapted.
For those who are still in the dark, "Pay it Forward" follows the story of 12-year-old Trevor McKinney through a series of journal entries and flashbacks as a reporter attempts to find him. In response to a school assignment, McKinney, portrayed by the ever-adorable Haley Joel Osment in the film, conceives a simple but revolutionary plan to improve society.
According to the plan, one person must start by completing an act of kindness for three other people who, rather than pay him or her back, must pay it forward by completing the same task for three more.
'Pay It Forward' Facebook status:
"Ok, it’s the New Year and we all need as many laughs and as much banter as we can get. I'm participating in the 'Pay it Forward' initiative: The first five people who comment on this status with "I'm in" will receive an absolutely brilliant surprise from me at some point during calendar year 2015 - anything from a book, a ticket, something homemade, a postcard, absolutely any surprise!
There will be no warning and it will happen when the time is right and I find something that I believe would suit you and make you laugh. But - there's a catch. These five people must make the same offer on their Facebook status.
Once my first five have commented 'I'm in' I will forward this message to you privately, so that you can copy and paste it, and put it on your status, (don't share it) so that we can get a chain going.
Let's do more nice and loving things in 2015. Here's to a more enjoyable, friendly and banter-driven year."
It is no surprise that this heartwarming novel, which culminates in the bittersweet success of McKinney's world-changing plan, had the power to inspire people to begin using "Pay It Forward" as a guide in their own lives. What is less known is that that the slogan has an official foundation and a global movement behind it, created and founded by the novel's author.
Each year in April, Pay It Forward Day celebrates the sentiments of kindness and good will Hyde has created by encouraging people to actively pay it forward for a day. According to the website devoted to Pay It Forward Day, more than 3 million acts of kindness were committed in 70 countries around the world.
Imagine the results of that impact here in our local community. Paying it forward is easy and infectious, from small gestures like paying for someone's coffee or shoveling your neighbor's sidewalk to large initiatives. One pizzeria in Philadelphia allows patrons to buy $1 slices specifically for the homeless.
The variation of "Pay It Forward" now circulating the internet challenges five Facebook friends to respond with "I'm in" to a pre-scripted status to receive a surprise act of kindness. In order to collect your gift, you must first make good by re-posting the status and offering to pay it forward yourself.
Pay It Forward Day isn't until April 30 this year, but participating in this initiative would be a great way to warm up for it. Thinking about how many lives were touched last year in just one day, how can one resist the opportunity to make that type of kindness last the whole year through?
It's enough for me. The enduring effects of your kindness and the sheer numbers it will reach are exactly why the "Pay It Forward" initiative is the only challenge you need to take in 2015.
