Posts Tagged: "pay it forward"

Rock Painting Kit

- - $20 or Less, Kids

My son and I were shopping at an outdoor mall when he found a piece of “treasure.”

rock-painting-gift-kids-giftHe held it in the palm of his little hand. The look on his excited and eager face said, “Can I keep it?”

He showed me a smooth, round rock painted red with blue polkadots and a large pink heart.

Painted on the back were the words, “Facebook Frogville Rocks #FrogvilleRocks.”

I explained to my son that someone must have wanted him to find the rock and that the person wanted us to visit their Facebook page.

Spread Joy With Rock Painting

I was intrigued myself! We visited the Frogville Rocks Facebook group and this is what it said:

This group was created as a simple way to have fun and share some random acts of kindness by sharing a little piece of artwork. We encourage this random act of kindness through painting rocks and hiding them for others to find.

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Honor Someone With a Charitable Gift of Purpose

A local charity I support, Sunbeam Family Services, offers meaningful holiday gifts with purpose. They’re perfect if someone you know has everything and doesn’t need any material things.

By purchasing one of their gifts, a person honors the gift recipient while donating to a worthy cause. It’s a gift you can both feel good about!charitable-gift-purpose-donation-thoughtful-gift

The charity offers a wide variety of gifts at a range of prices that support different programs for the needy. Other charities sell similar “gifts” that fund their own cause.

For $15 you can buy school lunches. For $75 you can purchase a backpack filled with school supplies. For $30 you can purchase meals for homeless seniors. For $50 you can provide shelter for one homeless senior. For $500 you can provide shelter for 10 seniors.

By giving friends and family gifts that have a positive social impact, you’ll be making a difference in people’s lives.  Continue Reading

Pay It Forward Baby Shower

- - Baby Shower

With your first baby, you feel like you need every baby gear that exists. You’ll register for anything that could make your life and baby’s life easier. Baby wipe warmer. Check!

pay-it-forward-baby-shower-gift

As you prepare for your second baby’s arrival, you may realize you don’t need many baby items, especially if you’re having your second boy or second girl. You may not even need diapers if you cloth diapered your first child.

You may opt for a baby sprinkle, a smaller version of a baby shower, or decide you don’t need even that.

But what if a friend, family or co-worker insists on throwing you a baby shower to celebrate your second (or third or fourth) baby’s arrival and you’re not in need of baby items?

The answer is a Pay It Forward Baby Shower.

This type of baby shower honors you and your baby but the gifts people bring benefit an expectant mother in need.

The baby gifts could be donated to a low-income mom, a single mom, a teen mom, or a local non-profit organization dedicated to providing babies with life’s basic necessities.

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The Giving Plate | A Heartwarming Tradition

No one likes to show up to a social gathering empty handed. After all, the more food the merrier!

Make a lasting impression by giving the host or hostess a gift called “The Giving Plate.”

The heartwarming tradition of The Giving Plate is that you bake a treat and present it to someone on the plate. The recipient could be a friend, family member, church member, neighbor, teacher or co-worker. Once the treat is gone, it’s time for the gift recipient to pay it forward by passing The Giving Plate to someone new.

giving-plate-gift-pay-it-forward-tradition

The Giving Plate makes for an especially touching gift during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

You can find a variety of styles of The Giving Plate on Amazon.com or you can find other designs on Etsy.com. If you’re artsy, you can make your own using food-safe porcelain markers or paint pens on a blank plate or platter.

The Giving Plate I like contains this special message that explains the tradition in a beautiful poem.

The Giving Plate

This plate belongs to everyone
wherever it may go… with each new sharing
of its gift, the love and blessings grow,
So fill it up and pass it on to
family and to friends… to start
the circle one more time,
love’s journey never ends.

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A Minion Laughs | Get Well Gift

- - Get Well

I hate that six-letter word. Cancer.

minion-laughing-action-figure-get-well-gift

Laughter is the best medicine.

It never comes alone. It always brings its ugly friends – Fear, Anxiety, and Pain.

We can’t help but ask God, “Why??”

When someone we care about finds out they have cancer or some other major health issue, we may struggle to find the right words to say or the right thing to do that might provide comfort and hope to their situation.

I’ve found that one of the best things you can do for someone who is sick or ill is to make them laugh. Laughter is the best medicine, and it’s completely natural with no nasty side effects!

When Queen Darlene finished her radiation treatments for breast cancer, I gave her a gift to celebrate. What thoughtful gift did I get her? I gave her a kids toy. But not just any toy – a Despicable Me Minion Stuart Laughing Action Figure.

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Top 5 Gift Ideas Blowing Up on Pinterest

- - Catch All

The Pinterest votes are in! Drum roll please…

We’re so excited to share our Top 5 most repinned thoughtful gift ideas on Pinterest! Any of these popular gifts will make someone in your life feel very special. Happy gifting!

1) Easy Peasy Birthday Money Box

birthday money box

2) 18 Things I Wish I Had Known at 18

words of wisdom book

3) Lottery Ticket Bouquet

bouquet made of 40 lottery tickets

 

4) Jesus Candy Cane Poem

Candy Cane Gift Idea for the Elderly

5) Random Acts of Kindness for Your Own or Someone Else’s Birthday

pay it forward popcorn taped to Redbox machine

Pay It Forward Idea – Tape a package of microwaveable popcorn to a Redbox machine along with a note!

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72 Employees Surprise Pizza Delivery Guy With Tip of a Lifetime

- - Business, Experiences

This is a story of how small acts of kindness can change someone’s life in an enormous way.

random-act-of-kindness-pizza-delivery-guyDuring a company retreat of Wymer Brownlee, a financial firm based in Enid, Oklahoma, its CEO Kyle Brownlee asked his employees if they wanted to participate in a random act of kindness by expressing their gratitude to the pizza delivery guy who would be arriving at lunch. Together they could give him words of encouragement and appreciation and the tip of a lifetime.

All 72 employees agreed this was a great idea.

They spent part of their morning writing positive messages to this man they had never met before letting him know that he was important and that his job mattered. Then they pooled their cash together. Those who didn’t carry cash made trips to the ATM just so they could contribute.

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25 Ways to Pay It Forward| Random Acts of Kindness

The idea behind “pay it forward” is that everyone can make a difference in the life of someone else. When you pay it forward, you make an effort to positively impact a person’s life through a random act of kindness and love.

laundry detergent in laundromat

Leave a container of laundry detergent at a laundromat with a note saying, “Feel free to use!”

Last week, I wrote about my friend Erin who wanted to inspire 34 pay it forward random acts of kindness in celebration of her 34th birthday. In case you were inspired to do the same thing, I thought I’d share with you some ideas of what you could do.

  • Buy a movie ticket for the person behind you in line
  • Send a card to someone in the military overseas
  • Put something you no longer need on Craigslist.org for free
  • Tape a bag of microwaveable popcorn to a Redbox machine with a note saying “Enjoy some popcorn with your movie!”
  • Drop off a toy or game at a children’s hospital
  • Buy a lottery ticket and give it to a stranger
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Random Acts of Kindness for Your Own or Someone Else’s Birthday

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUw92wHDbSk&feature=youtu.be

When my friend Erin turned 34 years old, she posted the following message on Facebook:

pay it forward popcorn taped to Redbox machine

Pay It Forward Idea – Tape a package of microwaveable popcorn to a Redbox machine along with a note!

Friends and family – I am on a quest to complete 34 random acts of kindness today in honor of my birthday… will you help? Pretty please!?

It can be as simple as buying the order of the person in the drive through behind you, helping someone load their groceries in the car or taping quarters to the candy machines at the mall. It can be done at anytime and anywhere!

And if you wouldn’t mind sharing with me (send me a text, give me a call, post it on my Facebook wall), I would love nothing else on my birthday than to hear about all the nice things being done for others! I am starting today with volunteering at the Oklahoma City Regional Food Bank until noon if anyone would like to come and join!

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