The Philanthropic Family

Backward? Don’t you mean forward? Nope, pay it backward, like buying a cup of coffee for the guy in line behind you.  This is the concept behind the Pay it Backward day on April 4th, 2009 in Toronto.  Organized by The Daily Challenge, the idea is to get the world’s longest string of participants in this organized act of kindness.

They need more than 490 people in line at the Second Cup coffee joint, 307 Queen Street West in Toronto in order to break the record.  And Second Cup has agreed to donate all the proceeds from the event to the SickKids Foundation, so that a $3 cup of coffee equals a $3 donation to Sick Kids.  According to their web site, ”SickKids Foundation invests $4 million annually across Canada in pediatric research, focusing on issues important to children’s health which have not been addressed elsewhere.”

A Word from the Sponsor

The Daily Challenge is a site that asks us all to commit to one act of kindness each day, and provides ideas and inspiration for doing so, along with a community of like-minded do-gooders:  ”Small daily acts of kindness inspired and proliferated through the community around you.”  You can join the community and select from a whole range of “challenges” that are simple but meaningful ways to “be the change you wish to see in the world.”  A few examples:

• Pay a heartfelt compliment to a stranger
• Spend some time to learn about a culture different from your own
• Give up your seat on the bus or train to an elderly person, pregnant woman or any adult with a child.
• Donate Blood
• Support your local entrepreneurs by trying a local restaurant instead of a chain

With over 900 “Daily Challenges” already on the site and more added by community members every day, the inspiration for random acts of kindness is sure to start appearing everywhere.

Tags: charity, pay it backward, pay it forward, random acts of kindness, The Daily Challenge

This entry was posted on April 4, 2009 at 9:02 am and is filed under Giving Money, Great Nonprofits, Raising Money. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.