Pay It Forward

This edition of Pay It Forward is very special. A good friend of ours is a police officer in our town and his birthday was this past Sunday, which he had to work. We wanted to do something awesome for him on his special day and since we knew he was working, we went to work immediately on our surprise.

During the week, I hand drew a police car onto cardboard from a photo I took and tried to recreate this vehicle. It took a few times to get the portions correct, but I finally got it just right.

I went to work painting the cardboard police car and matching the gray color of the actual car. This was supposed to be a fun little gift for him that he would not expect. I got the windows painted, 911 on the back side, and even made sure that the front of the car had the push bar too! I think it turned out awesome for my first attempt.

We also found out that our other friend who is on the force was working as well, and we decided that we would do something special for both of them. So, we pulled out the grill and cooked dinner for them! We made hamburgers and hot dogs, homemade french fries & beans for them for dinner. We texted them when everything was ready and they pulled up in front of the house to get their warm dinner. These guys were so appreciative of our generosity, it was overwhelming!

Before they left to eat, we handed them both a brown bag filled with snacks and something to drink while they continued on with their shift. I even wrote on the banannas in their bag too “backup pistol”! They chuckled when they saw that!

We take care of our guys in blue because they risk their life everyday on the job keeping our town safe, and we want them to know that we appreciate all that they do.

But, before our friend left we handed him the hand painted cardboard police car, a gift basket with birthday presents, balloons, and even a cake, which he picked up after work.

Paying It Forward is really fun to do because the look on their faces was priceless.

A great big thanks for our friends over at Pig Love for being involved in the Pay It Forward program with us, because without them, none of this would be possible! What have you done to Pay It Forward?

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Mom hopes greeting cards will help ease her little boy’s pain

If this does not scream PAY IT FORWARD, I don’t know what else will. Let’s all send Joshuah some greeting cards to make him SMILE!

fox8.com

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HOLLY, Michigan– A mom in Michigan is hoping greeting cards will help bring a smile to her little boy’s face.

According to WXYZ, the woman’s son, Joshuah, is battling cancer.

**Watch the video for more on his brave battle**

If you’d like to help brighten his day with a card, you can send it to:

Joshuah’s Journey

P.O. Box 120

Holly, Michigan   48442

The family also has a Go Fund Me page to help with Josh’s medical expenses. *Click here for more*

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Pay It Forward Differently

This is my third installment of our Pay It Forward program that we have partnered with our good friends over at Pig Love. If you are joining in with us, please link back your posts back to us! I have found over these past few months, that I am happier inside by doing good deeds, and that it is contagious. When you can see how happy it makes someone to receive your good deed, it is all worth it!

I had a thought today. I was thinking about our Pay It Forward program that we are doing this year, you know the one where we ask everyone to head out into the world and do a good deed for someone to brighten their day! These deeds are random acts of kindness for the people that live in our area and neighborhoods.

Then I thought, what if our fellow bloggers, those whom we talk to every day through our blogs – what if one of them needed help? What if one of them needed help with something, but was afraid to ask for assistance?

All I have to say is, WE ARE HERE FOR YOU! If you are a blogger and need help with something, whether it be figuring out how to setup something on your blog, you don’t know how to create a button for your blog, you don’t know how to use a photo editor, or perhaps you need help in general. If you find yourself struggling with something, let us know. Perhaps you need to find someone to watch your dog or walk them for you, then ask! There might be a blogger in your area that could help you out! I could list out a million things that someone might need help with, but guess what, you are not alone, as someone can help you out! Are you under the weather? Then let us know – someone can send you some chicken soup! (see how this works)

The Pay It Forward program in my mind, does not necessarily have to be for perfect strangers ya know, it can also be used for us to help those we blog with every day and have created a lasting friendship with.

We all know lots of valuable information and we should start sharing it! For example, do you know of a great place to purchase office supplies at a reasonable rate? How about paper towels? Do you know where to get the best deals? Also, how about sharing with others what online photo apps do you use?  What ideas & awesome deals do you have that you can share?

We are here to help. Paying It Forward is a powerful and contagious thing. What have you done today to Pay It Forward?

Some of the Pay It Forward good deeds that we have completed in February are:

• Still bringing up our neighbors garbage cans in all the snow that we have had (I know that they appreciate it a lot)
• We made a huge snack bag for a police officer that is a good friend of ours when he was on duty. He texted us to say hello and said that he was hungry. We sprung into action and put together a snack bag with goodies for him to munch on and included a drink too. He swung by the house and picked it up and said that he was having a crazy busy night. He was so appreciative of our little gesture and drove away with a big smile on his face!
• Shoveled our neighbors sidewalks and driveways

I am also working on another fun Pay It Forward idea too! I have designed little slips of paper to fit inside those small snack sized baggies with a note that says “Enjoy a free car wash on me!” “Just wanted to put a smile on your face today with this simple act of kindness. YOU deserve a smile today! Now, go ahead and Pay It Forward to someone else today & make them smile too!”  Then, of course, I will add the correct amount of change into each baggie for their free car wash and then tape these baggies to the money machine in each car wash bay.  Keep watching for my upcoming photographs on this PIF random act of kindness!

I actually got a random act of kindness done for me too, as I was sincerely surprised when Bacon mailed me a walnut & cranberry cake! It was delicious! It is not every day that we get a cake mailed to us, so this was the coolest surprise ever. Thank you Bacon for such a sweet gesture of kindness, my tummy thanks you!

We can all make a difference in the world today, even if it is just a smile, holding the door for someone, or returning a shopping cart back to the store for someone. Every good deed does make a difference.

Pay It Forward

On January 7, 2015, my dear friends over at Pig Love and I have started our monthly Pay It Forward Campaign and asked for all of our fellow bloggers to join in with us, as we head out into the world to do good deeds. One good deed deserves another.

Our goal for our Pay It Forward Campaign is to change the world, a little bit at a time, by one good deed at a time, and perhaps change the way we look at the world and others. Think about it…don’t you feel really special when someone does something for you when you least expect it? I bet you do, and that is how we want others to feel too!

Once a month, Pig Love and Nikitaland will meet up with all of our fellow bloggers to see what good deeds we have all done in the prior month. This is in no part meant for us to brag, but rather share what we are doing to Pay It Forward and making someones day special. We want to hear what you have done as it can inspire others to do the same. Simple gestures that we might take for granted may mean more to another person.

Here are some of the Good Deeds I have done since January til today:

• Each and every Wednesday, I brought up our neighbors garbage cans
• Surprised my Sweetie with some homemade cookies (yes, good deeds start at home too!)
• Shoveled neighbors sidewalks & driveways
• Washed my Sweetie’s car & cleaned all the windows
• Shoveled a path through the field to KMart

I shoveled this path all the way across the field up to KMart. There are a lot of people in our neighborhood (including me) that normally walk up to KMart and I thought it would be nice if I shoveled a path for us to walk on. Instead of trudging through the high snow, I made it a little easier for everyone to get to the store!

So, if you are joining in with us on our Pay It Forward Campaign, leave a comment saying “I’m In!” and tell us the good deeds you have done! And in case you missed it, I made some nice Pay It Forward “My Good Deeds” lists that you can print out to keep track of all the good deeds you have done. You can print it out, hang it on your fridge, to jot down things that you have done during the month, and then the next time we meet up, you can share what you have done to Pay It Forward!

Our next PIF meet up will be on Wednesday, March 4, 2015 so mark your calendars!  

I also created a PAY IT FORWARD board on Pinterest and if you would like an invite to pin to this board, let me know!

P.S. – In case you want a Pay It Forward bracelet too, you can get them here! It is a great reminder to join in with us and Pay It Forward!

P.S.S. – Wasn’t that nice of Bella to help out with this post? No matter HOW you wear your Pay It Forward bracelet, it would mean the world to someone to do something nice for them today!

‘Teens for Jeans’: Elyria student rounding up jeans for a great cause

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A GOOD WAY TO “PAY IT FORWARD”?
Then this is something you need to participate in! Abbey Ramirez is trying to collect all the jeans she can which will go to the homeless around the world. I know that we all have jeans in the back of our closets that we don’t wear anymore, so why don’t you contact Abbey today at ARPioneer15@gmail.com today and get your jeans to someone who could use them!

What a great way to “PAY IT FORWARD”!

fox8.com

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ELYRIA, Ohio – Abbey Ramirez has been doing a lot of folding lately. She’s collecting jeans for “Teens for Jeans.”

“I have to collect as many gently-used jeans as possible and whoever wins, gets a $10,000 scholarship and your school gets a $5,000 dollar grant,” said Ramirez.

She found out about the contest while doing some research online.

So here’s how it works: She has to round up as many pairs of jeans as possible and turn them in to Aeropostale by February 15.

They’ll sort through them and then distribute them to homeless shelters around the country.

“I have 205 and many more coming,” said Ramirez, surrounded by a mountain of denim.

She’s a senior at Elyria High School right now and is pretty involved there. She’s a member of the National Honor Society and a soccer player.

“I’m going to Cleveland State to play soccer…

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Pay It Forward: How Are Your Good Deeds Coming Along?

It’s been a week since Pig Love and Nikitaland started our Pay It Forward Campaign and we had quite a few of you wanting to join in with us to do good deeds. So, how has it been going for you? Have you made someones day by doing a good deed for them? How did they react when you did it? I bet they were surprised!

With all that is going on in the world today, we need to spread cheer to those around us! When you do a good deed, it makes YOU happy doing it, and it makes the person who receives the good deed happy too! That’s how we can help change the world a little bit at a time!

Remember my post about a week ago where I Caught A Crook Red-Handed? Well, we have been on “pallet watch” ever since and so far we have not seen any activity of anyone stealing KMart’s pallets. At least that is good news! Anyhow, I was at KMart today and talked with the store manager whom I called and reported the pallet theft at the time, and she was so glad to meet me in person. She said that their Loss Prevention manager showed her the photographs that I gave him of the guy who stole the pallets, then put them back after I caught him. She could not believe how clear the photo’s were, or how close I was when I took them! Anyhow, she surprised me today, and “paid it forward” by rewarding me $25 on our KMart Shop Your Way Rewards Card for the good deed that I did for their company. WOW, I was so shocked! I was not expecting that at all, but I guess that is part of what all of this Pay It Forward Campaign is all about.

It’s NOT about expecting something in return for your good deed. You do your good deeds because you can. You do good deeds because it makes someone happy. You do good deeds because it is the right thing to do. You expect nothing in return, but when it happens, like it did today, it makes you feel so loved.

In my opinion, the Pay It Forward Campaign works! I hope you will join in with us and do a good deed for someone today. Make it a habit.

February 4th, we will all meet back here to discuss what good deeds we have done since we started our campaign. (and we will continue meeting back here the first Wednesday of every month too)

And, if you would like to keep track of your Pay It Forward Good Deeds, I have designed a sheet that you can printout and use!  (click on link & printout!) One good deed deserves another!

Pay It Forward

Today marks the start of our blogging “Pay It Forward” Campaign. Good deeds is what Pay It Forward is all about. You do a good deed for someone, just because. You ask for nothing in return, you just do something nice for someone today and make their day special. It’s the little things in life that matter the most.

I am working with my good friend Bacon over at Pig Love to get our Pay It Forward campaign off and running. We are firm believers that by doing good deeds for someone is what this world needs more of. You know the saying “treat others the way you would like to be treated”. Let’s put that into action! If you are joining in with us on our Pay It Forward Campaign, just copy the graphic above and add it to your blogs sidebar and redirect it back to this post! We want to get as many bloggers as possible to join in with us & Pay It Forward!

On the first Wednesday of every month, Nikitaland and Pig Love will be hosting a Pay It Forward Campaign. You have an entire month to Pay It Forward by doing good deeds for someone. Then, in a month, on February 4, 2015, we will meet back here to discuss what we have done to touch someones life.

I also looked up the Pay It Forward Foundation information, and found that they are selling Pay It Forward Bracelets on their site for 50 cents each. If you would like to purchase a bracelet so that it can be a reminder for you every day to do a good deed, then click here to purchase one!

Paying It Forward is really simple. You do something for someone out of the blue, not asking for anything in return just because you can. It’s the little things in life that matter the most! Paying It Forward, doing good deeds can also be contagious, because you do something nice for someone, then it makes them happy, and in return, they do a good deed for someone else, and so on! Let’s make 2015 a great year and change the world – it’s your wake up call, will you answer the call?

Here are a few examples of Paying It Forward to help you get started:

• Shovel someones driveway (it’s snowing here, so it’s the perfect time to do this for someone)
• Bring up your neighbors garbage cans
• Help someone carry their groceries to their car, or even bring their shopping cart back up to the store
• Buy a coffee for the person behind you in line
• If you see someone who is homeless, bring them warm socks, gloves, a blanket, a great big hot chocolate, or anything to keep them warm
• Make a donation
• Cook dinner for someone in need
• Pay for the persons meal behind you in the drive thru
• Help someone with their landscaping projects
• The list is endless on what you can do, just do something & make someones day special!

What will you do today to make someones day special? Pay It Forward…the power of change can make a huge difference in the world today!