Paying it forward can happen at any time and for any reason. Perhaps you feel inspired to give spontaneously or perhaps you were given something meaningful and want to share the experience with someone else by doing the same. No matter your intention, paying it forward has a profound impact on those involved and those who witness. Take the following story from this months TrikleTrade Pay it Forward Stories Series:
Mark Redmond is the director of a nonprofit organization caring for homeless and runaway teenagers in Burlington, Vermont. On one of Mark’s days off he dropped by his office to grab mail. When Mark arrived he saw a young man in the front entrance waiting for the receptionist to return. Although Mark was tempted to commit to his free time and continue on his way, he stopped to ask if the young man needed help. The young man said, “Yes, I would like to donate some clothing.” and lifted up a brown paper bag, revealing a young woman standing by the young man’s side. As Mark had the woman fill out some paper work in order to thank the couple with a follow-up letter he learned they both had been homeless several years back and had participated in the organization’s program. The couple had met at the nonprofit, fell in love, and then married. Now they were returning to pay it forward. This small act of kindness from the couple had a profound impact on Mark, who says he thinks about them often. Do you have an item or a talent you’ve wanted to share with your community but haven’t yet? Offer your gift and get the pay it forward ball rolling by creating a post at TrikleTrade.com. We have three community values: be kind, no money gifted only items and services, and if you receive something pay something forward to another Trikle Trade member when the time is right. It’s free, easy, and we’ll make sure everyone’s small acts of kindness are found within our network. Here’s to an awesome pay it forward, this day and the next! To read more about Mark, the nonprofits mission, and the full kindness story click here.
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We’re still reeling from all the action on April 28th, Pay it Forward Day, with over 80 countries and over 100 state and cities who participated. Between everyone, that’s a lot of kind action rippling across the globe!
In case you missed it, it’s not too late to participate. Do something positive in your community or offer something (a good or service) on TrikleTrade. If you don’t quite understand how TrikleTrade operates or need some simple acts of kindness ideas, check out the first of our Pay it Forward Stories Series below (more kindness stories coming soon): Emilia Flores owns The Taco Stop in Dallas, Texas, known for their delicious tacos. However, Emilia wanted to contribute more. She had noticed a few other locations around town offering community support to those in need and became inspired to get involved. Winter was just around the corner, so Emilia decided to place a coat rack outside her shop with a sign: ‘Are you cold? Take one. Do you want to help? Leave one.’ Quite quickly community members, including a retired Marine, began leaving jackets. As many coats were given, many were also well received. Emilia proves it only takes one person, an idea, and small acts of kindness to bring warmth to a community. Well-done Emilia! If you’re inspired by this story and want to leave a jacket of your own, we’re similar to Emilia’s coat rack, post your jacket or any other good or service on www.TrikleTrade.com. It’s free, easy, and we’ll make sure everyone’s small acts of kindness are seen. Here’s to an awesome Pay it Forward Day and paying it forward 365 days out of the year! We all intuitively know that being kind is a good thing. Holding the door for someone, helping someone with their items, or tipping the barista, they're all acts that make us feel a bit warm and fuzzy while doing them. Well some people believe the effects of being kind can have a greater impact than just the moment they're happening. According to Dan Harris of ABC News there are 6 ways being nice can boost your health.
1. It Feels Good As stated above, it's that warm feeling you get after giving. Acts of kindness boost the reward section of the brain which explains why it feels so darn good. 2. You'll Have a Longer Life Studies show all populations, including those with different types of health issues, live longer after giving their time. 3. More Money That's right, more money! Being kind changes your attitude, your energy, and the way people interact with you in and out of work. A positive shift makes you more popular and can increase the amount your employer pays you in order to keep you with their company. 4. Compassion Meditation Increases Your Desire to Act Kind Studies have shown compassion meditation increases the parts of the brain responsible for empathy and understanding. It's worth a shot, the nicer you become, the nicer people will be in return. You have nothing to loose! 5. It Helps Release Stress Release that stress! Too much stress can cause a host of disease in the body. 6. Quiet Your Internal Dialogue Compassion and empathy through acts of kindness can help you to remain present and keep self-sabotaging thoughts at bay. Great tips to increase the quality and longevity of your life! Read the full article here. If you want to put acts of kindness into practice but don't know how to start on your journey click here for ideas. Content Taken From: http://www.trikletrade.com/Contact/Blog/tabid/255/EntryId/40/Health-Benefits-of-Being-Kind-and-How-to-Start-Your-Journey.aspx Lately when I pick up the newspaper to update myself about current events, the majority of them tend to trigger a negative mental spiral and I wonder what is happening to our world. Between wars, homelessness, and human trafficking to name a few, I also wonder if we have begun to loose connection to our humanity. My belief and faith in humanity lately has been easily shaken and sometimes I feel perhaps it’s broken. Then I stumble across random acts of kindness. The Internet has changed the speed in which we can access positive-based stories. While the Internet showcases the negative as well, it is also demonstrating that perhaps there are more positive events happening in the world than what we’re being shown through traditional outlets.
The Internet has signified the importance of random acts of kindness, as more and more stories are shared from around the globe. These storiestell of people whose simple intention is to make another person happy. To me these people stand out from a crowd and bring a strong and powerful voice, combating the negative. Each time I read a story of simple, mindful acts from strangers I feel connected, inspired, and uplifted. After a quick search on the Internet I found the following stories about random acts of kindness: Humanity is all about providing comfort and support to one another. For example, a woman in Missouri found kindness being poured forth randomly from strangers. The lady and her husband used to visit a local restaurant, the Red Lobster,every year as a part of their wedding anniversary celebration. After her husband’s passing and on the next anniversary, the lady took her daughter instead. The restaurant took note of the situation and after the meal, instead of a bill, the lady found a heart-warming note thanking her for spending all her anniversaries with them. Another display of kindness and camaraderie is in the extraordinary and unexpected unity of nearly 100 strangers in London who managed to save a cyclist trapped under a bus. As soon as the accident was witnessed people rushed over to help. As others walked by theyrealized what was going on and saw the bus could not be moved, so the amount of people joining quicklygrew. Through their teamwork and determination they lifted the bus and the cyclist was saved. This incident demonstrateda true miracle through the spirit of unity. When hearing about these stories, a bit of hope and faith in our humanity begins to return. Each act of kindness is a light to the darkness. You may even venture to call the heroes of these stories, super humans. A bartender in Birmingham each year dresses up as Spiderman and gives out food to the homeless. His selflessness inspires me to share good forward. Everyone also deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. A café owner in Oklahoma lives by this value. The owner of P.B. Jams put a sign on the outside of her café after learning there was someone in her community taking left over food from the dumpster. The sign stated: “You’re a human being and worth more than a meal from a dumpster. Please come in during operating hours for a classic PB&J, fresh veggies, and a cup of water at no charge. No questions asked. -Your friend, the owner.” When I read about the negativity in the world I remind myself with stories like these, that there is also a tremendous amount of good. If we keep looking out for each other, come together, and keep sharing our good forward, perhaps someday the good will become the stronger focus and outweigh the bad. In recent times, there has been a growing interest and curiosity in the concept of ‘socially responsible funds’. This has lead investment companies offering mutual funds and similar financial products to grow their portfolios to better serve their clients.
As a way to keep abreast of changing investment habits, as it relates to social values, investment companies recently surveyed potential clients. The majority of the responses were from women and people under the age of forty-nine. These responses indicate that investors believe having choices to be socially responsible in their investments is important. Traditional core tenets still remain the standard, such as to increase long-term profits through positive customer experience, and incorporate high ethical standards. However, the new socially responsible investor is looking for corporate social responsibility strategies that go beyond the standard. Investors are looking for companies that have a proven positive social impact on consumers, employees, and communities. Socially responsible investing is any investment strategy that seeks to consider both financial and social return. Investing based on social ideals is gaining ground. In the United States, at least $7 trillion is invested in strategies focused on the environment, social and corporate governance or values, according to Envestnet PMC. That is up from $639 billion in 1995 and $3.7 trillion in 2012. Putting into a social context Fund offerings may differ widely. It is up to the investor to do their due diligence and investigate the social practices of the company they are looking to invest in. Over the long-term, these practices may impact the net return on investment, sustainability of the fund, and whether the company practices the level of social responsibility the investor is looking for. There are often social tradeoffs when it comes to corporate social practices. A company may invest heavily in emission controls at the cost of worker wages or benefits. Some new technologies that purport to be a more environmentally sustainable, or friendly, actually consume more energy or deliver more waste in product development than what is predicted to benefit society. In the matter of socially responsible investing, investors often seek companies that share similar values, but similar values don’t always translate into equal comparisons. For instance, comparing a company in the financial sector with a company in the manufacturing sector, with the same yardstick, will not lead to an accurate appraisal of the company or to sound socially responsible investing decisions. Level of social risk vs return on social investment Matching funds with investor expectations needs thorough examination. As a socially responsible investor, setting limits on exposure, or risk tolerance is important. A socially responsible investor may wish to invest in funds that have strict environmental standards; however these standards may differ from country to country where the company is located. Is the investor okay with this varying degree of exposure or varying degree of positive social impact? As more and more investors are looking for socially responsible investing opportunities, it is important that investors do their homework. Look for companies that offer historical data so comparisons can be reviewed and decisions made that meet the investor’s socially responsible investing strategy goals. The world is not full of bad people. There are quite a few who perform simple acts of kindness to benefit others. In fact, these random acts of kindness that they perform also benefit their own overall health, with or without their knowledge. These are so simple; you can do them too. It is these acts, that add up to your goodwill, which is more contagious than just smiling at the people you see on the street. These are not just random acts, but go a long way in helping you develop a habit of sharing your kindness that has a lot of nurturing as well as healing power.
Acts of Kindness Are Ageless Mr. Jacobs, an 80 odd year old man, is a volunteer at a local community college study room, where he helps out students with business math. He has worked in the banking industry for forty years, which helps him tutor students well. The college doesn’t pay him; he simply does it on his own. He says this keeps him younger and sharper. This is something he chose as he did not want to sit idle and do nothing throughout his retired life. This is what he has to say…. “As per my doctor, an active life gives meaning or purpose to life which is why I chose to tutor. My late wife used to volunteer her time tutoring foreign students and helping them learn English. She took pride when they progressed to the next level. I have felt the same kind of pride and happiness when I have visited the college graduation ceremonies of my students. In fact, some of them have bagged excellent jobs on the Wall Street.” There are some people who feel like helping others during festive seasons of the year. There are the others who participate in acts of kindness during the entire year. There are Random Acts of Kindness groups all over the world. Such groups connect organizations and people to help one another. They take up many projects such as:
These are a few simple acts of kindness that seem powerful enough in today’s world. You are helping yourself by helping others Leah Byrd from Dallas, Texas, makes time to help people. She says, “I help people because I know how people feel when they are in need. I have been through this situation when I moved into this town. I had no money to buy clothes to wear for interviews. I saved little by little and somehow made ends meet. A few wise decisions and steps have brought me to where I am now. I feel it is my responsibility to help others.” As per Leah, it doesn’t take too much to help others. All it takes is a will to help. So far she has worked towards…
She says if you have a will to help, you can do so even if you are low on money. There are many benefits to helping others
You can choose to volunteer in the areas that match your interests. It is not necessary for you to put in a lot of time and efforts into volunteering. You can do this during your leisure time like a hobby that is fun and rewarding. The healing effects or benefits of these simple acts of kindness can’t actually be measured through tests; yet you do find them and in an unlimited way. Help others as much as you can and enjoy as you do so! Whenever you perform a selfless act aimed at cheering a person by fulfilling their wish or assisting in some way, you may experience a special feeling of contentment afterward. Such acts are generally called random acts of kindness. When you act in this way, not only do you make someone’s day, you may become someone’s hero.
The following are five random acts of kindness story that have captured the attention and heart of the greater public: 1. Bodmin Hosptial, Cornwall Bodmin Hospital decided to grant a cancer patient Frank Keat’s final wish to see his favorite horse before he died. To accomplish his request a handful of caring nurses at Bodmin Hospital arranged for his horse to visit him a few days before his death. The patient was so absolutely overwhelmed by the kind gesture it brought tears to his eyes and the eyes of all the people who viewed the reunion. 2. A Police Officer’s Call to Help When an 83-year-old man became lost after shopping, police officer PC Stevens was drawn to help. Stevens noticed the elderly man leaning against a wall, seemingly distressed. The man was about to get on the wrong bus when the officer came to make sure he was okay. When Steven’s learned of the problem he made a quick decision to make sure the man returned home safely. Grabbing the elderly man’s arm and his shopping bags, Steven’s escorted the man, walking side-by-side, all the way home. Pictures of the two chatting along the way were shared thousands of time on social media. 3. Helping the Homeless
4. Bringing Peace to Alan Barnes .
5. At the Finish Line
If these stories inspired you to act but you don’t know where to start, here is a list we have compiled for inspiration:
If you have random acts of kindness ideas, share them here so that anyone who is reading this article can do them too. |
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