Most of you who actually know me on any level know that I believe that everyone can and does make a difference. Regardless of who you are and what you do, you manage to make some type of contribution. I also believe that every contribution amounts to the same thing, regardless of how grand it is and whatnot. In any event, I happened along a bit about Oprah's Pay It Forward Challenge. Thought I'd share it with you all!
Ideas to Get You Started
Use these ideas to inspire you as you brainstorm ways to Pay It Forward. Remember, every little bit helps, so whether you buy someone lunch or buy them a car, you are changing lives!
$0 – $25
It's amazing what a few dollars can do. These ideas won't weigh on your wallet, but will make a huge difference for someone else.
Anonymously pay for gas for strangers
Buy lunch for a homeless person
Randomly give away a prepaid transit card for a couple of trips on a bus or train
Volunteer—it costs nothing but means a lot.
Buy flowers to cheer up a co-worker
Write letters to troops serving in Iraq
Clean up a neighborhood park
Buy a board game for a local children's hospital
$100 – $200
Have a little more to spend? There are a lot of ways to change the world.
Invite women living in a shelter to a spa day or treat them to a makeover
Buy school supplies for a needy school
Buy coats and hand them out to the homeless
Buy pet food and supplies for the animals at the pound
Search your local newspaper for stories about people in need and find a way to help them
Pick up the tab for a family at a restaurant
Buy theater tickets for parents with a newborn—then babysit!
Buy food and prepare meals for the elderly in your neighborhood
$1,000 & over
Thinking big? You've seen what $1,000 can do—now it's your turn.
Buy instruments for a needy school's music class
Travel to New Orleans and go help build a Habitat home
Pay for a string quartet to give a concert at a local nursing home
Donate iPods for soldiers serving in Iraq
Take a terminally sick friend on a weekend getaway
Buy a new wardrobe for kids in need
Help rebuild a home destroyed by a fire
Make a family's holidays a little brighter by buying all their holiday gift
