Thanks to the kind folks at Stonyfield [1] for donating the gift card for this Pay it Forward post
Welcome to the holiday season. It can be the most wonderful time of the year filled with festivities, celebration, stress [2] and responsibility. Yes, responsibility. As we shop for the holidays it’s important to remember those without and take the time to pay it forward.
Imagine if everyone did something good for someone else, then the cycle of generosity and kindness would continue. One good deed might not seem like much, but it is.
Over the past few years, I’ve connected with an incredible organization called The Box Project [3] which is an organization working to enrich the lives of families living in rural poverty. Through this organization, we were matched with a family living in rural poverty.
Take the time to remember those without and pay it forward. Here's how! #stonyfieldblogger [4]Click To Tweet [4]What I love most about The Box Project is the ability to directly connect with and help a family in need. The support you provide to your Box Project family can be as much or as little as you are able to supply. These families have very little and are eternally grateful for anything sent their way. We try to involve our children as much as possible by sending letters, photos, and other items so they can get to know and trust us. We talk about our Box Project family as much as possible with the hope that our kids will someday understand and feel compassion towards those living in extreme poverty.
Photo courtesy of The Box Project
This year we asked our match family to send us a list of their immediate needs. The list was long and included things that many of us take for granted such as toilet paper and school supplies. Rather than tackle the list on my own I reached out to friends and family to ask for help. Within days the gifts started flowing to this family in need.
Many of you have seen the movie, Pay it Forward. It’s a story about a social studies teacher who gives an assignment to his junior high school class. Their task is to think of an idea to change the world for the better and then put it into action. One student discovers how one random act of kindness can spread into a wave of human kindness. This becomes the pay it forward phenomenon.
One of my favorite companies [5], Stonyfield [1], has kicked off a “pay it forward” campaign this year. They are encouraging families to spread good fortune in the form of a charitable act with the hope that others will be inspired to do the same. I’m hoping you’ll join me. It doesn’t matter what you do or how you do it, just take a moment and do something unexpected to spread holiday cheer. Maybe it will spiral into something much larger than you imagined.
We took a family vote and decided to use our $50 gift card generously donated by Stonyfield to purchase something other than a “necessity” for our Box Project family. We bought each of the children a watch and the mother a slow cooker and a cookbook. 
Now it’s your turn!
How you can pay it forward
Take the time to do a good deed for others without asking for anything in return. Hold a door open, pay for someone’s groceries, leave a care package for someone in need. Find an organization that means something to you and ask how you can help. Take your passion and pay it forward.
Happy holidays!
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