(Even more) Random Acts of Kindness

So this week I saw a fab post from Nickie over at Typecast, all about 'paying it forward'. You can read in her post Random Acts Of Kindness about how she originally came across the idea from another lovely lady Clara Unravelled.

'Paying it forward' is not really a phrase I'd heard before, but in a nutshell it covers the idea that if you do something unexpected out of the goodness of your heart for another, somehow the favour will be returned. It will not necessarily be 'paid back' by the same person you helped or treated, it could be just another random act of kindness.

It all sounded so lovely to me, although perhaps a little optimistic.... nonetheless, I signed up in super fast time for joining in the circle of good deeds which would include receiving a 'crafty treat' from Nickie and then I promptly forgot all about it.

Imagine my surprise then, when later that day at the Sainsburys checkout, the man paying for his goods at the checkout next to me turned around and asked a group of 6 waiting customers if anyone was collecting the active kids vouchers for schools. Nobody else spoke up, so I felt it only right and proper to reply 'yes please'. Of course, I had no idea how many he was about to receive and then pass on (think it was actually 6, not bad at all!) but that was irrelevant. It was he fact he was offering something for free, in order to help someone else who he didn't know at all - he was indeed 'paying it forward'. What a lovely man.

The moral of this story should be that you should all try once in a while to do something completely selfless. It will give you a soft warm glow on the inside and you may even get a return favour.

Actually though, I'd like the moral of this story to be the following:

Everyone should pass the word on that YES you should take those lovely Active Kids vouchers being given out at the till, and pass them on to anybody nearby if you cannot use them yourself. The big business supermarket can certainly afford to be giving these away and we should take every single one offered and make sure it is put to good use. I currently have four places (2 schools, Brownies and Sasha's old specialist school, TRACKS) who I know would love to have them in order to be able to acquire great new equipment for children. So if you don't need yours, feel free to send them on (thanks already parents and parents-in-law!).

In the meantime, I'm desperate to make someone else smile, so I'd like to send something to the first 6 people who would then also like to 'pay it forward'. Leave a comment below if you fancy a surprise...  but remember, in the words of the original poster,
"This isn’t about money or extravagance, it could be anything from a  handwritten letter to a knitted blanket or a doodle or favourite book…literally anything. The point is to think of others and spread a little unexpected happiness."