Pay it Forward
In 2013 a donut shop in Amesbury, Massachusetts named Heav’nly Donuts was the site of an inspiring 55-customer “pay it forward” chain. A young woman started off the chain of kindness by paying for the order of Eileen Taylor, who was the person behind her in the drive through. The small gesture of kindness brightened Eileen’s day, after just recently losing her job. So the next day Eileen decided to “pay it forward.” She paid $12 the next morning, $6 for her coffee and $6 for the order of the person behind her. In an interview with Eileen, she said, “ It was worth it. It’s the best $12 I’ve ever spent.” This trend started off with the kind stranger in front of Eileen, who decided that if they pay for the person behind them, they might bring a little bit of happiness to both their own lives and the lives of another person. By paying just a few extra dollars with her order, Eileen knows that she was able to create not only her own happiness, but the happiness of others. The idea of brightening a person’s day makes everyone happy, and being on the receiving end of an act of kindness is always nice, by contributing to the large 55-customer “pay it forward” chain 55 people were able to create happiness for both themselves and those who were behind them in the drive-thru.