Melanie Ilagan's Pay It Forward

Part one:
"Pay it Forward" is the idea that one person can make a difference by showing a simple act of kindness. This all started from the movie "Pay it Forward" where a seventh grader named Trevor was given the assignment to make a difference in the world. He thought of helping three people, then they would help another three and it would just keep going. He tried to do this many times, and though he thought he had failed, he actually affected many, many people. In the end, he died all because he tried to save someone from being bullied. Both this movie and project are very inspiring because they helped me open my eyes and realize how one simple act of kindness can bring joy into another person's life.

Part two:
For this project, I was in a group of four people: Kristel Aguason, Allison Manuel, Jocelle Garcia and myself. We decided that we wanted to help the less fortunate. To do this, we went to Superstore and around the school and collected donations which we would then give to Siloam Mission. However, we haven't yet brought it there. We probably will sometime this week. Anyways, in return for their kindness, we gave them a candy cane or chocolate. We did this from December 13 to 19



Part three:
I think our act of kindness went very, very well because we set a goal for ourselves of raising $100 and we exceeded that by over $100! In fact, we raised nearly $200! The people were actually proud of us for doing such a good thing towards the community. I even remember this one man saying "Wow, good job guys. Keep it up and good luck!" Some people even gave us suggestions such as to sing Christmas songs and to mention that we're going to give all the money to Siloam Mission and it made a difference. However, we didn't really ask the people to "Pay it Forward", we just mentioned "Pay it Forward" out loud a couple times but didn't ask them specifically. But I'm pretty sure we'll remember to say it once we bring all the proceeds to Siloam Mission. I felt really happy. We were even screaming and jumping in Superstore once we counted all the donations. It felt really good knowing that all the hard work and effort we put into the project was really worth it. I can't wait until we bring the money to Siloam Mission to see the smiles on their faces.

Part four:
I think the idea of "Paying it Forward" is important because it shows us how just one simple little act of kindness, whether it's saying thank you, handing out candy canes, or donating something to a charity can effect another person in one way or another. Also because I think that if we all learned how to "Pay it Forward" the world we live in today would be much more happier and peaceful. In my opinion, what we did will definitely make a difference towards the community and the people who rely on Siloam Mission because by doing what we did, they can finally have some warm meals, a place to stay and most importantly, happiness. This project really opened my eyes to see the effect someone can make on their community.