The Pay It Forward New Zealand Website is the fruition of an incredible journey between a brave little boy, his parents, and myself, Joy Butel.

My personal Pay It Forward journey began even before I was aware of it! It started when a little boy called Jaxon became incredibly ill in 2006 with a very rare, life threatening illness that took him and his parents on a tumultuous journey that thankfully, had a happy ending. It was during my fundraising efforts for Jaxon that I experienced first-hand the incredible ripple effect that comes from random acts of kindness. The Story about Jaxon inspired me to create a children's picture book telling his journey to recovery, in the hope the book will inspire other sick children and their families. The book is designed to keep on giving - when you Purchase the Book I will donate $5.00 from every sale to Ronald McDonald House. You can enjoy a sneak Preview of the Book right here!

I truly believe that once we begin to do large or small favours for each other, our own prosperity flows. The Pay It Forward idea is quite simple, you do a favour or ‘good deed’ for someone today, and require no recognition or pay back, and tomorrow or some day very soon, the person you helped will do a favour or ‘good deed’ for a different person, and so on and so on. Our Website has some great Pay It Forward Ideas to help you get started. You will be surprised at how small the gesture can be to make a difference in someone else’s life!

Pay It Forward - The expression "pay it forward" is used to describe the concept of asking that a good turn be repaid by having it done to others instead. In contract law, typically there are two parties but there is the concept of third party beneficiaries. Pay it forward merely applies this contract law concept so that third party beneficiary be a stranger to the creditor (or obligee). More specifically, the creditor (obligee) offers the debtor (obligor) the option of "paying" the debt forward by lending it to a third person instead of paying it back to the original creditor. Debt and payments can be monetary or by good deeds. In sociology, this concept is called "generalised reciprocity" or "generalised exchange". A related transaction, which starts with a gift instead of a loan, is alternative giving.
Source: Wikipedia

My Pay It Forward ideas come from my own personal experiences, such as ‘Grab a Granny or Grandad’! I have always felt that if we each chose an older person and befriended them; we would end up a winner. My own parents passed away 20+ years ago however I am fortunate to have a special friend in his 90’s that has been a real father figure to me, and I will always be grateful to him. Your time is your most valuable asset; so take the time to share this with others.

Another idea stems from several years ago when I lovingly prepared 20 home-made Christmas dinners with all the trimmings and through Life Line, a special group of families were chosen to have these boxed gifts delivered to their door on Christmas Eve. The delivery was anonymous; I have received so many gifts throughout my life that it was time to be shared. I am really keen to make this an annual event, so get in contact with me if you would like to help Pay It Forward each Christmas.

I love hearing about the random acts of kindness that others have done, which is why we encourage you to Share your Story so we can spread this 'feel good factor' with everyone else by publishing your story in our Message Board. It doesn't matter if you were the giver or the receiver of the Pay It Forward kindness, we can't wait to hear your story! You can also SMS Message Us your story.

My Pay It Forward friends and I are dedicated to assisting those that may need a bit of a helping hand now and then. We want to help people that really need assistance get in contact with each other through this Website. If you know of a person, family or organisation that is trying hard to move forward, but perhaps struggling due to a change in circumstances, then we want to hear from you! Submit your Pay It Forward Request to us and see what happens!

If you would like to join our special Pay It Forward team we encourage you to Contact Us - there is more to paying it forward then just by financial assistance. Your Pay It Forward gesture could be as simple as offering some time for fundraising or volunteer work. Remember, money cannot buy more time and your time is the most precious commodity you have, sometimes all it takes to change someone’s life is to spend some time with them.

Website editor - Rachael de Hek

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