Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Pay-It-Forward Ice Cream Coupons


--by cabbage, posted Nov 24, 2008

A long while back, my son and I were having ice-cream at a Baskin Robbins near our home and we decided to "pay it forward" by anonymously treating a dad and his kids to ice-cream.  We left the store before they knew what was going to happen and my son and I smiled to ourselves as we walked home.

Well, the other night, as I was reading Darwin's "Voyage of the Beagle", a coupon for a free of pint of Baskin Robbins ice cream fell out of the library book!  Talk about what goes around, comes around.  I didn't say a word to anyone at home, and went about my daily errands.  That day, my son had been particularly helpful (doing things without being asked), so I decided to surprise him with his favorite flavor of ice-cream.  Now, ice-cream is not normally found in our freezer so this is a really special treat!

As I told my son this, I was the one who got even bigger surprise.  He ran inside and got a coupon he had received from a school fair (for a free ice-cream cone at a local store).  He had been saving it for months to use on a special occasion, but now that I was going to treat him today, he decided (by himself) to pay forward his coupon.  He went and put it in one of his library books along with a Smile Card! 

Some kid (or a mother) is going to be surprised, just like we were.  :)

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Readers Comments

makesomeonesmile wrote: That is wonderful. Thanks for teaching your son such an important lesson about kindness. Our world will be better if more kids learn like him. Thanks for caring!
cassiemeadows wrote: thats so great! good work having such a kind son. its brilliant knowing there are people in the world like that. Great work. have a good day! xx Cassie
mitu915 wrote: i love the chain reaction of kindness. it's like the domino effect of kind acts! :) great to see it reflected in the little ones as well! :) great joB!

lmil1954 wrote: Hey, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it??? Linda:)
theresa wrote: that was so nice of him to think of someone else before himself. he had been saving it knowing it would be a nice treat for himself but he that of others first.
PayingForward wrote: I just love the concept of paying forward! What a wonderful young man you have there. :)
Dr Abdul Hayee Khoso Baloch wrote: Do a act daily who brings a smile on the face of others is a teaching of many religions. It is great to bring smiles in such a simple way.
Smitha wrote: Pay it forward, spread kindness- such a wonderful feeling gives. Its so easy to be happy and to make a stranger smile. Have a smile filled day.
Mike wrote: What impresses me more than anything else about children is their innate desire to give to others. It's too bad we rid them of this natural inclination. Thanks for encouraging it and sharing this nice story :)
harleyrob wrote: You should hit up baskin-robbins to help you pay it forward by donating one (1) coupon a month. Then you could randomly place one in another book. Nothing ventured nothing gained right? Hr.

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