I live in an apartment building where there are several elderly people and other tenants that are on a low or fixed income. There is a older gentleman neighbor of mine that is always willing to help out and go out of his way to help anyone in need.
A few weeks ago, I was taking a large amount of trash out to the dumpster. This neighbor saw me and stopped to help me as he was taking out his own trash. When we got to the dumpster, he dumped his trash out of the bag. However, he kept his trash bag.
"Why don't you throw the trash bag away?" I asked him.
He replied that he has been using the same trash bag for a couple of months because he really didn't have money to spare to buy new ones. This immediately made me tear up. I thought about how we can take having something as simple as trash bags for granted.
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So, of course, upon hearing this story, I started working out a plan. I went to every apartment in the building and told them what was going on. I asked each household if they could donate at least one trash bag. I got almost 100 bags. I then assembled them in a gift basket and left an anonymous note saying that they were from his grateful neighbors.
A few days later, he told me about the wonderful blessing of trash bags that he received. I, of course, did not tell him where they came from. Then, later that afternoon, I came home and found this very neighbor using all those gifted trash bags to help another neighbor move out!
Now that's what I call Paying-It-Foward!
- Posted by emackaroni83
- Feb 20, 2013
- Comments (19)
Readers Comments
Great feelings of satisfaction for the giver and for the receiver! Sometimes it is more difficult to receive than give.
Both are blessed.
