If you’ve ever experienced a random act of kindness from a stranger, you know exactly how good of a feeling it is. While there are common ways to pay it forward, such as picking up the tab for the table next to you at lunch, or paying for the next person’s order in the drive through line at Starbucks, you may want to pay it forward to a larger group of people that makes an even bigger impact. Here are five simple ways to pay it forward:
1. Donate to a food bank
Nearly every city has a food bank or community kitchen that welcomes volunteers. Many will gladly accept an extra hand on the weekend, but if you don’t have much extra time, you can still easily pay it forward to your community by picking up a few extra canned goods to donate during your next grocery trip. You can find a local food bank here.
2. Join a sorority
If you’re in college, joining a sorority is a great option for those wanting to get involved. When I was in college, my sorority organized countless volunteer opportunities for our organization and the greek system as a whole. Being in a sorority is a great way to network and learn of different campus and community ways to pay it forward throughout the year.
3. Thank a Veteran
Veterans do so much for us and volunteering a small amount of our time is the least we can do! There are so many different ways you can pay it forward, from visiting a Veteran in the hospital to volunteering your time to do repairs they may be incapable of doing. See this post for 5 ways to thank a Veteran.
4. Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity gives shelter to many homeless individuals and families every year. They always have a variety of volunteer options available, from physically constructing a home to disaster response. This was big at LSU and something my sorority participated in every year, so if you’re in college, be sure to check with your school to see if they have any collaborations going on. If not, you can still help here.
5. Help an elderly neighbor
If you have an elderly neighbor in your community, chances are they could use a helping hand in a variety of ways. Helping with yard work, giving a ride to a doctor appointment, or a volunteering a trip to the grocery store are just a few different ways to pay it forward. My grad school had a dedicated service day for the community every year where we helped out the elderly that lived near campus and their appreciation of our work was so rewarding!
If paying it forward isn’t rewarding enough in itself, here’s something that might entice you to pay if forward even more! What if I said you could win a Lil Wayne concert for your school!? Yes, you heard that right! I don’t know about you, but Weezy F. Baby was my obsession and played on repeat during my college days! So here are the details. TIDAL, a global music and entertainment platform, has partnered with Lil Wayne to promote community service among college students with the Social Wave For Change initiative. If you’re an undergraduate student at a 4-year college university, you can qualify to win a Lil Wayne concert from now until February 29th by publicly posting a photo or video on TIDAL’s Facebook or Instagram of you completing any type of community service act. Be sure to include #TIDALXCHANGE, your school name, and tag a friend in the comments. A panel of judges will review submissions and determine the finalists. Once the finalists are announced, the public will vote on the winner. Go here for full details!
So tell me, what will you do to pay it forward?
This is a sponsored post in partnership with TIDAL and Her Campus Media. All words and opinions are my own.
Shane says
Great tips! I put together hundreds of Blessings Bags for the homeless every holidays!
Rachel G says
These are really great ideas! Very important to be able to think about how to be kind to others whenever you have the opportunity.
Hannah says
Great ideas! I do a lot of volunteering which I really enjoy and I know I’m helping people through a worthy cause. I love donating as well, whether it’s monetary or items 🙂
Leslie says
I try to pay it forward as much as I can. I’m fortunate enough to have a little extra so I like to give to charities and I also help at a soup kitchen.
Mayra Murillo says
That is such a great idea! We often think we have to give back in a monetary form but these are great options.
Liz @ The Clean Eating Couple says
Such a great post! I volunteer for my local cancer hospital and fundraise for their annual bike ride. I also try to do small things through out the day like the ones you mentioned 🙂
Melanie says
Very good post. I’ve done a few of these myself but not all. I think I may do the habitat for humanity. I like that idea.
Kari says
I joined AOII in college and I loved all of the opportunities to do service work with my sisters. It really became a part of everyday life!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Rachel says
I love pay it forward things! I try to do it every once in awhile when I’m in the Starbucks drive thru. It’s always such a great feeling to give back!
Kim says
Great, simple ideas to pay it forward…such a positive way to share and show gratitude
Clare Speer says
Such wonderful tips and suggestions for “giving back” – that’s what it’s all about! I love giving to Veteran’s as I am a veteran and Habitat for Humanity, too – one of my best friends had her home built by Habitat for Humanity – such a wonderful organization!
Summer @ Coffee With Summer says
These are awesome and so practical! Love this list.
Lezley says
This was so great! I often get so caught up in my life and day to day activities that I forget to take time to be grateful and help others. Great ideas.
Jenny says
My sorority definitely helped me find great volunteer opportunities! I absolutely loved it and miss being able to do that more often.
xoxo, Jenny
Bethany says
Great post 🙂 I have been considering at our local veteran’s home 🙂
Jennifer @ the champagne supernova says
What sweet, unselfish tips. I found great friendship and service opportunities through my sorority days in college (Delta Delta Delta can I help ya, help ya, help ya?) and am so glad I have those memories. I’ll have to give the food bank idea a shot. Cheers!
Julia says
I Love Habitat for humanity. I have spend a lot of time working with them in my 20’s It is definitely a great way to pay it forward!
Keating says
So many great ideas! Two Christmases ago, my husband worked both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Christmas morning, I went out to Dunkin Donuts to pick up some coffee and donuts for my husband and his coworkers. I was pretty upset that he had to work that day, but when I got up to the drive-thru window to pay, the woman told me the car in front of me had already paid for my order. Apparently they had seen the car decal on the windshield showing that my husband was military and that we lived on base and they wanted to thank him for his service. My order was rather large since I was bring coffee and food to about 15 people so I kind of felt bad. I paid for the car behind me to pass it along and then proceeded to cry the entire drive back to base lol it was amazing to me that someone would do that for a perfect stranger.
Allison Jones says
These are great ideas. I joined a sorority in undergraduate and it definitely helped me to give back. My husband and I started a foundation last year, so I like to think we do a lot of paying it forward.
LiveLifeWell,
Allison
Amber @ Amber Lately says
This is a great list, and it’s so easy to overlook the little things that can make someone else’s day. Something we always do as a family, is donate to a food bank. It was really fun this year to see the boys loading the food up in boxes to give to others!
Melai says
Great list here! I used to celebrate my birthday with the homeless kids when I was in the Philippines. There’s just so much joy in seeing them too happy, giddy and excited over the little things. It keeps my feet on the ground and helps me view things in another perspective.
Mimi Rose says
I love this post – I definitely think we need to have more of a pay it forward type of attitude in this day and age. I would love to get involved in Habitat for Humanity, it sounds like a great organization to start with. Thanks for the inspiration!
Aarika says
I love this post! It warms my heart to think of all these amazing ways to pay it forward. Spending time with or helping an elderly neighbor is something that has been on my mind for a while as my grandfather recently passed away, and I have been contemplating how special it is to spend time with seniors. Great blog!