The unsung kindness of a community.
Intentional Christmas gifting is easier said than done. Like many businesses, at Huber & Associates we always send our clients something meaningful. In 2017, we sent out Wounded Warrior hats customized with the client’s last name. We had such good feedback on the hats that we knew we had to continue this trend of non-traditional gifting.
This is when I first heard about Pay It Forward, a worldwide movement based around the idea of truly doing something kind for someone without the intention of payback. The idea really caught traction in 2000, when Mimi Leder’s film “Pay it Forward” was showing theaters.
Paying it forward begins when a person had something so kind or heartfelt happen to them that they turn around and do something great for someone else, creating a ripple effect.
Some people make grand gestures like paying for college; others may offer their assistance to less fortunate by paying for a meal. No act is too big or small. I was immediately drawn to this idea; someone doing something selfless with pure intentions.
Last year for Christmas, Huber & Associates paid it forward. We made a donation or did an act of kindness on our client’s behalf and created challenge coins that we sent to our clients challenging them to do the same.
The coins were inscripted with the phrase, “one generous act of kindness deserves another.” The hope is that when the client did something kind or generous for another person they would then pass the coin onto the recipient of the act. 20 years from now the coins we made could be floating around in Minnesota!
Pay it Forward is not about credit or praise; it’s more about anonymity. It’s just doing it. It’s a genuine deep down way of life. At Huber & Associates, we only created a finite amount of the coins, but when I told my good friend, Sarah Bohl, about what we were doing, she was as taken with the idea as I.
Along with one of her fellow Ones to Watch, Doug Otto, Sarah started her own Pay it Forward campaign. Doug and I are co-chairs on the United Way board, and so it was exciting for the three of us to be committed to the lifestyle of creating a better life by doing good together.
At the Impact Jefferson City and Ones to Watch event, Sarah and Doug passed out coins similar to what we had created at Huber & Associates with a similar challenge to attendees. The goal was to fill our city with as many coins as possible.
The idea behind Pay it Forward fits perfectly within the Jefferson City community. We are a small town with big heart. Jefferson City once won an award for the most beautiful small town, and this extends beyond our architecture and history. You can feel the kindness when you come into Jefferson City, and this truly is the goal behind Pay it Forward.
If you see one of these coins, we ask that you do something kind for someone else. Whatever your act of kindness is, pass the coin along with it to encourage someone else to do the same.
Missy Dunn is a successful and energetic marketing and public relations professional who is committed to living a life that builds up everyone around her including her friends, family, community and business, Huber & Associates.