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If you can’t see this video, please click here
APOLOGY: When I recorded this video, it was 4 weeks to PIF day; Now? Only 4 days!!!
Participate this coming Thursday 28 April. Do something nice for someone in need, then tell us about it at pifaustralia.org, payitforwardday.com.au, or at our facebook page. It’s the only way we will know if we ‘hit our target’! 
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We’ve all heard of the Baby Boomers and Gen Ys, but it is Generation G that is making a big impact in Australia. No, the G doesn’t stand for Greed – it stands for Generosity. And on the 28th April 2011, over a million Gen G’s will be performing random acts of kindness for International Pay it Forward Day, a community movement which began in Australia and has spread to 30 countries worldwide.
Australia was even voted the most generous country in the world by The World Giving Report recently, demonstrating the powerful impact our Gen G’s are having on social change. This amazing spirit was certainly seen earlier this year when Aussies dug deep and raised over $100 million dollars to help Queensland flood victims. Big business also came to the rescue: The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) donated $1.35 million; BHP matched employee donations to a whooping $1.3 million.
But you don’t need to be big to make a difference. Two Australians – people just like you and me – decided to create a video to help survivors of natural disasters rebuild their lives and their communities. Code named ‘Project Phoenix‘, the video will be released via Youtube on the 28th of April 2011 in celebration of Pay it Forward Day. With only their time, an iPhone 4 and iMovie, this odd partnership between Diego (from Sydney) and Anita (from Melbourne) is another example of how ordinary Australians are reaching out in extraordinary ways.
It is not surprising everyone is getting on in the act. The organisers of Pay it forward day expect over a million global citizens to reach within and carry out an act of kindness on the day. They hope a much larger crowd will join in: if their wildest dreams come true, over 3 million people will join in this year’s celebrations. Are their expectations unreal? No, they are not. According to a report released last year, official Australian donations to charitable organisations topped $2.76 billion. And it’s not just Australia. Overseas, the royal couple Prince William and Kate Middleton are getting into the spirit of kindness and have pledged to ‘Pay it Forward’ as they start their new life together: Instead of receiving wedding gifts, they have asked people to help the needy by making a donation to 26 charities chosen by the couple.
But it isn’t just about monetary donations that Gen G’s are getting excited about. According to Volunteering Australia, Aussies volunteer over 700 million hours each year to help the local community. Just last month in the Newcastle town of Toronto, over 200 local volunteers bandied together to help three children whose single mother was terminally ill. Led by an unlikely hero – a chicken farmer aptly named “Chicken Mick” – the team of local volunteers raised over $100,000 to help pay off the family’s mortgage and renovate their home! The difference a community of Gen G’s can make is powerful; as “Chicken Mick” says “All it takes is a group of people putting their hands together and someone to lead the charge.”
These sentiments also ring true for International Pay it Forward Day, which began in Australia in 2007 by a few people who were willing to put their hand up to help the local community. Now turning into a worldwide phenomenon, over a million Gen G’s around the world are ready to take part on the 28th April. There have been 16 state and city proclamations internationally and hundreds of schools participating in pay it forward activities.
Gen G’s are influencing business too, expecting them to do their bit to help the local, national and global community in humanitarian efforts. A great example of this happened in the India recently when the Parliament introduced a bill that requires large companies to support good causes by donating 2% of net profits.
When it comes to unconditional acts of generosity, the 28th of April is a day to remind us of the power of giving. Pay it Forward Day, founded by Australian Blake Beattie, inspires everyone in the community to pass on good deeds in the hope that recipients will pay kindness forward to others in need. Blake states ‘One good deed might not seem like much, but if everyone did something good for someone else, then the cycle of generosity and kindness can inspire us to become better people. Imagine if everyone paid kindness forward every day – what a difference that would make!’
Don’t wait: visit payitforwardday.com now and join over 800,000 others who have visited the website for inspiration and ideas. Like their facebook page. And make sure you share the story of how you played a part on the day; there are countless ways to get involved and every good deed counts!
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Image credits: “This is the life” courtesy of HiggySTFC (flickr.com)
Article credits: Written by Betty Zeritis (media contact) and Blake Beatty (Founder) from Pay it Forward day.
Interested in conducting an interview with Blake and finding more about this? Leave your request as a comment and we will pass it on.
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We need to talk.
Have you been with us for a long time? Have you enjoyed our writing? Beware: Change is in the air.
If you are a long-term subscriber, then you most likely noticed the unannounced sabbatical I took since mid last year. You also should have noticed that my latest posts have been… different. Instead of the long essays you are used to receive, they have been simple images with a short, zen-like message. It is like I have just been ‘ripping pages off’ of my first book, “Zen and the art of photographic story-telling“.
Have you been wondering What happened to Diego?
What happened was over a year of transformation and change; of life challenges; of personal growth. Yes, growth spurts like this bring growing pains. It has been…. interesting, to say the least.
Growth is life. And life is good. So it has been a good experience. “It builds character”, is what Dad used to say…. you know the type.
As you will remember from your teenage years, growth spurts can be confusing, difficult, and painful experiences. But like a butterfly emerging from the cocoon, you can always find beauty at the end of any cycle (or at least, at the beginning of the next one).Today I am not going to talk of the pain of this, my latest growth spurt. Instead, I want to share some of the beauty I am finding in this new beginning.
For a long time, I had a dream: to be my own boss. I also wanted to be famous. Last but not least, I wanted to leave the world better than I found it when I came into it. Oh boy – did life turn out a little different for me!
When I finished my postgraduate studies at the Australian Graduate School of Management, I was in a daze. Top-notch consulting companies were circling the campus, looking for the best and brightest students. My peers were full of busy-ness running from one interview to the next, figuring out which job would give them the most satisfaction… and pay.
Me? I was getting ready to get married. I was in visa limbo between a student and a bridging visa. My wife-to-be was a student. I needed a job. ANY JOB. But employers did not want to talk to me until my visa situation was sorted out. So when the opportunity to join a technology multinational appeared, I gratefully accepted it, and thus commenced a long-lasting love affair with corporate Australia.
Yes, I admit that I did what we all dream of doing: worked hard; climbed the corporate ladder; got a deposit for a house with the picket fence; started a family. It was all going well. But something was missing. And in the search for meaning, I stuffed up.
Royally.
I won’t go into the details, but I hurt a lot of people. And towards the end of last year, it all fell apart. I separated from my partner with whom we had 2 young boys. At work, the department restructured, and I was left holding a small redundancy payment. The climax of both changes (job loss and marriage breakdown) happened within a week of each other. I had to look for a lease to move out at a time when I had but a few weeks of paid employment, and only a small amount of savings.
It was a dark and stormy night. I had to ask for more help than I had ever asked – emotionally, financially, spiritually. Mum & Dad came to the rescue, as did my few true friends. I put on an air of optimism whilst battling my own demons. “Fake it till you make it” was my daily motto. I was fooling some, but not all. I was certainly not fooling myself. But I kept at it, because I had faith that if I faked it enough, I just might get to feel better one day.
And when those days started coming, I felt at peace. Contented. Life started changing in unimaginable ways. Projects started literally falling in my lap. First I did a short stint for SBS, the Australian multi-cultural TV channel. I was helping them understand what their their online video platform would need going forward. It was big picture; It was strategic; It was fun. As I finished that, I was approached by a friend and ex-colleague I met in my last corporate role. She put me in touch with the Cancer Council NSW. For the first time, I decided to take a role in the non-for-profit sector. For the first time as well, I accepted a part-time role.
At first, I thought I’d use that extra day to build my business. I was dreaming! Literally. That was just plain silly. Before I could build ANYTHING like a new business, I had to rebuild myself. So I ended up using that day each week to connect with myself; find out who I truly am; accept my reality; and embrace the challenge ahead. It was painful. Confusing. Rewarding. Somehow, the process of facing my deepest fears – of being alone; of not being successful; of following my craziest, most impossible dreams – was nurturing.
It was a long process, but it’s gone well so far. I still have a long way to go, but I have now rebuilt a solid foundation from which to start the next phase. At the crack of light of this new day, I feel like I know myself better than ever before. I know that I now love myself (again!) despite any wrong turns I previously took.And I have accepted the place where this path has led me, even if it was dark and scary at times.
I am now ready to start the next phase of this wonderful, confusing, beautiful pilgrimage.
Will you come along with me for the ride?
This is what the future holds: I have embarked on a new path to develop my ability to speak in public for a fee. I am partnering with other kindness movements to take “Pass it Forward” and the global kindness revolution to an entire new level. And because goals are always better when they come in three, I am now building the business I always dreamed of. Along the way, I will most likely have to take paid employment for a corporate (or perhaps a not-for-profit) to help me pay the bills; but this time, I am determined not to let my dreams remain dormant.
Do you want to learn with me along the way? Then stayed subscribed, and tell me what you think of my new style. Tell me what you like. Tell me what you dislike. Give me your opinion. Send me an email. Whatever you do, don’t do as I did, and stay a passive passenger in this journey. I invite you to participate, make of this our journey, instead of just mine.
May you learn from my mistakes as I share my experiences, thoughts and tribulations in this public space.
Are you ready?
Let the games begin!
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