Paying It Forward: Reverse Trick-or-Treating

“I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good work, therefore, any kindness, or any service I can render to any soul of man or animal let me do it now. Let me not neglect or defer it, for I shall not pass this way again.” – Quaker saying

by Sarah Montanari

On Halloween night, you may have heard a knock on your door.  You may have peered through the peephole to see three girls in dresses with dollar store tiaras grinning, a basket of candy in their arms.  You may have thought: “F’real.  Trick-or-treaters in Stone Ridge?  Grow up.”

Then, reluctantly throwing the door open, you may have heard: “Reverse trick-or-treating!”

Instead of giving us candy, you were invited to take some of ours.

I was elated during the reverse-trick-or-treating.  I loved the childish excitement as roommates were called to come to the door to share in the Halloween cheer.  I relished the chance to see the different faces of our community unite in a moment of festivity.  But, most of all, I treasured the smiles that stretched across the faces of our neighbors.

All because we reversed a tradition of getting into an opportunity for giving.

It is so easy to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world.

We have little time and lots of stress.

There is literally no time to do everything that we need to do.

Forget about finding time for everyone else! 

College may be one of the least estranged communities (due to the intimacy of residence halls, classes, and endless activities), but my personal testimony is that, most days, I numb myself to the masses around me as I rush across campus to cross off the next line on my agenda.

Can anyone relate?

But what if, instead of stumbling through our days in our own little universes, we pursue acts of kindness?

What if we strive to broaden our community?

I love the quotation with which I opened because of its sense of urgency.  It challenges us to be present and intentional with every moment that we live.  It further encourages us to shift our focus from ourselves to those around us.

However, it is more than just a pep talk on doing good deeds:

It motivates us towards a richer existence – one rooted in togetherness.

I don’t know why it feels so good to be kind, but I think it is because we are meant to serve each other.

We are meant to live for something more than ourselves.

So, Ship.  Let’s continue to pay it forward.

We all reap the benefits of good deeds!

Paying It Forward: Cakes and Candies!

“If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one.”  Mother Teresa

by Ally Oppmann 

This past Saturday, Sarah, Mariah, Corey, and I delivered cakes to different places. Sarah and I got up in the morning and started baking the cakes. Mariah joined us and made cards to put on the cakes. We also bought candy to go along with the cake. Sarah, Mariah, Corey and I delivered the cakes to the Shippensburg police, the post office in town and the new firefighter hall.

The first stop was the town police station. As we pulled into the police parking lot, we could see an  officer talking to a state police officer who was in his car. The officer came over to us, asking how he could help us. We told him we were there on behalf of “Pay it Forward” on the campus. The four of us followed him into the police station and he began taking notes of what we were saying. I found this situation hilarious: standing in a police station, giving a cake to an officer, and he was taking notes of everything. I tried to refrain from laughing, but it did not work too well as Sarah started to laugh. The officer noticed and looked at us oddly.  He then asked if we laced it. We did not, of course, do anything to the cakes except bake them.The officer asked where our next stop was and we told him it was at the post office. He informed us that it might be closed and to go around back to see if anyone was around.

We did as he said, and when we pulled into the parking lot we saw a worker coming out of the building. She said to go in the back entrance and to ask for the boss. The four of us were standing by the door, yelling out for the person in charge. The boss called us in and we started talking to him. We told him about the group and our purpose. Then we said we wanted to thank him for all the work he puts in, and he just looked at us, asking what he actually did. As we walked out, he just stared at us the entire time.

After a successful trip to the police and postal office, we headed to the fire hall. Once we arrived, we began walking around the entire fire hall knocking on doors, and finally someone came out. The person at the door gladly accepted the cake and candy.

The police officer and postal worker were extremely suspicious of us trying to do something kind. How sad is it that those attempting to do some good deeds were considered suspicious? It is as if they believe no one is capable of doing something kind for others without having another motive. I am not sure they will actually eat the cake because it ishomemade. Maybe they will eventually believethat there are decent people out there in the world. I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

 

Getting started

Ally is starting this off:

I was hoping that this group would take off. It seems like a few people are interested. It is slow to start right now since it is limited to those we know. Also, it might be limiting our growing member list since we are not (yet) officially recognized by the university. Senate is reviewing our information

Right before coming back here in August, I was speaking to Sarah about starting this. She has been highly interested from the start. The more we talked, the beter the idea seemed. I am hoping soon others would be excited with us. We want to make a difference not just on campus, but hopefully spreading it in town.

It is so easy to be more focused on ourselves instead of helping others. I know so many of us focus on just our school work that keeps us busy. On top of that, many of us work at part-time or full-time jobs. Then to add more, we add clubs or organizations from the university to our schedules and they consume a lot of our time. We can not forget our friends. I know that it is so much easier to focus on ourselves rather than others because we have so much on our plate. We should strive to help others when we can. Even if it is jsut smiling at someone, it can make a difference. That person may be having a horrible day and a smile may help them.

So, PAY IT FORWARD :)