The international movement may have been popularized by the book Pay It Forward and the 2000 movie bearing the same name starring Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osmont, but 10 years on the concept of encouraging small acts of kindness is increasing its already broad appeal.
On April 28, Canadian Mental Health employees and volunteers in Williams Lake will be on the streets committing acts of kindness for others as Canada joins 27 other countries in commemorating a day designed to build relationships, bridge differences and improve mental health and wellbeing.
Internationally the movement hopes to achieve more than three million acts of kindness that day.
The acts, says Darlene Doskoch, employment and social programs manager at CMHA Cariboo Chilcotin branch, don’t have to be organized through CMHA, rather they can random acts of being kind to others.
Last year this concept spawned various clean ups, cookie give aways, coffee purchases, flower giving and yard cleaning, totalling approximately 1,000 kind acts in Williams Lake.
The eventual hope is that the acts committed on the one day will foster a daily movement that spans the globe.
“It can be as simple as opening the door for somebody. As long as it’s a selfless act. It’s not about the gift it’s the meaning behind it,” says Doskoch, who is acting as the volunteer co-ordinator for the Canadian Pay It Forward day. In that capacity, Doskoch is offering support and tools to other Canadian communities that want to become involved.
CMHA is a good fit for Pay It Forward day, says Doskoch, because its mandate is to foster mentally healthy people in healthy communities. Pay It Forward has the same focus through advocating for small acts designed to positively impact people’s lives.
“Sometimes to improve somebody’s mental health all that is needed is a kind word or a kind act. People don’t realize the impact day-to-day actions can have on people,” she says.
Community members who want to get involved or donate an item to Pay It Forward are asked to contact Doskoch at 778-412-7273.
