Submitted by the Rotary Club of Bedford
Last year, the idea of a town-wide Pay it Forward in Bedford was something new. This year, the Bedford School system is kicking off the program once again with solid momentum and widespread support.
On Monday, March 31, each student at the Davis Schoolreceived a Pay it Forward gift bag containing a white Pay it Forward bracelet and pencil. Each classroom has plans to reinforce that it’s important to be kind and polite. The Lane School will also hand out these gift bags, but with a twist: Each class room will also get one purple bracelet. The purple bracelet goes to someone who something especially nice. They, in turn, will pass it on to someone who did something extra nice for them or to someone they saw doing a nice deed. The school has created a website to track the purple bracelets. The school will then show how a kindness moves all over town!
At the John Glenn Middle School, Pay it Forward will be launched with a “It’s cool to be kind” campaign. The campaign will use locker magnets for all students. Bedford High students will each get a Pay it Forward Pencil, which will be distributed by students in the Interact Club. There will be large banners at the school entrance and by the cafeteria, and a different “suggestion” about how kids can Pay it Forward will be offered each day during the month of April.
Diana Jarvis, chair of the Rotary’s Pay it Forward program in the schools, said “I’m really excited to see how each school has taken their own approach to implementing the Pay it Forward idea. the Bedford Rotary is providing the bracelets, banners and other materials, but our educators and school leadership teams are providing the spark and creativity that will make the program a success!”
Bedford’s Pay it Forward initiative will conclude on Saturday, April 26th, when the town will gather at Middlesex Community College to package meals for children in Haiti and collect donations for the Bedford Community Table and Food Pantry. High School students will also be collecting change during lunch to purchase meals for Haiti packaging event, which cost 25 cents per meal. The online signup for the meal packaging event can be found at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050F4EADA92AA75-payitforward2.
About Pay It Forward
The Pay It Forward movement was sparked by an old idea, brought to life most recently in Pay It Forward, a 1999 novel by Cather Ryan Hyde, in which a twelve-year-old boy creates a plan to change the world by doing a good deed for three people and asking them to “pay it forward” to three others who need help.
The book was made into a movie starring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt in 2000. Additional information can be found at https://www.bedfordmarotary.org/PayitForward.cfm and https://www.pifexperience.com/.
For additional Information
Linda Cargiuolo, [email protected] or 978-500-2378 and Peter Colgan, [email protected] or 781-775-1651
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