Pass Along a Do Good Card

From school volunteer programs to Obama’s call for activism, bumper stickers to book series to films like Pay It Forward, random acts of kindness have become very popular. They are even a way of life for some people. In our high school, it caught on between some of us and we deemed ourselves “crusaders,” randomly doing nice things like writing anonymous notes to teachers to donating bags of canned goods to the food pantry or other facilities. Any “do-gooder” will tell you that it’s quite a rush, and quite addictive.

For the people who might like to commit random acts of kindness (and senseless acts of beauty, as some end the phrase with) with a more concrete, Pay It Forward format, there are plenty of ways to do it. We used to use little tokens shaped like large coins we bought from the party supply store. They said thank you, included an inspiring quote, and on the back something akin to “pass it on.”

There are also tokens you can order online to pay it forward. At Help From Home, you can download cards that have three suggested acts of kindness on them. These can range from charity to green to advocacy actions. They might include visiting a website, putting up a poster, recycling an item, or planting a tree—all for free. Once you print the cards, you can commit the acts and pass out the cards to those you helped—or to friends and family, or at school, rallies, etc.

There is also the opportunity to do the Volunteer Challenge at Help From Home. Once you complete at least 19 of the 22 actions available, you can send your name in for a certificate. You’ll also be added to the site’s Champion Volunteer map along with others from all over the world.

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation also has a ton of free resources available, from suggested projects to lesson plans. There’s something for everyone—teachers, individuals, the workplace, groups and the community in general.

Other places you can find printable cards to distribute while you’re doing good include Creativity Portal, HelpOthers.org, and Generosity.org.

Of course, if you’d rather make a more personal card, go for it! You can use any of these for inspiration or create them from your own imagination. Include a favorite saying or quote, or simply add some lovely artwork and the sentence, “Pay It Forward.”