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Paying it Forward

One to One Charity

By Donya Published 3 years ago 4 min read
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Paying it Forward
Photo by Isaac Owens on Unsplash

Growing up, I was taught to tithe. My church taught the 10% tithe. It sounds reasonable. But the reality of my life was that I could rarely afford to give any money to any one. In fact, I found myself frequently reaching out to friends or family to help me. I have been blessed with wonderful people who were willing and able to help me through some of my toughest financial difficulties. While mostly, it was my family who helped there were two instances where friends either loaned or gave me money. They helped keep me housed and to keep the electricity on. I could never forget that. It took me years to get to the point where I could not only pay all my bills, but I could give to charity as I was taught to do. I chose some charities that had missions that I felt were important to give to.

I like to think of what I would do if I came into a lot of money. I always imagined I would give most of it away but to people I knew who needed it. I liked the idea that if a friend needed $500 to pay rent, I could do that. I would love to be a philanthropist. Sadly, that isn’t likely to happen. Sure I knew about crowdfunding, but that just wasn’t the same. So I continued to support my charities, thinking I needed to be wealthy to do anything else with my charity funds.

It started completely innocently. I had a kidney stone. If you've never had one, they are extremely painful. Normally, I get my prescriptions filled at the big chain grocery store. However, they are slow, sometimes taking over an hour. I wasn’t feeling up to waiting so instead I went to a local family owned pharmacy knowing they’d fill my script in a few minutes. Unfortunately, I arrived during a rush period and there were about 5 other people in the store when I handed off my prescription to the pharmacist. I sat down to wait expecting it wouldn’t be too long. In the meantime, I scrolled through Instagram and Facebook, minding my own business. An older man sat two seats to my right, politely leaving an empty seat between us. Then a young man came in and went to the register. I was sitting less than 3 feet away so I could hear their conversation. He asked how much and the woman rang up his prescriptions and told him it would be $42. He asked about his insurance and she told him that was with insurance. I happened to look up and I could see the panic on his face. He said he'd be back then left the store quickly. It was obvious to me that he was not going to be able to pay.

I decided I would help him if he came back while I was still there. He came back about five minutes later and sat down three seats to my right and pulled out his wallet. He said he'd check to see if he had enough. I looked over and could tell immediately he didn't have enough. I stood up and offered to pay. I asked him if it was okay if I did and he nodded. I could see the look of relief on his face. He muttered a thank you. My pain medication was filled just as I was paying for the stranger's. I paid for both and then gave the stranger a smile and told him to have a good day as he moved to the counter to pick up his prescriptions.

It felt so good to be able to help instead of being the one taking a hand out. There were many times in my past that I didn't think I'd ever be able to do more than get by on my pay. Now, having raised two sons, I find I have the ability to pay it forward. I decided that I would start helping people directly instead of giving money to charities.

It has been about three years since I paid for a stranger's medication. Since then, I have helped a few strangers on Tumblr, a few friends who were in dire straits, and more than a few friends of friends. I contribute to large charities too. However, more and more often I look for small things I can do to make life easier for someone else. As the youth like to say these days, it just hits different when you can see and sense the impact a gift makes.

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About the Creator

Donya

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