Many people have heard the term “Pay It Forward.” It’s the idea that you will do something positive for strangers (buy their coffee, mow their lawn, etc.) and tell them to then pay it forward. That means they will then in turn do something positive for another stranger. The idea is that this circle of positive acts will keep growing and promote friendliness, compassion and goodwill among humanity. A meaningful social experiment that caught on globally, Hollywood even made a film about these acts of kindness.
Becca Schofield is a 17-year-old teenager from Riverview, New Brunswick, Canada. She has been fighting cancer for over two years. She was recently diagnosed with new tumors and was given only a few months to live. Despite this unimaginable diagnosis, Becca wanted to spread a mass act of kindness.
After much thought on how she would do this, Becca decided to start a campaign called “Becca Told Me To.” She started this campaign on Twitter with the hashtag #beccatoldmeto. She started with one random act of kindness and it quickly spread like wildfire. Her campaign slogan quickly passed from mouth to mouth. The media soon heard about this and began reporting on random acts of kindness throughout Becca’s community.
CBC radio did a morning show with a call-in guest. The guest said that she and her young son were a local mall. Her son wanted a new toy, she had to tell him however they couldn’t afford it. Two strangers overheard this and bought the toy for the young man, telling him to pay it forward because “Becca told me to.” The mother then said that she explained to her son, that he now had to do something good for someone else.
Kirstie Drillen is a resident of Dieppe, the next town over from Riverview. “It’s very touching to see nice gestures being committed by random strangers. Becca has become a superhero in our community and has done something not a lot of people could have done.”
“It seems that in just a few short weeks, Becca’s act of kindness had spread right across the province.” Dave Sauntry a local paramedic said someone had paid for his entire order at the local Tim Hortons drive-thru. In return Sauntry bought lunch for his co-workers a few days later. Perhaps, though, no one could imagine how far Becca’s campaign would spread.
Within just a few short weeks, Becca’s campaign of kindness was trending on Twitter. The Prime Minister of Canada even mentioned it in a news conference and re-tweeted her campaign. Becca’s campaign has even gone global as many Twitter followers took Becca’s message into their own communities.
“It is clear that Becca wanted to leave a lasting impression on the world,” Becca’s mom was quoted as saying on CBC radio. “Despite being given a terminal diagnosis, she wanted to spend some of her precious time doing good for others.”
Becca’s acts have touched many around the globe, and it appears that no end is in sight. Becca and her family have also been the recipients of kind strangers. A Go Fund Me page was set up for Becca and her family. It has since raised over $40,000.
Becca has already made a lasting impression on thousands of people. Even when faced with the most devastating news anyone can hear, Becca has shown us it’s not how much time you have, but what you do with the time you are given. We encourage anyone reading this to go out and do something positive for a stranger. Tell them Becca told you to and to
