Pay it forward

Melisa

I am the director of a nonprofit organization that cares for homeless and runaway teenagers and young adults in Burlington,Vermont.

On one beautiful autumn day,I glanced toward the front desk,where the office receptionist is usually seated.But this time,for some reason she was not present,and I made eye contact with a young man standing there.His facial expression clearly signaled,“Can you help me?”I approached him and asked if I could help,and he surprised me by lifting up a shopping bag full of clothes.“We're here to donate these,”he said.It was then that I noticed a young woman by his side.

“That's so nice,”I replied.“Thank you very much.Will you please write down your name and address so we can properly thank you?”I passed over a sheet of paper.

After a few seconds he said,“You know,I used to come here for help.”He stood there,looking a little nervous.I then learned he was homeless when he was young,and he got help from us.We provide clean water and food for the homeless people every day,and there will be a certain number of beds for them.After finishing his business,the young man took time to line up to get food and water,and was sometimes lucky enough to have a bed.

He pointed at the woman next to him and said,“That's how I met my wife! ”The woman was also homeless then.I shook their hands and thanked them.There are so many lessons to be learned from this,but the main one is really about paying it forward.What this young couple did reminded me of the whole idea that while it is important to be thankful to the people who helped you,it is equally important to pay it forward to help people who are now in a similar situation where you once were,even though you may not know them.