SV Pays It Forward

It's a beautiful day in Silicon Valley.  The sun is shining and the early morning air has the crispness of Spring with a hint of the warmth to come for the day.  I needed to wake up, so while the rest of the household slept, I took my youngest, Giggles, to my favorite cafe, Dana Street Roasting Company, for a rich, steamy hot chocolate, my personal version of an espresso shot.  When I pulled out my money to pay, Nick (yes, I go so often I know everyone's name), told me that someone had told him to pay for everyone's drinks this morning.  He had a stack of twenties next to him.  After my late night and the evening facing me, having my drink paid for felt like a little piece of sunshine. 

As I stood to wait for my cocoa, I watched the others in line discover they were being treated to their morning indulgence by an anonymous donor.   Reactions  ranged from dumbstruck to big smiles to cheers of "woohoo."  I was so struck by this small gesture to the community, that I started thinking about how I could use the goodwill to pay it forward and make someone else's day a little brighter.

I could take my $1.25 that I would have spent (yes, not only is the cocoa and I am told by coffee drinkers, the coffee, cheaper  and tastier than at Starbucks or Peets but also the atmosphere, staff and pastries are way better and my money stays in the local economy) and donate to my favorite nonprofit.  I could give the money to a homeless person while I am in SF today.  I could drop it in the donation bin for whatever charity s being promoted at my local market.  All of these seemed too small. 

I can't match this person's gestures in pure dollars, so instead, here I am blogging about it, hoping one or two or a thousand readers out there will be inspired and make their own pay it forward gesture.  I will be donating my "cocoa" budget for the month to My New Red Shoes so that a homeless child can have a new outfit for school next year.  What will you do to pay it forward.  I challenge  you to make a gesture, small or large to your community, and then tell us about it in the comments section of this post or on your own blog.