HelpOthers.Org - Paying it Forward and Turning Kindness into a Revolution

Have you ever heard the phrase "random acts of kindness" or "paying it forward?" Maybe you've seen the Kevin Spacey/Helen Hunt movie "Pay It Forward." If you haven't heard either of these phrases thrown around, you might want to jump on your computer and check out one site that has had a big hand in the kindness revolution -- HelpOthers.org.

HelpOthers operates entirely anonymously and sustains itself purely on donations of kindness. The philosophy behind the website and the movement is that one person does a random and anonymous act of kindness for someone and the receiver of this gesture then turns around and "pays it forward" by initiating a random and anonymous act of kindness toward someone else. The theory is that if enough people perform these acts of kindness, the world will become a better place, people will remember to think of others and show it in all ways, great and small.

HelpOthers members give out something called a "smile card" when each act of kindness is done - a card that lets the receiver know that they have just been the recipient of a random act of kindness and requests that he/she return the favor by giving away the "smile card" to someone else along with an act of kindness.

I have to hand it to this site because HelpOthers members donate the cost of the printing of the "smile cards" and ship and mail the cards themselves, all in the interest of putting a little good back in the world and at the same time doing some smart advertising. I'm proud to say that I'm a member and have benefitted immensely from the site, it's goal and it's members.

How do you begin with HelpOthers?

Simply go to the site, create an anonymous username then you'll receive a password via email. Once you're registered on the site you can order "smile cards" at no charge and begin checking out the "kindness ideas" and stories.

Kindess Ideas

The founders of the site have collected a long list of "kindness ideas" for new members who might not be accustomed to thinking up random acts of kindness, these range from "thank you notes, to giving flowers to a random neighbor, paying for the person behind you at a fast-food drive-thru line, and much more. "Smile cards" take roughly 2 weeks to arrive and include a set of 10, so while you're waiting for your "smile cards" to arrive you can read the stories of members' random acts of kindness to get motivated and rack up "Karmabucks."

Karmabucks

"Karmabucks" are points given to HelpOthers.org members for commenting on stories posted. The "Karmabucks" can both be gifted to other members in order to build "friends" and/or used to purchase new "smile cards."

I must admit I wasn't expecting a whole lot when I joined but have found a wonderfully warm community of people who truly care about each other and just want to see a little bit of good put out into the universe.

The Kindness Revolution

This is something that is definitely wide sweeping, HelpOthers has members from all over the world and many other similar sites are out there "paying it forward" as well. If you simply google "random acts of kindness" you'll see just how large the movement is.

In fact, if you're politically inclined, President Obama has got a similar charity that includes "passing it forward," "loving it forward," and much more. Obama's organization also offers the opportunity to participate in online mentor training and rewards some sort of "credit" for completing the training. I'm not as up on President Obama's site, but wanted to give it a quick mention because if you are more political or civic minded, this might be the route for you.

I would encourage everyone to check out HelpOthers.org and to google "random acts of kindess" to get an idea of the growing need and how many people are out there doing acts of kindness for others. All anyone needs to do right now is look around at the dwindling jobs, rising prices, and growing homeless population to know that there probably isn't anyone who couldn't use a smile or a kind gesture right now just to get through the day.