GV pays it forward
Malachi Sullivan holds open a door for peer Kyle Walton.
Feb 28, 2011
Actions speak louder than words, and kind acts and good deeds are spreading across Grand Valley State University through the Pay it Forward campaign.
Sponsored by the Health and Wellness Center and the Children’s Enrichment Center, the Pay it Forward Campaign began Feb. 14 and will run through spring break.
Fifty original cardholders were selected from GVSU faculty and staff to initiate the campaign, and 50 additional cards were given to randomly selected students during the Leadership Summit. These individuals started the campaign by doing a good deed to another member of the GVSU community.
“We tied the project to GVSU’s 50th Anniversary by using 50 original card holders,” said senior Rachel Siebert, an intern at the Health and Wellness Center. “It’s really nice for students because it’s always good to extend your hand to help one another. It gives GVSU a great sense of community.”
The campaign also ties to the core values of the university.
“(It) asks us to honor our Laker unity and reach out and help one another, knowing that it is for the greater good of our community,” said Sharalle Arnold, director of the Children’s Enrichment Center.
The Pay it Forward concept has traveled around the world. A local news broadcast that covered the campaign in Grand Rapids provided the inspiration for the GVSU campaign.
“I thought it might be a wonderful idea to engage our faculty, staff and students as we were close to wrapping up the Dr. Martin Luther King celebration, which invites us to consider action steps needed to build a unified community,” Arnold said.
Health and Wellness coordinator Lindsey DesArmo said studies have shown good deeds can also affect people’s moods in positive ways.
“I think this is a great campaign to highlight all of the good deeds GVSU students, faculty and staff are doing everyday,” she added. “Not only is it an opportunity to share your stories of something that someone did for you or how you ‘paid it forward,’ it gives others ideas to do something good for someone else.”
