Two St. Vincent Catholic School students are teaching people what it means to pay if forward with their Kingdom project.
Grade 8 students Abby Bondy and Piper Phaneuf were tasked by the Parent Council at St. Vincent to take $25 and do something with it to make the world a better place. After thinking about it, the duo said they chose to buy McDonald’s gift certificates for French fries and give them out, challenging people to pay it forward.
“We saw the movie Pay It Forward and we wanted to spread it as far as possible,” Phaneuf said. “We picked French fries because who doesn’t like McDonald’s French fries.”
Bondy agreed, adding they have had a great response locally and even have a response from as far away as England.
Once people choose what they want to do to pay it forward, they are asked to post on the students’ Facebook, Instagram or e-mail account to explain what they did.
“We just really wanted to do something different and chose to do this to make a difference and get people paying it forward,” Phaneuf said.
Chatham-Kent Mayor Randy Hope, who was a recipient of one of the coupons from the two students, commended the students for their project and promised he would pay if forward and let them know the results.
“My grandkids will love me for this,” Mayor Hope joked with the girls. “I will definitely pay it forward. It’s nice when it is not something people are expecting.”
After meeting with the students in his office, the mayor gave the girls a gift for their initiative and said he wants to encourage young people to do things for and in their community.
