Pay It Forward In Austin
  As the nation memorializes the evil that took place on 9-11, teams of Austinites united to remember the acts of kindness that came soon after the attacks.

"I know that groceries, buying groceries, paying your bills I know is a burden," EnviroMedia Worker Henry Medrano said.

"Oh, yes, finances were a little low," East Austin shopper Curtis Younger said.

Then Curtis Younger gets a check out surprise.

"Sir, I'm going to pay for your groceries today, OK?" EnviroMedia worker Cassandra Thomas said.

"I thought it was a joke. Then I found out it was true," Younger said.

"No, no, I'm paying for your groceries today. It's my act of kindness for you today, and I just ask you to do something kind for someone else," Thomas said.

It's called Pay It Forward. It's part of a growing Austin-based effort to recognize the random kindness that occurred amongst the random violence of 9-11.

"I know having $5 or $10 in my pocket is good for me so I know coming down here would really help some people," Medrano said, "We come with $100 to spend. We just kind of went looking for people who needed some help to brighten their day."

"There's a lady that approached us and gave my mom $10 for her grocery bills," East Austin shopper Louis Guttierez said.

"It's nice because they did that for me," East Austin shopper Maria Guttierez said.

"Actually she helped me go buy college books for my daughter. I'm going to get teary eyed. I was going to pay bills first to see if I had enough to buy her books and any little bit helps," HEB shopper Linda Chapa said.

"I feel wonderful. Everyone was so wonderful and nice, and I just asked them to pay it forward, and they assured me they would," Thomas said, "It's been a good day. I'm about to start crying."

Twelve other teams from EnviroMedia as well as teams from Dell and the University of Texas are taking part in the effort.

The head of EnviroMedia launched Pay It Forward in honor of the kindness he experienced for himself when his September 11 flight was grounded in Newfoundland.

For more information about how you can take part in the effort, check out EnviroMedia's Web site.

 
   

 

Authore Web site Pay It Forward Foundation