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Pay It Forward Movement News |
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| Grateful
author pays it forward' Community reading project helps spread book's message BY ANNA SPIEWAK PARAMUS Fiction author Catherine Ryan Hyde paid a visit to the borough on Sept. 16, signing books at the public library and dining with town officials and educators at the Paramus High School cafeteria. Her third novel, Pay it Forward (2000), about a boy who's asked to do a credit assignment to change the world and actually changes it, has not only become a critically acclaimed easy read, but also a Hollywood smash hit, with an all star cast, including Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment. But more recently, the book has become the central focus for the Paramus community. All residents were asked to read the book over the summer and discuss it together in the fall. Hyde's novel not only created a best seller and a blockbuster hit, it also started a social movement. Shortly after the novel and the film came out, the author launched the Pay It Forward Foundation. Its Web site (www.payitforwardmovement.org) brings together as many real life examples as possible of the Pay It Forward movement. Hyde said the purpose of the site was to show cynics that the concept actually works. In Hyde's story, a young boy commits a "random act of kindness" for a stranger. In exchange, the boy asks only that the recipient of the favor "pay it forward," by doing similar favors for three other strangers. The idea is that, as each person who is helped turns around and helps three others, the goodwill will spread far and wide. To Hyde, the novel was a reaction to an experience in her own life. To the Paramus Library choosing the book was a way “to foster community spirit," said Len LoPinto, the library's director. LoPinto reinforced that sense of community during the author dinner by going around to all the tables and asking guests to introduce themselves, as readers, both young and old, reflected their thoughts on the novel. Paramus High School junior Kyle Mason said Pay It Forward was the first book he had read twice, "and I've read a lot of good books. It really opened my mind to the idea that one person can make a difference." "I hope [community reading] continues for a long, long time based on its success ' " said Councilman Irving Gall, 82, who brought up the idea of one book, one-community project to the library. According to LoPinto, about 700 people either bought or borrowed a copy of the book from the library. For Hyde, it was the seventh time that her book was chosen for a communitywide read. She does not expect art to imitate life and her book to change the world, but she still finds the experience exciting. "In a small way, if enough people in one town become aware of the concept all at once, you get some positive changes," she said.
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