Paying Forward. When We Can Do Good.

A few years ago a friend gave me a copy of Catherine Ryan Hyde's book "Pay It Forward". It moved me.

Pay It Forward takes as its premise the simple bumper-sticker phrase "Think Globally, Act Locally" and builds a novel around it. The hero of her story is a 12-year-old named Trevor McKinney, whose uses his imagination for an extra-credit assignment in Social Studies: "Think of an idea for world change, and put it into action." Trevor's idea is deceptively simple: do a good deed for three people, and in exchange, ask each of them to "pay it forward" to three more. "So nine people get helped. Then those people have to do twenty-seven.... Then it sort of spreads out."

Two amazing young ladies from Centennial College here in Toronto contacted me about a worthy cause and it hits home. Katherine Carl-Musson and Madison Papple contacted me to ask if I would consider getting involved in a really amazing and worthy cause and to spread their message to my peers in advertising and my students.

Their act of "Pay It Forward" is organizing a advertising student/industry blood drive to assist a the daughter of one of my our grads and succesful Creative Director.

A little background:

Troy Palmer, Creative Director at Bensimon Byrne and alumni of my program, is the father to a wonderful daughter named Lily.

Lily has a hereditary medical condition called Spherocytosis. This means every six to eight weeks she has to undergo blood transfusions. This will continue until she reaches an age when her spleen can be removed.

The reality though is that Lily isn't the only one in our city that needs blood - and, as a community we should do our part to help.

There is a Facebook group which better explains the cause and specific details of the process.

It's a chance for you to make an impact within the community - and it's a worthy one at that... paying forward to one of our family.

Please pass this message on to your friends who might want to help and go see the Facebook group.

To get more details on the actual "Advertising Blood Drive", contact Katherine Carl-Musson via email.

I wish Lily, Troy and his wife Michelle all the best, and they will remain in my prayers.

Michelle Palmer prepared this message for the Canadian Blood Services.