A Nanaimo school trustee wants to move forward a good cause.
Bill Robinson, also organizer of Nanaimo Pays it Forward, says the group meets monthly, pools money together and it is up to a member to decide how best to spend the collection for something worthy.
Robinson said the idea came from Deb Palm, a social worker from Tillicum Lelum. Nanaimo Pays it forward has met four times already and meets the second Thursday of the month, he said.
“The concept is very simple. Everyone puts $10 in [a jar] we divide it into pots of two or three and whoever gets that pot of money agrees to find some way to use that money to ‘pay it forward’ during the next month and then come back and tell their story,” said Robinson.
Robinson said an example occurred after Stella Lima, owner of The Hair Chair and Nanaimo Pays it Forward member, received $200.
She heard from Rick Becker, a client and a teacher at Woodlands Secondary School, that he was working on the musical The 25th Anniversary of the Putnam County Spelling Bee and suggested a free special matinee performance for elementary school kids.
Lima agreed because it appealed to her three passions – children, theatre and music – and she put her Pay it Forward money toward food. The performance took place June 9.
“Country Grocer pitched in $800 worth of groceries for my $200 win, so we actually got $600 in free groceries and Bill brought in all kinds of wonderful help from the Rotary Club and we fed [the students] hamburgers and juice boxes within an hour,” Lima said.
Robinson not only hopes to get more members, but also that people start up groups of their own.
“I picked up the idea from Deb Palm, we’re hoping that people are going to pick up the idea from us,” said Robinson.
To take part, please contact Robinson at billrobinson99@shaw.ca.