Finley “Pay it Forward” Project Pays Off
Rather than paying people back for a favor, Finley Middle School students signed on to the concept of “pay it forward” during a novel five day school wide project.
The program comes on the heels of other Finley initiatives ranging from special assemblies, including one for seventh graders on bullying to the well-known Challenge Day activities that always manages to touch young lives in a meaningful way.
Finley PTA President Bari Fehrs said the Pay it Forward project offered students “a chance to reflect and make use of what they have learned” this year. “Our seventh and eighth graders are in a very natural stage of being self-centered,” Mrs. Fehrs said. “However, they have unlimited amounts of generosity just waiting to be tapped. This is where Pay It Forward comes into play. The concept is simple.”
The project takes its name from a 2000 novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde, which was later made into a major motion picture movie. “From the popularity of the book and movie, a foundation was established to educate and inspire students to realize that they can change the world, and provide them with opportunities to do so,” Mrs. Fehrs wrote in a letter to the Finley school community. “By bringing the author’s vision into homes and classrooms students are encouraged to formulate their own ideas of how they can pay it forward.”
Finley guidance counselor Cathy Cain and social worker Kathryn Costa each played key roles in the project. During lunch periods the pair recruited project leaders. Even the Finley Falcon, the school mascot got into the act, encouraging participating student participation.
Mrs. Fehrs used the words of the 12-year old hero of “Pay it Forward” to get across how students could become involved. “You see, I do something real good for three people,” character Trevor McKinney said. “And then when they ask how they can pay it back, I say they have to ‘pay it forward’ to three more people. So nine people get helped and so on and then you see how bit the numbers can get.”
“The acts of kindness don’t have to be huge, just well thought out and sincere,” said Mrs. Fehrs, who was pleased with the level of participation. Finley students wrote down what they did on strips of paper and then joined hundreds of them together to form a huge chain that was hung in the building for all to see.
Students were left to consider that the Pay it Forward philosophy doesn’t need to be put on the shelf now that the five day project has concluded. “We’re hoping the students can carry it on in their own ways,” Mrs. Fehrs said.
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