Paying it Forward is Gutzy

Paying it forward means more than doing a good deed. It means making a difference in someone's life, and knowing that when you add lots of small actions together, you are making a significant contribution to a greater good!


Gutzy Gear was generous enough to help bloggers with our Paying it Forward is Gutzy event. They provided participating bloggers with $25, and a challenge to stuff a backpack with as many school supplies as possible. They also provided us with Gutzy Gear backpack strap covers, and Gutzies patches to decorate those strap covers.

I'm not a coupon blogger, so I didn't get 100 supplies for 100 pennies, but I kept my eye out for the latest and greatest deals. I asked my fellow coworkers about non-profit organizations that helped children during back to school season. I wanted to "pay it forward" to foster children, who definitely deserve school supplies during this time of year.

Out of my efforts, I've had two backpacks and various school supplies donated to me for this event! I purchased one backpack and a notebook with the $25, and stuffed it with my own school supplies since I have several boxes of supplies from my years in school.

I know the challenge was to stuff a backpack with as many items as possible, but when I was growing up, I always wanted an expensive and cool backpack. My parents couldn't afford to buy me one, even though all the other kids had one. This is why I decided to buy a ProCat Puma backpack. Growing up, I was always given hand-me-downs or cheap things that broke easily. I appreciated what I had when I was younger, but I thought to myself, how cool it would be to give a child an awesome backpack!

I found this Puma backpack at Target on clearance for $19.99, marked down from $39.99. The notebook with the little bird was marked down to 70 cents. I used the remaining dollars to buy 7 notebooks, 2 packs of pens, 1 pack of mechanical pencils, and 2 binders. The pencils case and assortment of pencils, along with the no. 2 pencils are from my own supplies. I went over the $25 amount, but it was worth every penny.

When I was younger, we relied on others' good deeds every so often. I would not be where I am today without other people who "paid it forward" and helped me.

I decided to donate to an organization who works with foster children called CASA For Children. They have many locations in California and they have a program where volunteers get to hang out with foster kids a couple times a month. I will be a volunteer with CASA very soon!

A staff member who works at my organization donated two Oakland A's backpacks, which I have filled with school supplies and donated as well.

I truly hope that the three foster children who receive these backpacks will make it through their journeys and I believe they will make significant contributions back to their communities. All it takes is 1 person to perform 1 action, another to follow in their footsteps and continue the chain of "paying it forward," and the rest will be history.

Please consider helping another person in need; one day you may need a helping hand too.