by Sam Loth, Fund Drive Committee Member

“Pay it forward” means repaying a kindness by being kind to someone else rather than the person who was kind to you. I see examples of this every day in Chestnut Hill. One driver yields to another who in turn kindly waits while a third driver maneuvers into a parking stall along the Avenue. A courteous person holds a door for another who in turn pays the courtesy forward. These simple gestures are far more powerful than most of us might think! They create an atmosphere of gentility and make living and shopping, working and visiting Chestnut Hill a very special experience indeed.

That’s what your Chestnut Hill Community Fund does each year around this time – it pays It forward to dozens of small nonprofit organizations in Northwest Philly that are doing good work for others. The people who volunteer and labor at helping others deserve recognition, and over the next few months in this space we will do just that by bringing you their stories. But now dear reader, this is your opportunity to pay it forward and, in turn, benefit each other by delivering a cleaner, safer, more civil and generally higher quality of life right here. Here’s how to pay It forward:

Donate $25 or $50 or whatever you believe is the value of the community’s nonprofit programs like the Pastorius Park Summer Concerts or the Mt. Airy Arts Garage Rain Barrel Project or the Allens Lane Arts Center. Those are the types of programs to which your CHCF awards annual grants. The CHCF collects your donations and in turn pays it forward on your behalf to deserving small nonprofits that deliver a better quality of life back to you and yours. Neighbors, this is worth it! Send your donation to CHCF at 8434 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia 19118, and help the volunteers and nonprofits pay it forward in the end, right back to you. Thank you.

Next Week: How you help volunteers create music in Pastorius Park