Calling to check in on a family member or friend. Paying for the coffee of the person behind you. Letting someone into your lane when there’s a lot of traffic. Buying someone lunch. Helping someone in need.
No matter the size of the gesture, doing something kind not only makes someone’s day — it can inspire other acts of kindness.
This is the premise and inspiration for ePIFanyNow, an organization created by my friend Bob Hoffman almost ten years ago.
ePIFanyNow will celebrate its popular annual event at the MSU Federal Credit Union headquarters on Sunday, May 6.
But while the result is an ever-growing movement aimed at making the world a better place, the catalyst for it was something quite different.
“The idea came together in 2009,” Bob says. “I was coming home from work one day, and somebody cut in front of me on the highway. I felt like I wanted to ram that car because they weren’t paying attention to anyone in front of them. But then I heard a voice in my head that said, ‘well, were you paying attention?'”
Bob had an epiphany in that moment. After living on autopilot and being wrapped up in his life, he realized he needed to break that cycle by focusing on good deeds for others.
“From that event, I decided to get some of my buddies together and go out to do some good deeds. We decided to give people money and make them smile.”
He says that first outing was very successful, and from there, ePIFanyNow was born. The PIF stands for “Pass It Forward,” and much like the idea of paying it forward, passing kindness forward has mobilized the community.
“We had our first event in 2009 because we had such a great reaction from my friends who participated in the first outing. We decided we should do this on a bigger level. We put it out there on social media, and it took off.”
There were hundreds RSVPs to the initial event on social media. Those who participated were eager to find out when the next one would be. Considering the economy wasn’t very strong at the time, Bob was amazed by the interest and generosity of the event’s participants.
While ePIFanyNow initially created a local movement, it reached national and international recognition after a CBS Evening News feature in 2012.
In 2015, ePIFanyNow began to honor local youth who were making a difference in their communities with the Y-PIF Award. In addition to honoring them with an award, Bob wanted to help them get funding for their projects.
“Once kids apply for the award, we put the finalists on our website. People can vote for their favorite — every vote costs a dollar — and all of that money that they raise, they get to keep for their projects. In addition, we’ve also given between $500 and $1,000 to the winners every year.”
Last year, the Y-PIF participants took home $9,000. And the 2016 Y-PIF winner, Skylar Medes, was so inspired by winning the award that she is wanting to develop her project into a non-profit. Learn more about Skylar and her project, Suitcases for Kids:
In addition to the Y-PIF Award, ePIFanyNow will also be introducing its ePIFanyNow Hero Award at the event in May. The inaugural award will be posthumously given to Chris Rosati of North Carolina. Chris was featured on a CBS News story for trying to make the world a better place. His widow, Anna, will accept the award on his behalf and share more on Chris’ mission with attendees at the event.
Be sure to mark your calendar and RSVP online for the upcoming ePIFanyNow event on Sunday, May 6.
And take some time today and every day to think about how you can make someone else’s day. Even a smile can make the biggest difference.