"None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody - a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns - bent down and helped us pick up our boots."

-Justice Thurgood Marshall

"Think of an idea for change, and put it into action..."
The response of a thoughtful 12-year old-- "do something good for someone and when they ask how they can pay back the favor, tell them to PAY IT FORWARD."

The Challenge: If TMC gave you $100, $250 or $500, how would you spend it?

The Challenge: If TMC gave you $100, $250 or $500, how would you spend it?

The Rules:

1. You cannot use the money on yourself, your family or your friends.

That's it. Let your mind and heart run wild with ideas...

No idea is too big... A pair of sisters in Atlanta adopted a shelter for battered women and children. Recognizing that their gift could be expanded, they started making phone calls and found airtime on a local radio station, telling others about the cause. The word spread and even began pulling in corporate donations. In the span of only one week, they turned their $2,000 into $200,000 for the shelter!

No idea is too small... A middle schooler in Colorado, not yet ready for a large amount of money, was given $10. Taking that small sum, he bought a snow shovel. He began shoveling driveways in his neighborhood and accepting donations for the service. After just two weeks of shoveling his ten dollars grew to over two hundred, which he used to inspire others to get involved.

And it is not about the money...A student from right here in San Diego began holding study sessions, using the funds to buy "brain food" (healthy snacks) hoping it would encourage others to attend. Students began to show up and soon the session had tutors on many subjects. Those being tutored "paid it forward" by becoming tutors themselves, holding separate study times to accommodate schedules.

The application period for
Pay It Forward Grant has passed.