Unexpected Outcomes
In many of my keynotes, I teach about The Ripple Effect. The size of the kindness does not matter. Sometimes we will learn the outcome of our actions, but other times we certainly will not. Either way, I call this the Ripple Effect of kindness.
We never know how our actions will ripple through our neighborhood or our community. My friend Jordan Schweiger, a realtor in Salem, Oregon has recently learned how wonderful this phenomenon can be when we set something into motion.
Life-Altering Experiences
Jordan and his family had a life-altering experience in August of 2009. He and his family were backpacking in the Eagle Camp Wilderness in Oregon when his two children were riding a horse down a trail. It was raining and the horse slipped, throwing both of Schweiger’s boys off its back. His son Jackson was bleeding from his head. Jordan’s other son Jamison had a broken thigh bone, a potentially life-threatening emergency if not treated immediately. Their call from their rural location to 911 was cut off. Emergency personnel texted back.
Eventually, the emergency crew met up with Schweiger and his family and they were airlifted to safety. Jackson is now 8 and Jamison is 7.
How to Repay Them?
Schweiger felt blessed and knew he could never repay the people who had helped save his children’s lives. But he wanted to pay it forward somehow.
Inspiration hit him and he set to work. Schweiger is a realtor in Salem, Oregon. Every day he helps others find homes. He knows the value of home ownership and decided to start an effort called the Good Well Project. He wanted to help build homes for Habitat for Humanity in Nepal.
In April, Schweiger stood in front of a group of high school leadership students with a challenge. He told them it costs $590 to build a single home in Nepal and that he wanted to raise enough money to build 20 homes. Jordan asked the students to help raise half the funds and he would match the rest. He made the same pitch at a few other schools. Collectively he asked all the students to raise $5,900.
Leave it to the Kids
The students set to work to raise the money. About 70 students throughout the area participated, and each one had their own way of doing it. Some wrote letters and emails. Some cooked and sold tamales. Others knocked on doors and others sold donuts. The students raised a lot of money, close to $15,000.
Schweiger watched in awe as the sums grew. The students raised the bar and more money than he’d expected them to. Now, Jordan wasn’t sure what to do next. After panicking a little he regrouped and contacted two local chapters of Habitat for Humanity. The chapters agreed to add an additional $35,000 to match the money the students raised and then some. In all, the fundraiser gained more than $50,000.
The Ripple Effect of Kindness in Action
Jordan never imagined this incredible outcome. His effort is possibly one of the largest student-driven service projects in Oregon, raising and attracting $50,000+ dollars. All because of the students’ efforts. It’s been so successful that they are sending one student ambassador and 14 other Habitat board members and volunteers to Nepal in October to participate in the Global Village Build.
I was so excited when Jordan shared his awesome story with me because it reiterated the amazing power of the ripple effect. “Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” – Scott Adams
Congrats to Jordan and all of the students who participated in this awesome service project.
