SMPS Atlanta: Pay It Forward Challenge

What is "PAY IT FORWARD"?

“Pay It Forward” is a book written by Catherine Ryan Hyde, but it's also an idea. It's an action plan within a work of fiction. But does it have to be fiction? SMPS Atlanta is betting that with the generosity of our chapter members and local firms, this idea will become a reality and the good news will spread.

Reuben St. Clair, the teacher and protagonist in the book “Pay It Forward,” starts a movement with this voluntary, extra-credit assignment: THINK OF AN IDEA FOR WORLD CHANGE, AND PUT IT INTO ACTION.

Trevor, the 12-year-old hero of “Pay It Forward,” thinks of quite an idea. He describes it to his mother and teacher this way: "You see, I do something real good for three people. And then when they ask
how they can pay it back, I say they have to Pay It Forward. To three more people. Each. So nine people get helped. Then those people have to do twenty-seven." He turned on the calculator, punched in a few numbers. "Then it sort of spreads out, see. To eighty-one. Then two hundred forty-three. Then seven hundred twenty-nine. Then two thousand, one hundred eighty-seven. See how big it gets?"

THE CHALLENGE

SMPS Atlanta’s 2008-2009 theme Pay It Forward is about paying it forward to our members, marketing and business development professionals, the community, and other SMPS chapters in hopes that they will then pay it forward, and the good faith efforts multiply.

SMPS Atlanta has identified many ways of paying it forward this year:

SMPS Marketing Boot Camp program (starts October ’08), led by SMPS members
Trees Atlanta Community Outreach (March ’09)
Charity Golf Tournament (May ’09)
Lynne Bradford Scholarship
CPSM Scholarship
Mentoring Program
New Student Chapter
Sharing information and ideas with other SMPS chapters
Inviting other SMPS chapter members to attend our events
SMPS Atlanta participating with other marketing associations: Society of Design Administrators, Atlanta Integrated Marketing Summit

We encourage you to join us and pay it forward to others and to the community. Email payitforward@smpsatl.org to tell us how your firm is doing something “real good” for others. We will also have Pay It Forward forms at all of our programs this year, so you can anonymously let others know what generous acts members and member firms are performing in the community.

Pay It Forward generous efforts/stories will be posted anonymously on the SMPS Atlanta website.

ACTIONS

Below we have included summaries of actions from the Pay-It-Forward Challenge:

Pay It Forward – Employee Recommendations
SMPS Atlanta knows there are a lot of great employees that have been laid off by due to impact of the economy. As a part of Pay It Forward program, we would like to offer a place that employers in the AEC can find great candidates looking for jobs. Candidates can be any position found in the AEC or related industries. This is not specific to only Marketing or Business Development positions.