This post is sponsored by Stonyfield Yogurt.
Dear Stonyfield Yogurt,
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to teach my teenager how to Pay it Forward. I have been blessed to be a Stonyfield YoGetter Blogger for several years and you’ve given me so much more than delicious organic yogurt. This month you gave me a $50 Visa Gift Card to use any way that I like to “Pay it Forward.” There were no rules and no restrictions on how or when we used the gift card.
Tonight my son and I made a quick trip to the local Publix store to pick up dinner for the night. On the way to the store I asked him if he knew what it meant to Pay it Forward. He hadn’t really ever heard the term before but loved my plan and was excited to help me out.
We walked into Publix and purchased a $50 Gift Certificate. I was hoping the store would be busier than it was, but it was a very quiet night in the store. We didn’t need much for dinner so we had time to walk through the store. I was “people watching” and trying to find just the right person (or people) to give the gift certificate to. There were only about 20 people in the entire store.
As we walked past the yogurt section we spied an older couple. The couple had a cart full of food and they were shuffling through the holiday hams trying to find the perfect ham. I can only make assumptions about why they were digging through the freezer section. Perhaps they were looking for the right size ham. Perhaps they were trying to find a ham in their budget. I walked up to them and handed them the Publix gift card and said “Excuse me, we’d like to give you a gift.” Then we smiled and walked off. They went back to the freezer section and kept digging through the holiday hams.
We finished our shopping and left. We never saw the couple again and have no idea how the story ends. I played this out several times in my head before we got there and had hoped for it to be more “emotional” and had hoped to see the smiles on their faces; but that didn’t happen.
I can only hope that they presented the gift card at checkout. I can hope that they had the look of shock or surprise or gratitude on their faces when they found out it was valued at $50. I can hope that this gift will allow them to enjoy their holiday a little more. They may never know who the gift was from, but I wanted to thank you Stonyfield yogurt from the unknown couple at Publix who received your gift.
I wanted to thank you Stonyfield as a parent for allowing me to teach my teenager that sometimes it’s ok to do something nice for others; even if no one else realizes what you’ve done. Thank you for reminding me to think of others. Thank you for loving our family through your coupons and through your blog ambassador program over the past few years. Thank you for making delicious yogurt that is healthy for my family and for my planet.
Thank you Stonyfield and Merry Christmas.
Sincerely,
The Pate Family
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