One of the best parts of going to a concert for a great band is the crowd. It begins with the excitement that fills the air entering the venue. We’re all there to see a favourite artist and the excitement pouring into the stadium is palpable. Which songs will they play? What will they open with? What will be said on stage? The house lights go down, the stage lights go up, and we’re all entranced.

The energy of the crowd reaches another level when the band plays their biggest hits and cellphones and camera flashbulbs fill the air. Then, almost invariably, something magical happens. The lead singer brings us to the chorus and… stops singing. But the concert doesn’t grind to a halt. Rather, the voices of the crowd fill the air. Some of us can sing, and some of us can only yell – but from all that practice alone in our room or in the shower, we all know the words. And by the thousands of us coming together, we create something that none of us could ever achieve on our own, and something none of us will soon forget.

When I learned that the second installment of Pay it Backward Day would bring together people from across Ontario at over 170 Second Cup locations, I felt that same excitement of entering the stadium before a big show. So many of us buy a coffee every day, but we do it alone and we do it for ourselves. On September 30, we’ll have a chance to do something we’d do on our own anyways, but by Paying it Backward, we unite. By joining the movement, our voices unite to create something we could never duplicate on our own. We will make history and we’ll help hundreds, even thousands of children just by doing we’d do on our own anyways. But by doing it together.

So let’s raise our voices and make September 30th a day to remember. Pay it Backward, everybody - we all know the words so let’s make something memorable.