A great friend of ours, Kim MacGregor, asked us to join her grassroots movement that looks to unite 1,000,000 women across the world with a goal to recognize “The amazing women in their lives”. This initiative was put together in memory of Kim’s friend Erika Heller who was battling colon cancer for over 4 years.

By inspiring people to come together in a flash mob at Eaton Center in Toronto, Kim is aimed to put a smile on peoples face and remind them to think of the amazing women in their life who have inspired and supported them.

Check out the video, and remember to take her challenge today

For more info, please visit http://www.ibelieveshesamazing.com/ and join her movement!

Wahooo! It looks like Eli Freeze and his Freestyle Soccer peeps, who attended the April 4th #pibTO are back again! They will be  joining us at the Pay It Backward Day heaquarters (Second Cup cafe @ Queen St. & John St. in Toronto) from 1-3pm TOMORROW - working their footy magic on and around the red carpet of Do-Gooders! Check out the video below, for a brief preview of what creative, amazing footskills these guys can rock:

…can YOU do that? Yeeeeeeeah. Can’t wait to see these guys in action, LIVE tomorrow!

*Check back in soon for more updates on what other exciting stuff will be going on at the Pay It Backward Day HQ location tomorrow! Hint: Expect BIG things.

I recently read a quote from the Dalai Lama that said, “I think technology may have some benefits for a smart brain, but no capacity to produce compassion.” Oh yeah, Dalai Lama? Well, I beg to differ!

I really love this community. The Toronto Internet nerdly nerdstrom community, to clarify. I’ve only been living in this city for about two and a half years, but I feel at home here more than I’ve felt at home anywhere else. I applied for (and got) my job because keeping in touch with people I’ve met in the community; I met the man of my dreams through this community; and I have more friends now than I can remember ever having any other time in my life because of this community — REAL friends who I trust and choose to spend my life with.

Every time I tweet something about feeling down or being sick, handfuls of you make me feel like a million dollars with your sympathy and well wishes. When I celebrated my 24th birthday at a genYTO party, I walked in and received my first ever standing ovation. When I doubted my ability to run with the bulls (not literally — I’m totally sure I could do that), Sarah Prevette and Saul Colt reminded me why I’m good at what I do and how I got to where I am.

Hopefully you see where I’m going with this. This community is unbelievably supportive and kind and COMPASSIONATE.

And you know what? We’re not just about high fives and hugging each other. We do good. Check it out:

* We raised over $25,000 at the first HoHoTO in December, 2008 for the Daily Bread Food Bank and another $10,500 this August at HoHOTo.
* Also last December, joining forces all around the world, Twestival Toronto donated over $10,000 to charity: water to help build wells to provide safe drinking water to people in developing nations. And just a few weeks ago over $6,000 was given to Meal Exchange because of our community’s continuing efforts with Twestival.
* The local chapter of the World Partnership Walk got together a league of super heroes to fight global poverty and donated $2,500 to Aga Khan Foundation Canada this past May.
* The Transforming for Sick Kids team raised over $2,600 to benefit the Therapeutic Clown Program at the Hospital for SickKids in June of this year.

There are a million other efforts that should be included on this list — and I hope you yell at me for forgetting them — but the moral of the story is there’s power in numbers, baby!

And speaking of SickKids, this shouldn’t be news to you, but I can’t stress enough how important it is for everyone to go to any Second Cup location in Ontario and Pay It Backward tomorrow, September 30. Buy a coffee for the person behind you in line and with each simple act of “coffee kindness”, Second Cup, Silk Soy Beverage and Ivanhoe Cambridge will donate $5 to SickKids Foundation.

Let’s all help raise Daily Challenge’s goal of inspiring 3,000 acts of kindness on in order to raise $15,000 for SickKids Foundation in a single day!

So, before I go, just want to let you all know I promise to never forget the kindness you constantly show me, what you do for everyone else in the community and your charitable efforts that are changing the world. How’s that for compassion through technology?

Thanks to alicepopkorn for the use of this photo.

I suppose it doesn’t have the same ring, but keep an open mind as you read down the page.

We are 2 days from kickoff!

The good news keeps filing in, the day’s events are taking shape and most importantly, the city is a buzz with Pay It Backward chirps (it’s chirps, right?).

But wait! There’s more!!

If you haven’t heard by now, we are giving away a handful of “Coffee Hero” cards for Wednesday’s events. Coffee Hero cards are probably my most favourite thing in the world right now. I’ve been begging the folks at Daily Challenge to let me have one, but to no avail. Instead, they’ve let me write a blog post about how 5 people (lucky fives!) can become the “Bee’s Knees” of PIB Day. Thanks.

A Coffee Hero card lets you walk into any Second Cup, this Wednesday, and buy coffee for everyone in sight!

I’m not kidding. This is why I love it - I’ve always wanted to blow the socks off of a bunch of strangers and make a scene while doing it. Now this is your chance. If you are the first - THE FIRST! - to do any one of the following things, we will send you a Coffee Hero card valid for Wednesday’s Pay It Backward day.  I can only hope you’ll record the scene you make… for my sake.  And your Coffee Heroes are….

1. The first person to: Tweet this post
2. The first person to: Snap a picture of our ad in today’s Metro and post to Flickr
3. The first person to: Put a PIB Badge on their website/blog
4. The first person to: Write a blog post about why they love PIB
5. The first person to: Create their own Pay It Backward Facebook Group for their friends to storm a Second Cup location together.

We’re also giving away two totally awesome Pay It Backward Day t-shirts - as seen above on our beautiful model, Samantha Holt. These two shirts go to the following Do-Gooders:

1. The first person to: recruit 2 new members to join www.dailychallenge.org
2. The first person to: to view and share this video with their networks (via Twitter, Facebook, blog, etc)

Ready? Go! (Just be sure to leave us a note in the comments once you’ve accomplished your tasks!)

I am the last guy that should be writing a blog post. You wouldn’t believe the frustration that has come my way just trying to ink something simple and to the point. This is my first blog post and to be honest, I had to consult someone about how to do this. Does this mean I’m a blogger now?

So what is this blog post all about?

Recently, Daily Challenge contacted me and had all these really incredible things to say about my involvement in Pay It Backward Day. They even called me a hero! A hero. really? It is flattering to be sure, but the last time I checked, I can’t leap over tall buildings nor do I wear a cape or sport a utility belt.

I really didn’t understand the “hero” remark. I thought about it for a while and thought - “This ‘do gooding’ thing is pretty simple and effortless.” All I did was pick up the phone, share my ideas and made sure others got involved in the fun. You see, I am fortunate enough to work with really amazing people who love the PIB Day concept so much, it hardly needed a push to take off. When I explained the event and how I wanted my company to participate, there was an instant feeling of excitement and enthusiasm which got me even more revved up! So much so, that I went a bit well… crazy. Not like ‘Tom Cruise on Oprah’ crazy. Good crazy. Okay maybe crazy isn’t the right word… how about inspired. The enthusiasm ignited something - Inspiration!

That’s when it became a whirlwind. I had all these ideas I wanted to bring to the table. The challenge was to find a way to use my ideas in a way that would get people to participate. When the dust settled, something became very clear. I had a “reach” - one that had been in front of me all along. I had a way to send the Pay It Backward concept all the way from Vaughan Mills in Vaughan to as far as Devonshire Mall in Windsor! After hearing the story of the original Pay It Backward, I realized that it would be impossible to ignore the message and my ability to distribute it further.

This whole “hero” thing has everything to do with my actions, I’m told. The more I think about it, the more I see these actions being performed by the people around me. It’s never really been a single effort on my part. The company I work for is more than a real estate company. It is a group of people. Individuals who have genuine concern for their communities and who will take part to make them successful. Our participation is a really big part of who we are. We are probably a lot like you.

I wasn’t looking to ignite people, I just wanted to help. The other stuff just seemed to come together on it’s own.

Thanks to fiskfisk for the use of the Guitar Hero photo.

Hey Do-Gooders, it’s time to party!

Pay It Backward Day is a BIG event, so it clearly deserves the proper kick-off fiesta. This September 22nd, Daily Challenge and Notable TV will host the official Pre PIB Day Party - and it’s going to be quite the classy event.

Here are a few quick details…

• Where: Atelier (508 King West, King and Spadina)
• When: Tuesday, September 22nd: 7pm-10pm
• Who: Some of Toronto’s most influential Do-Gooders and social media gurus

To register please go to : http://pibday.eventbrite.com

This hot event will be a fabulous pre-cursor to September 30th’s Pay It Backward Day! We’re looking forward to rallying the community behind such an amazing cause.

Attention ladies and gents! The ‘old hollywood glamour’ themed TwestivalTO in support of MealExchange is THIS SATURDAY(that’s tomorrow)!  Talk about an awesome way to help out a charitable cause,  make some amazing memories, and look like a hottie in the process!

Here’s the lowdown…

For only $20, you get to:

• Cruise aboard one of the Mariposa cruise line’s most spectacular ships (from 8-11:30 pm, woo!)
• Mix and mingle with the finest of Toronto’s social media crowd
• Enjoy free appetizers courtesy of the lovely team at Sprouter
• Jam out and do a lil’ dancing to music spun by local DJs Duarte Da Silva and Aaron Kaufman
• Have a chance to win some sick prizes, including: the new Palm Pre, tickets to an exclusive TIFF event, a subscription to Freshbooks, two brand new uCorders, and a Molson CFL Tailgate Prize Pack!

…But want to know the best part of all?! 100% of the $20 ticket sales go directly to MealExchange, an intiative fighting hunger in Toronto. TwestivalTO hopes to raise $5000 for MealExchange - which would be enough to provide 178 youth leaders and over 6,200 meals to the hungry.

So far, just over 200 tickets have been sold for this epic event. Help TwestivalTO reach its goal of selling 500 tickets by spreading the word! Tweet it. Facebook it. Blog it. Also, get YOUR tickets today! You have until tomorrow at 5pm to score your tix, so chop chop!

Together we can make a huge difference for the fight against hunger in our local TO community. Please visit the TwestivalTO website for further deets and info.

Hope to see ya out there, hollywood style.

After Michael Jackson abruptly passed away this summer, millions of people spoke out in memory of one of history’s most incredible song artists and performers. In honor of the late MJ’s recent birthday on August 29, I’d like to share with you one of the coolest ‘memorials’ that I’ve come across… (Thanks Dee for the tip)!

On July 8th, people in Stockholm paid their tribute to the King of Pop in their own unique - and might I say, AWESOME - way!

On the afternoon of the 8th, over 300 dancers gathered at 3:30 pm to learn the choreography for Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’ in less than half an hour. A few short moments later, they were spontaneously performing in a crowded city square in Stockholm, to the delight of thousands of unsuspecting passersby. The effect was…enormous.

Peep the video on YouTube here!

Although it’s 17 years old, the message hasn’t changed. Severn Suzuki speaks on behalf of the world, especially for those with no voice.

She represents E.C.O., the Environmental Children’s Organization, a group of Canadian 12-13 year olds trying to make a difference. In 1992, Vanessa Suttie, Morgan Geisler, Michelle Quigg and Severn traveled 5,000 miles to emplore the United Nations for change.

She says, “I am only a child yet I know that we are all part of a family,  5 billion strong, in fact 30 million species strong. And borders and governments will never change that. I am only a child yet I know we are all in this together and should act as one single world towards one single goal.”

If you want your heart strings tugged and your sense of responsibility emboldened, watch Severn Suzuki speak to the United Nations in this 6:30 minute video:

Please pass this on and keep the message strong and clear!

The good news never ends and lucky for us or we’d run out of material to share with you in our weekly Good News Report. Today’s report covers a super healthy and flexible 83-year-old granny, a man who treats his mugger to a meal and little girl who gets mail from God!

Good News Links For May 15, 2009:

1. Supergran proves yoga keeps you young and fit. (Source: Mail Online)
2. God lives in the post office. (Source: Dog News Daily)
3. Digital Samaritans crop up on the Net. (Source: The New York Times)
4. Man takes his mugger out to lunch and gets his wallet back! (Source: StoryCorps)
5. Couple and community creates a fun beach program for inter-city kids. (Source: Reader’s Digest)

To share your feel-good stories, email us at goodnews {at} dailychallenge {dot} org.