Pay It Forward Conference

The 1>0 girls were asked to make a presentation at the PAY IT FORWARD Conference which took place on April 4th at the Nassau Boces Education Center in Westbury, NY. Student representatives, from more than 30 Long Island Schools, participated in the conference.

Pay It Forward is a phenomenal book (and movie) written by Catherine Ryan Hyde. It's a beautiful story. The basic premise of the story is that instead of someone paying you back for a good deed that you performed for them, ask them to perform a good deed for 3 people. This way instead of paying you back, they are paying it forward. Then those 3 people will each do the same and so on.

Brian Mannix, a Social Studies teacher at the Great Neck South Middle School, organized the event. He brought together student representatives from different schools on Long Island and had them listen to different charitable organizations' presentations. The goal was to have these students go back to their schools and find a way to "Pay It Forward".

The girls were honored to speak and as a result raised money and awareness for their cause and mission. They received an email from Mr. Mannix saying that everyone at the conference was so moved by their presentation, that those who attended agreed to raise $4,300 to save 1 child!

As an added bonus, one of the girls actually received a phone call from the author herself, Catherine Ryan Hyde! It was truly an extraordinary experience!