Just over 2 months ago, on Easter Sunday, 2014, a Home at Last Dog Rescue volunteer went to one of the most overcrowded shelters in Philadelphia and pulled a dog that had been brought in as a stray. He was covered in dirt and bugs, had a double ear infection that required surgical cleaning, was emaciated, and was just in all around bad shape. He was also scheduled to be euthanized that day. Despite his really rough road, he was wagging his tail at her from his kennel. She pulled him from the shelter and brought him to a foster home. That dog was Jax.

After a whirlwind week of vet appointments and multiple foster homes, Jax came to live with Jennifer Smith and family. He loves everyone (dogs, kids, cats – you name it). And, he wakes up every morning with such joy and delight at the prospect of facing another day that he helps us put a smile on our faces every morning. Jax is, as we say at Corporate Visions, “all in”.

Jennifer’s family is so grateful that they get to share their lives with this lovely guy, that when she received the $100 challenge, she knew immediately who she wanted to give it to. Jax and Jennifer drove down to Blue Bell, Pennsylvania to a “Home at Last” adoption event and gave them the $100 as a way to say thanks for saving his life and in hopes that they can save many more dogs like Jax. [By Jennifer Smith]

Kate Myers, Creative Director at Corporate Visions, thought the $100 Challenge was such a great idea that she decided to get her entire family involved. She talked with her 6 year old daughter about ideas for what they could do and finally decided to carry out their idea at a local farmers’ market.

One Friday afternoon, she, her daughter and 4 year old son, assembled envelopes with a $5 bill, a lollipop and a note that said:

“I hope you like your treats. I was just trying to do something nice for a stranger. If you liked this, please try to think of something you could do nice for a stranger someday to make their day!”

Later that evening, Kate’s husband, the kids and she went for their weekly shopping. While there, the kids handed out the envelopes to random people, mostly chosen by their son. Whereas, their daughter was a little nervous to approach a stranger, but their son was happy to walk up, say, “Excuse me”, to get their attention, and hand them the envelope. As he did, Kate let them know that they were taking some time to pay it forward and do a “random act of kindness”.

They were met with a variety of reactions, mostly disbelief and then gratitude. They received happy hugs from many of the receivers and had an offer to do a free family portrait from someone who happened to be a professional photographer. They were even approached by someone else to give them the very same envelope because someone had passed it on to him and he was continuing to pay it forward. They sent the man on his way to share the kindness with someone new.

It was definitely a unique and rewarding experience for all.

Many thanks from Lisa Campbell to Corporate Visions for providing the opportunity to participate in the $100 Challenge.

When Lisa heard about the challenge, she knew she wanted to do something with her 10-year-old son to reinforce the value of giving back.

Lisa decided to give the $100 to Chubby’s Ice Cream, a family-owned ice cream shop in Plumsteadville, PA, which is part of the Doylestown community. She does not know the owner personally, but is aware that he is a very generous man and donates ice cream to countless organizations in their community.

It was quiet when they arrived, and the girls working in the shop were stunned and very grateful when they were handed a $100 bill and asked them to put it towards any forthcoming orders. Lisa did not have a chance to see any customers after us, the best part was when her son asked, “So who are we going to give the next $100 to?” That is priceless! [By Lisa Campbell]

Jim Jordan’s local school district in Doylestown, Pennsylvania asks all kids in middle school and up to choose and read at least one book from a summer reading list that the school provides. The Doylestown Bookstore, an independent book seller here in downtown Doylestown prominently displays all the books on the list on tables in their store. Jim broke a $100 bill into 10 x $10 bills and slipped the bills somewhere near the back of randomly selected books on these tables. On each bill was attached a sticky note with a message, such as:

• See – your teachers were right. Reading is rewarding.
• You never know what kind of surprises you’ll find in the pages of a book. #nonfiction
• Congratulations! Read on young blood.
• You’re almost to the best part. Keep reading!
• The value of reading cannot be overestimated
• Bet you never found one of these in a book you got from Amazon. Keep reading!

Jim’s goal was to simultaneously reward kids for reading and encourage them to keep doing so, as well as to support my local, independent bookstore.

Jim had fun and he writes, “…And oddly enough, a slightly nerve-wrackin experience”. Great idea!

Synchronicity. It shows up in my life on a routine basis so I’m never surprised, but always grateful, when it shows up in a big way, which is what occurred this week when Joe gave us the opportunity to experience the flow of abundance.

It started on Tuesday morning’s run with my girlfriends. Like every other morning run, we chat about and “process” life’s daily wins and challenges. On this morning, the topic of conversation was all about the acquisition of Launch International. As I was sharing my excitement and angst with my closest friends, I mentioned the $100 challenge and we talked about ideas. That evening, I received a text from one of those friends with the below message:

“Christina Schill .. Bucks County Lost and Found
I know this page is for lost and found pets but I was looking for advice and maybe some help for a woman I met today living out of a van with 5 dogs. The dogs are all well fed and looked to be in good condition. She had plenty of food and water for them, but it is way to hot for them all to be in the van. She had been staying in the parking lot of Walmart in Quakertown for like the past 10 days. She was asked to leave today because someone called the police on her. I gave her gas money and directed her to a campsite not too far away where she is currently staying. I wish there was more I could do for her but I don’t know what or how. She was crying so much because she thought she was going to lose her dogs today. Any suggestions?”