READER OF THE MONTH: Pie it forward

by on May 10, 2013

pieitforward

Sarah and Chris have quit their jobs and gone on the road to give away free pie across America. Yes, you heard me right … PIE! Take it away Sarah …

Our project is named Pie it Forward (or OccuPIE) and we’re currently six weeks into our six month tour of the US, giving away free pie in multiple cities and inspiring people to be kinder to each other.

Our purpose with this trip is simple – to inspire people to recognise how their own successes are dependent on the unsung contributions of thousands, perhaps even millions. We hope to get people thinking about how they can “pie it forward” in their own lives by sharing their resources, talents, or time.

The trip is funded with donations and our tax returns, which were pretty meagre. We started out the trip with a couple thousand dollars, which was all spent on gas and food very quickly. Luckily people have responded well to our mission. Fans have given us bags of flour, sugar, apples, baking supplies and of course, the much appreciated hot shower and laundry combo.

We both quit our jobs for this project. Chris was working a very demoralising job for a company that will remain nameless, so he was happy to go. I on the other hand was working at a homeless shelter, and they’ve said they’d be happy to take me back if we decide to return to the area after our tour. I miss all my old coworkers and clients a lot and they were very supportive of me while I dreamed up this project.

Every time I check Zen Pencils, I find a new comic that’s even more relevant than the last. “I would rather be ashes than dust” really hit home for me. All my life, I’ve heard people telling me to be more cautious, to plan carefully, to wait, to plan for fun 10, 20 or even 50 years from now. When I shared my last big dream with my family, they said “Sure, go ahead and do that, after you’ve had a career, put your kids through college and saved up enough for retirement.” I didn’t even have children at the time (still don’t) so why was I being told to shelf my dreams?

I’ve had enough. Life is too short, too unpredictable, to not spend every available moment making it better for ourselves and those around us. I know anything could happen, and I can finally say I’m living without regrets. If World War III breaks out tomorrow, I can die peacefully knowing that I’ve brought happiness to every single person who got a slice of our homemade pie.

You can visit Pie it Forward’s blog here. If you have an interesting story to tell and would like to be a reader of the month, then send me an email. – Gav