Two men from Halifax have taken the phrase “random acts of kindness” in a new direction by doing various good deeds while concealing their identities.
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Called “The Pay It Forwards,” the men go around the municipality performing various kind acts dressed from head to toe in homemade costumes.
“Around Christmas time we came up the idea of just doing random acts of kindness for people but we wanted to be anonymous, that’s one of our biggest things is we don’t want our faces or names being out there,” said one of the men.
“We started out just by going to the (Emera) Oval and tying skates and skating around, trying to get people comfortable. Our goal is to go to a Moosehead game in this and just make people’s night.”
WATCH: The Pay It Forwards at the Emera Oval in Halifax
“Our slogan is little kindness, big smiles, better world and that’s exactly what it is. A little bit can make a big difference,” added the other man.
Both men asked for their names not to be published to remain anonymous while performing their acts of kindness.
The idea is still new and “The Pay It Forwards” admitted they get mixed reactions when walking down the street in their outfits, mainly because some people are still wary following the negativity that surrounded masked clowns late last year.
“We just really want to let people know that we’re here to help and not harm. When people see us we want to see smiles and not scared faces.”
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This week, the men spent time handing out homemade cookies, as well as coffee and Timbits they purchased from Tim Hortons, to random people throughout Halifax and Dartmouth.
“That was really nice, really nice,” said George Gillmore after he got a free coffee and treats from the men while waiting for a ferry Tuesday morning.
At this time, most of the gestures are small and cost very little. But the men say a little kindness can go a long way and sometimes it’s the smallest gestures that can help make someone’s day a little brighter.
“The Pay It Forwards” say they hope to grow their movement as time goes on. The next step is for them to pass out business cards as they complete an act of kindness, the hope is to encourage those they help to continue the trend and help someone else.
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As for the future, the men say they would like to expand as much as possible and help change someone’s life.
“Yes we love small acts of kindness, little things go a long way but it would be amazing to be able to grow it and eventually, the sky’s the limit. We’d love to be able to build a house for somebody or something like that, really change people’s lives,” said the second man.
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