Category — Charity

The act of “paying it forward” is a philosophy where the creditor offers the debtor to pay the debt by lending it to a third person instead of paying it back to the original creditor. According to Wikipedia, the concept was described by Benjamin Franklin in 1784. There was even a movie revolving around this concept starring Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment.

Last weekend, a group of volunteers opened the Nepali-Indian restaurant, India Polo Club, in Washington D.C. They served a vegetarian meal on a completely pay-it-forward basis. The idea was first used at Karma Kitchen in Berkeley, CA in 2007. Customers of the Karma Kitchen are presented with gold envelope that contains a handwritten note at the end of their meal. The note states: “In the spirit of generosity, someone who came before you made a gift of this meal. We hope you will continue the circle of giving in your own way!” Patrons can leave any amount they wish, even nothing, but that just wouldn’t be good karma.

I wonder how the Karma Kitchen is doing in the current economy. I hope this idea flourishes as we need to generate more “good” in the world. I don’t have a pay-it-forward restaurant in my area, but I do my part and donate to charities.

India Polo Club article

Karma Kitchen article