The purpose of Returning the Favor is to showcase daily acts of kindness by unsung heroes throughout our country. Returning the Favor has just celebrated its 100th show and is in its 4th season but I personally just discovered it last week.
The show's game plan is to tell an unsuspecting 'do gooder' that a documentary is being made of their efforts and then unbeknownst to them that very same person is punked, surprised during a filming visit which is really Returning the Favor with monies, possibly rent/ refurbished space/ transportation/ materials but most importantly recognition. And with 6 million viewers, that's a lot of recognition! The show's hope is to inspire others which is being accomplished.
Note : Sleep in Heavenly Peace's founder whose goal was to make sure no child in his community was sleeping on the floor so he had his work crew make bunk beds for these children on their weekends. Since airing Sleep in Heavenly Peace now has 250 chapters across our country and in 4 countries which have provided some 50,000 bunk beds.
Besides the 89 year old gentleman who created a municipal golf course in his back yard and maintains it in his brother's memory, near and dear to Rowe's heart are shows dealing with Vets and Law Enforcement. Both needing light shone on their needs such VETs's inaccessible resources including needing help with PTSD and other disabilities, then inner city kids needing a place to congregate run by a local law enforcement officer whose program building character and relationships with inner city kids called Be A Better Me. There are programs for pets -one which provides fencing, another W- Underdog for teaching inner city kids responsibility in taking care of stray dogs and finding the dogs homes, the gal who never had a birthday party and now provides joy, hope and cheer to thousands of kids with birthday parties and also a birthday truck visit to shop for clothing needs, the lady who worked at a wedding dress store that went under and she sewed over 300 wedding dresses this year to help those brides, Heart Strings filling community members needs originally started after 911 due to a large loss of a NJ bedroom community members who didn't return home that day. First, it was just helping those families but now it's others's needs. In another community a woman who took the back part of her salon and made a private room for women with cancer needing wigs. COVID has created many problems including kids who don't have a desk at home to do their school work. Now many have a 4 pc desk that can be disassembled easily and be placed under a bed, and then there's all those general furniture needs helped by the Furniture Project. Food insecurity led a young farmer family who shares all their surplus and and are now part owners in a new inner city grocery store with locally grown foods. These are just a couple of the programs individuals have started with their own sweat and finances.
I won't spoil the surprises they received as you'll need to watch and see for yourself. If you can watch these awe inspiring stories of selflessness and not shed a tear, well then you're using less Kleenex than I.
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