THE CONCEPT
Pay-It-Forward is a ‘gift’ that keeps on giving. Imagine someone does you a favour, something BIG – something you couldn’t do on your own … but, instead of paying it back, you pay it FORWARD to three more people … and that three, paid it forward to three more …

It’s not always we can repay the people who have helped us along the way, but we can “pay-it-forward” to someone else.

GIFT is using this concept of Paying-It-Forward to engage employees across the Guardian Group in community work and in so doing build a culture of employee volunteerism.

THE PROJECT
In February 2010 the Group’s Carnival Planning Committee raised $17,000 from a Vintage and Green event and paid-it-forward to GIFT for continued work in Employee Volunteerism.

GIFT in turn is adding $3,000 to round the sum to $20,000 and pay-it-forward; giving EVERY EMPLOYEE the opportunity to pay-it-forward in community work.

HOW IT WORKS

The Pay-It-Forward project is open to the 10 locations (see list below) across the Guardian Group in Trinidad & Tobago. Each location is invited to register to participate by the given deadline. Teams decide on which project they will work – in other words, the idea for the project must come from within. The funds will be divided equally amongst the qualifying teams.

Pay-It-Forward projects are restricted to initiatives that focus on:
Children including youths in the community,
Families in the community or,
Elderly in the community
The scope and size of each project is determined by the participating team. Depending on how grand the idea, teams may need to engage in additional fundraising to execute their project.

In March 2010 GIFT Guardian General chose to Pay-It-Forward in their work proximity whereby they taught skills to the SEA students of the Newtown RC Boys and Girls schools; in return, the children were required to do a kind deed to someone else without a reward. The project turned out to be such a success that they even volunteered to do story telling for the infants.

10 Locations
1. HEAD OFFICE – all offices at Westmoorings and Star Aviation
2. East Regional Centre
3. Chaguanas Regional Centre
4. Ellerslie Regional Centre
5. St. Vincent St. Regional Centre
6. San Fernando Regional Centre
7. Tobago Regional Centre
8. Agencies – Maraval
9. GGIL – Port of Spain
10. GGIL – San Fernando

TEAM & CONTACT INFORMATION
Core members of the GIFT team are as follows, and can also be reached at GIFT@ghl.co.tt

MAILING ADDRESS
GIFT
C/o Ranuca Hamlet
Guardian General Insurance Limited
Newtown Centre,
#30-36 Maraval Road
Newtown
Port of Spain, Trinidad.