Nowadays, it is very easy to lose your faith in humanity. We live in a world where countries are at war with each other for hundreds of years. Innocent people are murdered for money, so finding someone different is truly a jewel. There are still good people in this world. People who would go out of their way to help someone in need.
Richard Specht, a middle school teacher, lost his son in a backyard pool accident. Losing a son at such a young age takes a heavy toll on the parents. It was a loss that would send most parents into a spiral of depression. Richard decided to do something about it and not let him die in vain. Shortly after his child had passed away, he established a memorial scholarship fund.
He also started a movement. It is called “Rees Specht Life.” This movement consists on carrying out random acts of kindness. This can be from taking out someone’s trash to picking up someone’s tab at a restaurant. The idea is to make people believe in kindness again by acting kind. The goal is to give other people kindness and remind them of the importance of compassion. The importance of reminding them that they can still have hope.
He decided to have lunch at times square. He decides to help the waitress out in a very special way. He leaves her a tip that would change her life. It came with a set of conditions for her to receive it. He wrote them in a piece of paper that he handed to her.
Richard didn’t even know the waitress, that’s the whole point of it. He writes some instructions on a piece of paper. The first condition was for her to go to reespecht.com. This would help her learn about the movement. The second requirement was a request. “Don’t let ‘pay it forward’ end with you”. The third one was that if decided to share the gift with anyone, she should not use either of their names.
Besides the movement and the fund, Richard also wrote a special book. This book is about a superhero called Rees. It was done in his son’s memory. It is a chance for him to live forever in the memory of many others. A chance for everyone to know Rees. To know his traits and to want to be like him.
By watching the video, you will not only have a chance to learn about the story. You will have a chance to learn about the movement. Maybe it can even inspire you and may end up doing some random acts of kindness yourself!
