Help us continue to "Pay It Forward"
Pay It Forward is an established service and volunteer student organization at Iowa State University that conducts service projects in the Ames, IA area and all over the country. Our goal is to reveal leadership through service, relationships and action. Pay It Forward engages college students in service and leadership over spring break and throughout the school year in the Ames and surrounding communities.
What do we do?
Service
Our largest event of the year is the 9-day Pay It Forward Tour where we travel across the country doing service projects and exploring new cities during our spring break. Once per semester, we host a smaller 1-day version of this trip called the Mini Pay It Forward Tour. In Ames, we do a variety of projects and help numerous community organizations on a weekly or every other week basis.
Leadership
Pay It Forward is committed to developing student leaders. During our bi-weekly general meetings, we cultivate leadership skills that students can apply in class and at service sites and carry with them beyond their college experience. A large portion of the Pay It Forward Tour is especially dedicated to developing leadership qualities, as each evening of the trip is set aside for group activities that challenge students to reflect on their values, push them out of their comfort zones, and strengthen their ability to connect with others.
How your donation helps our organization
Pay It Forward is a non-profit volunteer organization and an officially recognized student group at Iowa State University. While there are no membership fees to attend bi-weekly meetings or participate in local service projects, students are responsible for covering the costs of out-of-town experiences, such as the 9-day Pay It Forward Tour.
Our goal is to keep the cost of these service trips as affordable as possible for our students, which is made possible through the generosity of churches, restaurants, and other organizations that lend their support when they can. We are incredibly grateful to all the donors who have supported us each year, as we would not be able to continue our work without their kindness and support.
What type of donations do we look for?
Most of our donations go toward funding our 9-day Pay It Forward Tours and Mini Pay It Forward Tours. These contributions cover essential expenses, such as lodging and meals, ensuring we have a place to stay and the energy to continue our work throughout our travels— all while keeping the trip costs affordable for our students!
Housing
During our service trips, we typically stay in community centers or churches to help keep costs low for the students who are dedicating their time to serve with us.
All we need is an indoor space where we can lay out sleeping bags and pillows. Large bathrooms and extra areas for sleeping or leadership activities are welcomed bonuses!
Food
The trip fee our students pay includes 2-3 meals a day. When possible, we rely on donations from local businesses, churches, and community members to provide these meals. These generous contributions help reduce the cost of the trip and allow us to focus on leadership activities in place of buying ingredients and cooking meals upon arrival at our housing sites.
Meet Our Team
Got Questions? Introducing the 2024-25 Pay It Forward Bus Core
Our Bus Core is in charge of planning our annual Pay It Forward Tour and Mini Pay It Forward Tour. These tours are our out-of-town service trips, which can take place as close as 1 hour away or as far as 16 hours away! Our Bus Core plans every aspect of these trips, including setting up our service sites, finding housing, looking for meal donations, planning tourism events, and facilitating group leadership activities. If you have questions or would like to learn more about how to help, our Bus Core's got you covered!
Jill Kestner
Culinary Food Science | Junior
jillkes@iastate.edu
Anastasiia Hutsal
Healthcare Management | Junior
hutsal@iastate.edu
Elena Mulder
Human Development & Family Studies | Senior
emulder@iastate.edu
Addison Salski
Music | Senior
a2803@iastate.edu
Danny Springman
Software Engineering | Junior
danspr@iastate.edu
Evelyn Timms
Entrepreneurship | Junior
timms26@iastate.edu