PAY IT FORWARD x 1 Million
MAINE MAGAZINE Gorham/Westbrook| September 2013- Issue 6 IMPROVING YOUR LIFE WITH ALL THINGS POSITIVE, MOTIVATING, INSPIRING, EMPOWERING AND ENCOURAGING
Special Delivery A Life Lesson from Lil Miss
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In This Issue: Car For A Cure Prescribing Something Extra Portland’s Sandwich Ministry
...and MORE! When you are done reading this copy of PAY IT FORWARD MAGAZINE please pass it on to someone else.
➥ EDITOR’s note It’s back to school time. Now we gear ourselves up for cooler nights, shorter days and a bit of nesting. For many people this end-of-summer/beginning of winter can be a disheartening period. I am asking that this year you don’t let that be so. Use this issue of Pay It Forward Magazine as a catalyst for change. The colors are getting brighter, why not brighten up someone’s day? Change your minds and your actions, break the routine and affect our neighbors and communities positively in September. This month’s magazine has great inspiration for you. It’s heartwarming to know that people all around us are giving more than they are taking. They are making the world a better place to be. It’s so exciting to focus on the good things going on. Check out the “Our Stories” pages to read about “Linda”, a woman going out of her way to feed homeless people; discover a business with a pink car story and engage with advertisers who want to make a postive difference in the world.
➥ CONTENTS Page 3: Real Men Drive Pink Page 4-5: The Message of Little Miss / A Milestone Reached Page 8: Personal Development: Expect Something Extra Page 9: Your Stories Page 10: Family Fun
THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS Tina Howe Dr. Clint Steele Tam Veilleux Mark Jones
As always, we enJOY interacting with you. The editorial door is open to your ideas, opinions, and stories. Please contact us at: https://www.facebook.com/PayItForwardX1MillionProject
Front Cover
In the meantime, keep smiling at strangers!
Hennessey
Tam I Am Veilleux Editor-in-Chief
Krystal Kenville Brewer
Photo Credit
Have you joined Pay It Forward Friday? Go to our website and receive your Friday reminder of how you can do a good deed that day.
“Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least
costly, and most underrated agent of human change.” ~ Bob Kerrey, politician (1943)
Magazine Information: PAY IT FORWARD x 1 MILLION...the MAGAZINE is a monthly magazine with the sole purpose of motivating, inspiring, empowering and encouraging you to live your best life possible and help others do the same by PAYING IT FORWARD. We are a worldwide publication with editions printed locally for our local PIFx1M partners. Our mission is to teach, share and help others realize the awesome benefits of PAYING IT FORWARD. For more information please check out our website at http://www.payitforwardx1million.com.
Contact Info: We want your stories and your ideas. Contact us: email us at drcs56@yahoo.com or tam-i-am@live.com phone Dr. Clint Steele: 207-240-4908
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Three Ways To Pay It Forward With Your Voice
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Stand up for someone. Lend your voice to those without one.. Often the powerless, the homeless and neglected in our world need someone to speak up for them. Be that person.
Pay It Forward x 1 Million…the MAGAZINE | September 2013- Issue 6
➥ Business Spotlight
Real Men Drive
Pink
By Dr. Clint Steele I am sure you have heard the saying “ real men wear pink”. Well in this case I would like to proclaim real men “drive” pink. If you have been in and around the Gorham area the last few months you may have seen the pink car. The pink car is the birth child of Lee Washburn and Tim and Sonja Devine, all of Ossipee Motor Sales. The official name is the “Car For A Cure” and that is exactly what they are looking to do. Tim and Sonja, the owners of OT Motor Sales, are not new to raffling off cars to help raise money for various organizations. They donated two cars in the past to help raise money for Bonny Eagle High School. This however, is the first time they have raffled off a pink car, and the first time they have raised money for the Maine Breast Cancer Association. Lee, a vital link on the sales team at OT Motor Sales, was driving down the street one day listening to the radio when he heard a program called “can for a cure”. A project designed to help end hunger. With his wife’s aunt having been diagnosed with breast cancer he thought “Hmmm, why don’t we donate a car to help raise money for a cure for breast cancer and call it Car For A Cure?”
He approached Tim with the idea when he got to work that day, and as they so often do when it comes to helping others, Tim and Sonja jumped on it and said ok. The goal is to raise $10,000 by selling raffle tickets at $5 a shot. This will go on through the month of October (the official month for Breast Cancer Awareness) It will be given away at an event near the end of October. As part of my official million acts of kindness: Lee, Tim and Sonja have graciously allowed me to help out in raising awareness and money for this awesome cause. Be on the look out over the next couple of months as yours truly, will be driving this vehicle all over the Portland area in my daily travels. To say I am getting some strange looks is an understatement but as long as it is helping in the cause it is all worth it.
Tickets! To purchase your tickets for
a chance to win this pink car you can go to either of the OT Motor Sales locations located in Gorham at 587 Main Street or 439 Ossipee Trail. Tickets will also be on sale on our website at www.payitforwardx1million.com
Make sure to “Like” us on Facebook www.facebook.com/ payitforwardx1millionproject
September 2013- Issue 6 | Pay It Forward x 1 Million…the MAGAZINE
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➥ Feature Story
The Message of Little Miss by Tina Howe
It was a routine ultrasound, a procedure where the baby is tested for abnormalities. Every expecting parent holds their breath for a few moments, especially the moms that are 35 and older given the increase in risks that come with having a baby at that age. Krystal was 36 years old. She remembers the difficulty the nurse trainee had trying to get the baby’s neck measurements. She kept rechecking and was moving quickly, unable to get it, so she let it slide. Everything appeared normal she said. Krystal and her husband Andy were reassured that they were having a healthy baby girl. They could breathe easy now and they spent the next several months preparing for her arrival and imagining what she would be like, they were filled with hopes and dreams, as are most expecting parents. Little did they know, their lives were about to change in a way they could have never imagined. 37 weeks to do the day, Krystal went into labor. 10 hours later, Hennessey was born, weighing in at 5 pounds. Krystal recalls how wonderful the staff was with the birthing experience. Moments after the birth, she was waiting to meet her beautiful baby girl. Given her state of exhaustion and elatedness, she didn’t notice anything was wrong until this “awful old troll of a woman came in”. Krystal learned later she was a neonatologist, a specialist who is called in when something appears to be “wrong” with the newborn. She looked over Hennessey, picked up Hennessey’s little hand and dropped it several times, then looked at Krystal and abruptly said “she has Down Syndrome, she’s not going to look anything like you, her toes are spread, her ear canals are tilted down and her eyes are slanted”. Imagine, waiting to meet your newborn baby and getting this kind of news delivered in such an uncompassionate way. Krystal was in complete shock and disbelief, her head was spinning and her world came crashing down around her. Her husband passed out. The staff that remained in the room, after the neonatologist left, tried to console them and give them the compassion they should have received from the woman who told them that their baby had Down Syndrome. What they went through during those next moments and few days is difficult for Krystal to talk about. She is overcome with emotions and the tears flow freely as she describes how they were left there to absorb the news. “It was an indescribable awful feeling that I hope no other new parents ever have to go through. We were made to feel as if our daughter was not worthy”.
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“I felt like I was dead. I did not think I was going to leave that hospital, it was the end of my world” Krystal says.
“No parent, no matter what the outcome of their newly born child, should feel the way that I felt.”
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“No parent, no matter what the outcome of their newly born child, should feel the way that I felt.” Krystal attributes those feelings to the one heartless doctor that delivered such difficult news so callously without any regard for their feelings. It pains Krystal to describe what she was feeling in those early days, as things are so incredibly different now. At a time when new mothers are typically cherishing every moment with their new baby, Krystal just wanted to rest and didn’t want to see Hennessey. All these awful thoughts were going through her mind about the future. She remembers staring at all of the babies in the NICU and seeing all the new parents leaving with “healthy babies” and she “was leaving with Hennessey”. She felt embarrassed and alone. Krystal went back and forth with feelings of “poor me” to concern and fear for what kind of life Hennessey was going to have. Memories of using words and language without any regard for whom they might affect flooded Krystal’s mind, how could she be so “mindless”. The turning point came for Krystal her second day in the hospital when, Sally, “the nurse from God”, changed her outlook about the whole situation. During a visit with Hennessey in NICU, the neonatologist who delivered the news about Hennessey, walked in and called Hennessey “baby Hawthorne”. Sally, the nurse, in turn said harshly “it’s Hennessey, get it straight”! “It was this feeling of validation and that someone was actually sticking up for us,” Krystal explains. It was a powerful experience for both her and her husband. In those moments after the doctor left, Sally shared some other wonderful words of wisdom with them that completely changed their lives. Krystal claims because of her, it was the last day she cried about Hennessey’s “condition”. She felt empowered and had a renewed sense of hope for the future. “If we had met her just two days earlier, my life would have never been bad”, said Krystal. It’s amazing how one person can affect someone so significantly and help completely change his or her outlook on life. Sally and Krystal stay in touch to this day. Krystal and Andy chose not to tell anyone about Hennessey for a long time, not even her sisters. “Coming out” about Hennessey was difficult for her, not because she has Down Syndrome but because she didn’t want the pity. She wanted people to accept Hennessey and know that she is just as capable as every other child. For this reason Krystal has spent countless hours educating herself about Down Syndrome and making sure Hennessey thrives. She is determined to educate others also and be a lifelong
Pay It Forward x 1 Million…the MAGAZINE | September 2013- Issue 6
advocate for her daughter and help her see, along with everyone else, that anything is possible.
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“Hennessey, otherwise known as “Lil Miss”, has helped her mom, dad and sisters to appreciate life so much more than they ever have.”
Hennessey, otherwise known as “Lil Miss”, has helped her mom, dad and sisters to appreciate life so much more than they ever have. “I know that she can do anything.” She has taught her sisters and parents so many things about life. “She is a miracle,” Krystal says. “You never give up on your child, no matter what. She is a bubbly, motivated, cute as ever pumpkin and her smile lights up the room. She knows how to charm anyone into anything and she takes advantage of it.” Says Krystal of her daughter. Lil Miss is working very hard in OT and PT, and while she’s a little behind with her fine motor skills and some developmental milestones, she continues to amaze her mama every day. “By kindergarten, she will be right where she is supposed to be developmentally”. Krystal is beaming with pride as she shares this with me.
!
ULATIONS
CONGRAT
It’s Our Anniversary!
This month we recognize that Pay It Forward x 1 Million has an anniversary worth mentioning and celebrating.
It was one year ago that Dr. Clint Steele decided, using the words of Steve Jobs, to “leave his ding in the universe”. His mission: to positively affect more than one million people. And that he did! We have given his story special placement on Page 5 of the September Pay It Forward magazine. The team at Pay It Forward x 1 Million is so proud of our founder, Dr. Clint Steele, and his journey to make a difference in the world. We look forward to the continued growth and success of this important and empowering endeavor.
➥ Publisher’s note “By the yard life is hard…by the inch life’s a cinch”. It has been at least ten years since I first heard this quote and probably at least four years since I heard it last. Recently, however, this quote came back into my life and it struck me right between the eyes and I must say the timing could not be more perfect. You see I am a big picture guy. I love the vision. I love where we are going. I love how this is going to reach the masses. That is all fine and great however what seems to happen is that I get so caught up in where we will be in three or four years that I lose track of what I need to do every single day to make it happen. I often get discouraged and decide to move on. Not this time though!
Krystal’s mission is to educate people about Down’ Syndrome. She really wants to help other parents going through what her and her husband went through those first few dark days in the hospital. She wants to be the “Sally” for them and help them realize a diagnosis of Down Syndrome is not the end of the world, as she first thought it was. She wants people to understand what it is like to be a child with Down Syndrome. Her biggest message to others “don’t treat anyone with a disability different, they need to have the same expectations and support so that they can flourish”.
The goal I started last September 28th was to reach over 1 million people with the message of kindness.
“Lil Miss” Hennessey isn’t treated any differently than her sisters. She is going to grow up with two parents and sisters who truly believe that she can do anything she wants to do. She is already well on her way. This little ray of sunshine has modeled for Ruffle Butts, walked the runway with Mama, is the star of a Prime Auto Group commercial and recently shot a commercial for Chase Sapphire. This little girl is not letting anything slow her down.
Then hit July. I started getting calls to do radio shows. I was now reaching 10,000, 20,000, even 40,000 people at a time. Still a long way to go but inch by inch I was getting it. Then my big break. I was asked to do a television show. Being recommended by a good friend I didn’t ask many questions but just agreed to go on the show.
As Krystal says, Hennessey “chose them”, and they wouldn’t want it any other way. They are the lucky ones. EDITOR’s NOTE: Be sure to check out this inspiration’s facebook page (and “like” it) at www.facebook.com/LilMissHennessey. Let her sweet face inspire you to appreciate your life a little more.
I started with an amazing group of people who went out on a Friday morning in rush hour traffic and along with the help of McDonald’s of Maine we handed out over 1000 free coffee vouchers. A great start but a long way from a million. Inch by inch I continued in my journey not really knowing how I was going to reach my million. I kept plugging along, a few hundred here, a couple of thousand there…not giving up but never really knowing where my big break would come. I was committed. Instead of walking away and starting something else, instead of giving up, instead of making excuses, my mind went into overdrive. I had to reach a lot of people in a short period of time.
A three hour drive each way, close to $200 in gas and I had no idea how many people I would touch but I just knew I had to take the next step. It ended up being a GREAT show and I met some amazing people. Again I did not know much about the audience numbers until I finally decided to ask. Here was the answer…. “Our show is distributed to 250 markets with about 10,000 people watching in each market”. OH MY! WOW!!!! I could not believe my ears. 2.5 million people would be hearing my message on kindness. 2.5 million people would be hearing how kindness improves lives. Over 2.5 million people would hear how being kind pulled me out of a deep depression. WOW!!!! Inch by inch…inch by inch…inch-by-inch…I DID IT!!!!
September 2013- Issue 6 | Pay It Forward x 1 Million…the MAGAZINE
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Pay It Forward x 1 Million…the MAGAZINE | September 2013- Issue 6
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September 2013- Issue 6 | Pay It Forward x 1 Million…the MAGAZINE
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➥ Personal Development
Expect Something Extra My wife, Barb, was knocked off her feet recently by some virus. Her doctor e-mailed in a prescription to the pharmacy at 3pm and I got there at 4:45pm to pick it up. “It’s not ready yet,” the clerk responded, “the doctor just called it in. It will be about 30 minutes.” The truth was that they had just got around to checking their e-mail and had only now noticed the mistake. I let it slide, I lived close and could come back. At 5:40 I rushed out the door to the pharmacy and get to the start of local high school baseball game. “Oh, sorry,” the clerk said, “we don’t have this medication on hand. We have called around to our other stores and they are out also. Ouch! I was frustrated. “Couldn’t you have taken the time to look at the prescription an hour ago and let me know then or given me a call?” I asked. Superior! Top-notch. World-class! Exceptional. Unparalleled. The best. Ho Hum. We have all heard these claims of exceptional service while experiencing the opposite. As Harry Beckwith states in What Clients Love, “We think that we are better than we are.” When researchers asked students to rate their ability to get along with others, 60 percent rated themselves in the top ten percent. They call it the Lake Wobegon Effect, after Garrison Keillors’ famous radio show sign-off from his fictional hometown. Being human, everyone thinks they are better than they are – and they actually spend the money to advertise that belief. It’s no wonder we have all become calloused and cautious to the claims of others. As I have heard it said, “Service in this country has gotten so bad that you can offer above average service and still stink,” as Beckwith shares.
extra.’ Yeah right I thought to myself-- another empty promise. It wasn’t a big unbelievable superlative, simply … expect something extra. But I entered the store hopeful. I liked their offer, at least it was reasonable, understandable, and plausible – they weren’t promising to be the best, exceptional, or superior –they just promised something extra. The pharmacist at CVS took my order, listened to me explain that I had 7 minutes to be somewhere five minutes away and then had me out the door in two minutes. I was at the game in time to see the first pitch. No thirty minute wait, no excuses, no big promises - just the delivery of something extra.
“Increase our value to those we serve.”
What a sales pitch! We could all employ CVS’s mantra in how we deal with our own customers, coworkers, employers, and family members …. We don’t need to promise to be the best … all we need to do is that little extra to be appreciated by, and increase our value to, those we serve.
BIO: Mark Jones is Senior Vice-President of a Maine Bank. The website www. AskMarkJones is his personal venue created to share stories that present principles and fundamentals that he believes are the foundation for a rewarding lifestyle.
I asked the clerk to call around to another pharmacy, “Well, I could call CVS for you,” she offered. “Well, why not?” I said, now a little frustrated. Sure enough CVS had the medication but it was 5:48 and I had little chance of making the beginning of the ball game. I scooted up the road, but CVS being a big box store I wasn’t expecting a miracle.
Three Ways To Pay It Forward With Your Voice
As I approached the store over the door hung a sign, ‘Expect something
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“No thirty minute wait, no excuses, no big promises – just the delivery of something extra.”
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Give a sincere compliment. How many times have you thought something kind about a stranger but didn’t speak it? Today speak that silent compliment. You have no idea how your words can affect the recipient positively.
Pay It Forward x 1 Million…the MAGAZINE | September 2013- Issue 6
➥ Your Stories Passion is Just Like That The Sandwich Ministry
I’m not a ‘no pain, no gain, work hard, play hard’ kind of girl. I’m more of a ‘bed by 10pm – I need my nap – fetch me a cup of tea’ kind of girl. There are days when I wish I was the former instead of the latter, but like a rural Maine road, I just can’t seem to get there from here. Except when it comes to my passion.
My passion is writing and performing. I live in a small town and am fortunate enough to write and act in a local comedy show. I don’t knit. I don’t go to the gym. Theater is my hobby – my outlet. It’s something I would do for free (and usually do). But the most interesting thing about this passion of mine is that it makes me a different person. It makes me that ‘work hard, play hard’ kind of girl that I want to be every day but am not. I avoid the term ‘no pain, no gain’ in any other circumstance other than theater. Wig too tight and heels hurt my feet? Doesn’t matter. Discovering my character, creating stories that make people laugh, watching my abilities grow over time…these things trump discomfort in a big way. The Susie on stage and off are definitely two different people. I want to be stage Susie. I want to be her all the time. So why am I so unwilling to push myself in other parts of my life, yet push myself in the theater? True passion is just like that. Passion fuels the body better than any diet or health regimen, better than any supplement, better than a good night’s sleep or a tropical vacation (although I will still keep trying that vacation thing, just in case.) Passion is far better than motivation. Motivation is forced effort. It gets the job done and so it’s better than nothing, but passion? Passion is spirit propelled forward into action. So my latest goal is to find a sprinkle of passion in everything I do – even mundane and necessary tasks. The passion is not in the tasks themselves, but in the end result. And if I can’t find a stitch of passion in something I’m doing? Well, maybe I’m not meant to be doing it. Now that is a whole different topic to ponder…after my nap…and some tea…but not too late because I have to be to bed by 10pm…oh, here we go again! Susie, Rumford
Share Your Story
“Sometimes you just want a hamburger, a juicy, greasy, messy hamburger.“ Not being able to know where your next meal is coming from let alone what that meal might be is tough enough but sometimes you just have a craving and you want what you want. This is where Linda, (not her real name, but this is her real story) was a couple of years ago. Linda was struggling financially. Physically, she could not work due to an ailment. She remembers standing in line at a food pantry to get something to eat and when she got to the front of the line she was upset at the food that was being served. The lady serving the food asked her if everything was ok and Linda just replied “Yes, I just want to be able to eat what I want is all.” Another lady standing nearby also serving the food replied, “I know exactly what you mean.” Linda felt God speaking to her. It was as if He was leading her to go out and do something. Maybe she should start a sandwich ministry. She could make delicious sandwiches and hand them out to people who were hungry. “How can I do this?” she thought. “I can barely even feed myself. “ She made a decision and acted on it. Linda decided to go ahead and make the sandwiches. She started out the first day with just a few sandwiches. She hit the streets and handed them to people who looked like they needed something good to eat. She loved the experience and knew she had to continue. Since that first day of serving eight sandwiches, Linda now heads out with 20-25 sandwiches and shares them with anyone who looks like they are in need. Linda’s ministry has grown. Donations are coming in in the form of the finest bread, fresh organic eggs, cheese and now even bottles of water, all of which she gives out as she walks the streets. Linda not only shares food, she meets these people right where they are, listens to them and cares. Article by Dr. Clint Steele
We want to know how you are paying it forward. Tell us how you empower, inspire, encourage or motivate others. Tell us your thoughts about articles we’ve printed. Like our Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/payitforwardx1millionproject and email us at drcs56@yahoo.com or tam-i-am@live.com.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Three Ways To Pay It Forward With Your Voice
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Encourage someone’s dream. Give words of encouragement to someone about their vision for themselves no matter how big or small the dream is. Everybody needs support for their goals, be the person who joyfully supports other people.
September 2013- Issue 6 | Pay It Forward x 1 Million…the MAGAZINE
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➥ FAMILY FUN Dear Diary, The lady at the library with the glasses sitting on the end of the nose was never so happy as she was the day Nana, Banjo and I dropped of a bunch of books for her. Usually this lady is sort of crabby. I mean, geeeesh, she’s always shushing someone and she never-- and I mean NEVER-- smiles. The day we lugged in those boxes she quickly put her finger to her mouth and said “SHHHHHHH” and waved us over to an office to speak to her. “What is this all about?” she asked Nana Whacky while looking over the top of her glasses. Nana explained that we had all sorts of books to donate to the library because she had heard that they were struggling to get new materials due to lack of funding. She went on to say that since we were fortunate enough to be part of a book club and had read the books many times over, it was time to share the good fortune with others and would she like to have the beautiful books? For a second Banjo and I thought Nana had maybe stepped on the librarian’s foot or something because the lady let tears drop from both eyes! She immediately took out a hanky and honked louder than everyone had ever spoken in that building. (I had to hold myself back from giggling and shushing her!) The librarian grabbed both of Nana Whacky’s wrinkly hands, squeezed then and thanked her A LOT! She seemed stunned by the whole thing as she patted my head and shook Banjo’s hand. In no time at all the four of us were in the office pulling out some of our favorite book titles and sorting them into piles for our new friend Percy the librarian. Diary, I didn’t know that sharing my books would
mean so much to someone. I had no idea that our library was short on books and volunteers. Banjo signed himself up to read to preschoolers, Nana and I agreed to bake cookies for the library’s next bake sale and we made an ongoing promise to ourselves to always gift our used books to the town library. It sure feels good to do good! Paying it forward, Molly Kite (& my doll Faith)
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Parent’s Pay It Forward action step:
Clean your closets and bookshelfs. If you have quality goods to donate this fall, make the trip, take the action and bring your kids along. Show them that sharing their items when they are done with them spreads good will and makes space in their lives for new things. Ask your children what the lesson of this story is. Talk with them about sharing and volunteerism. Help them step gently into sharing, giving and selflessness. Post your story of kindness at: www.facebook.com/MollyKite Play time for kids. Circle the words in the article that are the answers to the questions. Name the librarian. What was Molly Kite’s family donating? Who was Banjo going to read to? What is your favorite thing to buy at a bake sale? Fast cars or good books, which do you choose?
**BONUS**
Write a silly sentence including all of the words you circled.
This column is written by seven year old Molly Kite, the main character in “Molly Kite’s Big Dream”, a children’s book for ages 7 to 107 teaching the world about dreaming big and knowing when to take action. For more information about Molly Kite’s adventures go to: www.MollyKite.com Look for a diary entry from Molly Kite and an action step for you or your child to take toward putting your best foot forward each day. www.Facebook.com/MollyKite
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Pay It Forward x 1 Million…the MAGAZINE | September 2013- Issue 6
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Marc Chadbourne Office: 207-591-6415 Cell: 207-465-5569 marc@oceangaterealty.com 151 Newbury Street Portland, Maine 04101
www.marcchadbourne.com https://www.facebook.com/MarcsRealEstate
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Pay It Forward x 1 Million‌the MAGAZINE | September 2013- Issue 6