Facebook page helps Hampton residents pay it forward
What do you do with a massive balloon garland once the party is over? This Hampton woman paid it forward and brightened eight strangers’ celebrations — and it was all thanks to the power of social media.
Inner South
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A simple balloon decoration has created joy across Hampton and given new meaning to paying it forward.
In what has been dubbed “The Sisterhood of the Travelling Balloons’, the garland was passed on to eight different strangers to use at parties — all thanks to the help of Facebook.
Nuala Butler first bought the garland for her 50th birthday and — on a whim — decided to post on the Bayside Community Hub Facebook page to see if anyone else wanted them for a celebration.
Two weeks later, they were still doing the rounds.
They first travelled to a 13th birthday party and then two surprise birthday parties. The balloons then helped “surprise/embarrass/mortify” a lady’s daughter when coming back from camp before starring in two more teenage birthdays.
Ms Butler said it was incredible how a small act of recycling and paying it forward could bring so much happiness to someone’s day.
She said Facebook often got a bad rap but was hopeful more people would be inspired to pay it forward.
“The Facebook page has given us the opportunity to do that, to be a community, to look after each other, to lift each other up, and to pass on our good fortune wherever we find that — whether it’s in a kind word or a bunch of balloons,” she said.
“Everyone loved it so much and it’s such a positive story.
“It went on to so many people and I even saw someone else is wanting to donate her party balloons on Facebook this morning.”
She said Hampton possessed a “beautiful community spirit”.
“I’ve always felt part of the community. This just enhances that,” she said.
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Bayside Community Hub administrator Lisa Grant said it was amazing the page had allowed strangers to reach out to each other in so many ways.
“This is the perfect example of how it can be used to support reuse, recycling and a generosity of community spirit,” Ms Grant said.
“There’s the added benefit of creating new connections within the community, too.”
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