A heart attack is a life-changing experience for anyone. One Pasco County man has found the best medicine for the heart is to give back.
Two-year-old Kileea King and her mom Kiara just moved to Pasco County from Pennsylvania in January, hoping for a fresh start.
"I fully started over. We moved here with two suitcases each, and that was literally it," said Kiara King.
She decided to join a few local Facebook groups and stumbled across one called 'Pay it Forward West Pasco.' Someone was offering a free potty training chair, which was perfect for her little girl.
"Within 30 minutes of me commenting on the post, they brought it to me. I was like 'Wow!' It was awesome. I couldn't believe it," said King.
Members on the page also offered clothes for little Kileea and maternity clothes for mom Kiara, who is expecting a baby boy in April.
"The people around here are so, so nice. I'm thankful," said King.
It turns out, the "Pay it Forward Pasco" page happened almost by accident just a few weeks ago, after its founder suffered a heart attack.
"I didn't expect it to be a life-changing emotional, spiritual awakening or anything, but it's turned into something more than I ever expected," said Tony Meadows, founder of the page.
He knew he'd have some down time after coming home from the hospital, so he'd offered to fix a few computers for anyone needing help. He quickly got bombarded not by requests for help, but by others also wanting to do something to give back. That's when the PIF West Pasco Facebook group was formed.
"This is about helping people that are just in a jam. It's not about bailing you out. It's just, 'I've got this little thing, and you need this little thing. Let's make that happen,'" Meadows said.
In just a few weeks, he estimates he's matched almost 100 needs. And amazingly, most requests are met within minutes! Meadows says the goal, isn't to change lives, but days.
"Let's make you smile one minute out of the day. Just take a break and get a little help," said Meadows.
He's now working on formal database, to keep track of all the items and services available. And one click at a time, he hopes to keep paying it forward.
