Teen heads Pay It Forward chapter

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February 26, 2009

North Laurel High School ‘miracle’ baby devoted to giving back to the community

Anonymous The Sentinel-Echo Thu Feb 26, 2009, 11:23 AM EST

Everyone smiled when 17-year-old Madison McCowan pulled a wagon stuffed with teddy bears through the hallways of the Shriners Hospital for Children a few weeks ago. McCowan, a junior at North Laurel High School, stopped and chatted with all the kids and let them pick out a few of their favorite bears to keep.

“They were so excited,” she said. “I got to go to all the rooms. It was great because it really made their day.”

The generous hospital visit, which involved distributing and donating 150 teddy bears, was McCowan’s latest venture in furthering the cause of the Pay It Forward Foundation, a nationwide charity founded on the principal that acts of kindness beget more kindness.

McCowan has formed a local Pay It Forward Chapter — she is the youngest Pay It Forward president in the country — and has been hard at work ever since. In fact, on Friday, she was sitting in her car waiting to give more cheer.

“I’m part of the Women’s Republican Forum,” she said. “We’re taking Valentine goodies for the residents of Laurel Heights.”

McCowan said members of her young chapter have plenty of ideas for future projects, including a photography contest, a baby item drive whose haul will be donated to the Laurel County Life Center and even the introduction of a Pay It Forward license plate.

McCowan said she has been interested in giving all her life.

“I was the second frozen embryo born in Kentucky,” she said. “My life really is just a miracle as it is. I just want to spend my time giving back to my community.”

To participate in London’s Pay It Forward chapter, e-mail payitforwardlondon@yahoo.com or call 606-309-5309.

Staff writer Tara Kaprowy can be reached by e-mail at tkaprowy@sentinel-echo.com.