About Us In the movie, Pay It Forward, a social studies teacher challenges each of his students to come up with an idea that can change the world.   To everyone's surprise, one of the children has considerable success. What makes the film so unbelievable, so unrealistic?   For starters, the message that any kid can make a big difference often gets lost in schools amidst the facts, skills, words and equations they have to master every day.   Usually their teachers and parents, as in the movie, are focused on relatively mundane, day-to-day concerns themselves.   And, if our kids take away any lesson from growing up, it's that the world is a big, confusing place and our part in it is small, so it seems hopeless. But it isn't hopeless.   It's not unrealistic to assume that many of the world's worst problems, from war to poverty and disease, can at least be reduced if enough clever, creative people focus on them.    It's also reasonable to assume that advances in productivity and technology should give us enough time so that we can all afford to invest more of our energy in global issues.   That leaves the challenges of overcoming cynicism and inertia and creating a sense of motivation and power, to spark the contagion that magnifies our efforts. Beating cynicism and inertia isn't easy.   We feel the best approach is to show kids that they can make a difference, exposing them to role models who have made a difference and to programs that allow them to be part of the solution.    In addition to making the world a better place, this makes our kids better kids - not just because they're doing some good, but because everyone feels stronger and better about themselves when they've done some good.