And little by little, cookie tin by cookie tin, the Imperial Sugar Company hopes to change the world too, to “bake-it-forward.” They are in fact running a campaign by that very name, based on the idea of paying it forward. The campaign goes like this:

1. Buy a special Imperial Sugar Tin (available for $5 here).
2. Register your tin at BakeItForward.com.
3. Make a treat and send it, in the tin, to a neighbor, friend, or family member who could use a smile, encouraging them to bake it forward when they feel so inspired. If you want to track your tin’s progress across the country, encourage its recipients to go to BakeItForward and enter their location as well.

Bake It Forward began as a way to reach all those people who need a smile, a pick me up, or a small dose of hope. Bake your favorite treat, package it up in the Imperial Sugar tin, and send it to that special someone who needs a smile. You can even track the tin through all of its traveling by registering it on the Bake It Froward website. Bake It Forward is a fun way to, as the Imperial Sugar Company people say, “truly make a difference in the lives of others through the power of ‘baking it forward’.”

What are simple ways to bring a smile to someone’s face? What simple acts can you do to change the world one person at a time?

1. Run up to a loved one and give him or her an enthusiastic bear hug.
2. Smile to those you pass on the street.
3. Ask someone how they are doing, listen to the answer, and comment on it.
4. Give others heartfelt compliments.
5. Give someone a bouquet of flowers just because.
6. Together as a family, identify another family whose day needs brightening, prepare some artwork (each person preparing something that is special to him or her)—even something as simple as coloring a page from a coloring book—and deliver it to the family together.
7. For a date night with just you and your spouse, get some butcher paper and finger paint a picture for your children, hang it on the wall, and let them see it when they wake up.
8. Kiss everyone in your family at least five times in a day!
9. Gather your family together, turn on some upbeat music, and start dancing. Dance with each of your children, even if you have to do it while holding them.
10. Give each member of your family a gift that relates to their favorite color (this can be store bought or homemade).

How Will You Give to Others This Week?

• What other ideas do you have for brightening someone’s day this week?
• What are things that get in the way of brightening someone’s day?
• What are ways to overcome these challenges?
• How has brightening someone’s day made a meaningful difference for you? For others?

How Else Can You Make a Difference This Summer?

Make a meaningful difference this summer by taking the Summer of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here’s how you can participate:

• Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week’s challenge.
• Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week’s challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
• Grab the SOS button in the sidebar and put it on your blog or social networking site.
• Enter to win each week’s giveaway. Click here to check out this week’s prize from Crayola.
• Click here to join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.