First Financial Bank, Southlake had our very first Pay It First event in Keller. On Friday, May 16th starting at 6:00 a.m. Mark Jones-President and Chairman, Trent Swearengin-Senior Vice President and Tracie Talkington-Vice President, treated the patrons of It’s a Grind coffee shop to a complimentary visit.

The wonderful staff and customers at It’s a Grind made the day an overwhelming success. We had a great time sharing the Pay It First concept; but definitely understand why we don’t serve coffee in the motor banks! We look forward to seeing how the excitement translates into stories on payitfirst.com.

The Pay It First Team put an extra smile into the popular Sonic® Happy Hour today! The bank employees served over 500 customers free drinks as part of a random act of kindness at two locations in Abilene. This was a joint effort with students from Hardin-Simmons University who wanted to experience a Pay It First event. The students provided extra help to serve more people than all previous events combined. “This is so fun! It’s great to put a smile on faces,” exclaimed one of the students. The customers had a similar reaction and one even mentioned, “I am here buying a drink for someone at work as a surprise and it looks like the surprise is actually on me! This is really cool!” The staff at Sonic® was very supportive and even programmed the cash register to print “Pay It First” on every customer receipt. This brought a new meaning to the Sonic® Happy Hour!

Members of the Pay It First Team were invited to talk with the Carver Teens and challenge them to find a creative way to do a random act of kindness in their neighborhood. The Carver Teens are a group of students that meet weekly to discuss ways to make a difference in their community. Most of the teenagers live in the surrounding neighborhood that is filled with difficult challenges that must be overcome on a daily basis. In hope to overcome these challenges and provide hope to other teenagers, the Carver Teens organize events that improve the community. They are creating an idea to present to the Pay It First Team and in return, they will receive assistance with the project. The goal is to empower and encourage the Carver Teens to dream big and continue making a positive impact in their neighborhood.

What do you get when you mix a cow, some books, a piggy bank, and a chicken? It’s the perfect combination for a great Pay It First event at Chick-Fil-A®! Every Friday, the Chick-Fil-A® on Southwest Drive is host to an employee from the Abilene Public Library to read books during a special “Toddler Time.” On this Friday, the children and their parents received a new twist after story time. The Chick-Fil-A® Cow presented free breakfast for families from the Pay It First Team! A representative from the Pay It First Team talked with the parents about making a difference in the community by doing something good for another person. In addition, each child received a free piggy bank to begin learning the importance of saving money. One of the parents said, “These are the kinds of thoughts and actions that will really make a difference in the world our kids will grow up in.”

The Pay It First Team was asked to share its vision with a group of students at Hardin-Simmons University. The students wanted to learn more about how First Financial Bank is impacting the community through random acts of kindness. As a result, the college students decided to help the Pay It First Team with an upcoming event as a class project. The main purpose is to experience serving others but the students will also capture the event with video and pictures. After the event, students will compete to produce the best sixty-second video that communicates the purpose of Pay It First. The winning student will receive $100 from First Financial Bank to be used in the community on people other than themselves. “We are excited about this opportunity and hope it challenges students to see the importance of serving others first,” said Jason Groves (Pay It First Team Member).

This was a great day to be building your own burrito at Sharky’s Burrito Co®. The local lunch hotspot hit the sweet spot in their customers wallet when they were told their drink was paid for by First Financial Bank. In exchange for the free drink, each person received a Pay It First Card and was asked to do a random act of kindness. This was a fun way to challenge people to focus on everyday opportunities to serve others as they pass on the card.

The Pay It First Team was in full action today at the gas station on South 14th and Barrow! The team provided a helping hand by pumping gas and cleaning car windows for customers. “This is great!” said a gas station customer served by the team, “It’s nice to see people taking the time to serve others.” Another customer was leaving town on a trip and said, “This is perfect timing! I can’t wait to do something for someone else!” The team served over two hundred people through the random act of kindness and they hope it spreads to others in the community. “We want to generate a wave of kindness and service throughout the community,” said team member Jason Groves.

The Pay It First Team meets every month to plan unexpected ways to serve people in the community. Their goal is to make a positive difference through random acts of kindness. When a person is served by the team, they receive a Pay It First Card that has a unique number on the back. As the card travels through the hands of people doing random acts of kindness, it can be tracked on the website to see the impact throughout the community. This is a fun way to see how the effect of a single action can be multiplied. People can also share their stories on the website to inspire others to look for ways to help others every day.

The Pay It First Team believes in the importance of showing kindness and service to others through random acts of kindness. When kindness is shown to one individual, a spark can be lit that spreads positive actions to others. As individuals are touched by this effort, it has a positive effect on our community and spreads to other communities around the world.

The Pay It First Team is made of employees that work at First Financial Bank and want to make a positive difference in their community. The team meets each month to dream of unexpected ways to serve others in the community. To learn more about individuals on the team and why this is important to them, click here.