The siblings who left valid parking tickets on a Ballarat CBD ticket machine hope the “pay it forward” concept will continue.
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Twins Stephanie and Danielle Lee, and their brother Josh Lee, attached three valid tickets to the machine outside Ballarat Health Services Base Hospital on Tuesday morning.
If we can encourage more people to pay it forward then sharing that kindness around is always positive.
- Stephanie Lee
The siblings and their family had just said their final goodbyes to their grandfather who died at the hospital.
“It was a very sad day for our family and we wanted to share kindness,” Stephanie Lee said.
“We know there are lots of kind people out there that would pass their tickets on but we are glad we could contribute and make someone else's day a bit easier.”
Stephanie said she would usually give parking tickets to another person, but there was no one around on Tuesday so the trio decided to put them on the machine.
The tickets had one hour to more than one hour time remaining.
As they left the car park, Stephanie said she saw a person take one of the tickets, which made her feel happy.
Pay it forward is a global initiative that exists to make a difference by people helping each other out.
In relation to parking, people could pick up valid tickets left on the machine and use them for their own park without having to part ways with their own shrapnel.
The City of Ballarat confirmed the act is legal.
Stephanie said she had heard of the pay it forward social movement and encouraged other people to take part to make life a little easier for someone else.
“If we can encourage more people to do it then sharing that kindness around is always positive,” she said.
“In and around the hospital you want to get in quickly. It can be quite stressful. We thought we might help someone and make it easier for them.”
The Courier’s initial story on the pay it forward concept had a positive reaction on social media, with many people posting comments they had been doing it for many years.
Others said the concept was a great idea and encouraged the Ballarat community to get on board.
Claire Mcveigh posted she always offered her ticket if someone was around but didn't think to put it back on the box.