Pay it forward Polish style
On Sunday, Tom Hanks wished Monika Jaskolska a happy birthday. Hanks doesn’t know Monika at all; in fact, they’ve never met, and his birthday message was translated into Polish. She was so taken aback she decided to start to a fundraiser in her hometown of Bielsko-Biała to raise 9000 Zloty in order to buy Hanks a Fiat 126 - he is a big fan of that particular Fiat Model.
Hey Presto!
The money was raised super quick, and the chain of generosity for Hanks’s benefit continued: Rafał Solnik, a Polish rally driver, offered to “pimp” Hanks’s ride to the value of $10,000. Poland’s national airline, LOT, then offered to deliver the vehicle to Hanks, in the USA, for free. The money Jaskolska raised will go to a local hospital.
The Fiat 126 was produced in Bielsko-Biała between 1973 and 2000, and instantly became Poland’s most popular car. In 1971, there were just 17 cars per 1,000 inhabitants in Poland. As a communist country, the only way to own an automobile was with money, paperwork and connections. When First Secretary issued the licence to produce the car in Poland, in a move to boost prosperity and abundance in the austerity-addled country, personal car ownership for ordinary people had become a reality.
I wonder what Forrest Gump would've made of Monika's act of kindness?