The Pay It Forward Challenge

As a member of the board of the Sojourner Truth House, a domestic violence shelter in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Cindy Rooks knows a few people who could use her help. She wants to do something personal rather than just donating the money to the organization. So Cindy decides to throw a baby shower for two pregnant residents of the shelter. One of the women is expecting twins. Neither of the moms-to-be has everything she needs to care for the babies once they arrive.

Once Cindy lets her friends and co-workers in on her plan, things start to come together. Everyone chips in for decorations, party favors and food to throw a luncheon for the expectant moms and the rest of the shelter's residents. Cindy then heads to Babies "R" Us for a $1,000 shopping spree, picking up plenty of baby essentials from car seats to strollers to cribs.

Cindy says it means a lot to help women from the Sojourner Truth House. "Being in a domestic violence situation is very stressful, and then to be pregnant also really makes it tough," she says. "So it's really neat to be able to do something for these women and take some of the pressure off of, ‘What am I going to do when I have these babies?'"