Aaron Collins

"Leave an awesome tip" for a waiter or waitress.  "And I don't mean 25%," Aaron said.  "I mean $500 on a ****ing pizza."

Those are strong words for a 30 year old.  They are what Aaron said to his brother Seth a few days before he died on July 7, 2012.  Aaron wanted to make a difference in someone’s life even if he would never see it, and Seth did it. 

I read the story a few weeks ago and have been watching it morph into somewhat of a “make a difference” movement.  Seth started a blog two days after Aaron died called Aaron’s Wish.  Since then the national media and NPR have picked up the story and ran with it.  $50,000 in donations have been made to Aaron’s Wish in the last few weeks.  To say the family was caught totally off guard would be an understatement.  They have made two additional $500 tips to unsuspecting waiters and waitresses and will be giving out at least $500 a week as long as the funding lasts.

As I ramble about often, you never when or how you can make a difference in someone’s life, just know that you can.  A few words from Aaron to his brother about $500 has increased 100 fold and is still going.  Now that is truly making a difference in the lives of others.  The next time you think you cannot make a difference or change a life, remember Aaron.

For more on Aaron, here is the link to the blog site: http://aaroncollins.org/