Forever Two Wheels ‘Pays it Forward’ for Christmas

By Ed Pierce

The loss of someone important to him this holiday season has led a local business owner in Windham to step up efforts to “Pay it Forward” for area families in need again this Christmas.

Rhonda Davis of Windham Flower
Shop, left, thanks Nick Beaulieu of
Forever Two Wheels for his donation
of 10 Christmas trees to be given to
families in need in the community 
this holiday season. This is the third
year that Beaulieu has donated
Christmas trees at Windham Flower
Shop and he encourages other
local businesses to do the same.
COURTESY PHOTO   

Nick Beaulieu of Forever Two Wheels first teamed up with Rhonda Davis of the Windham Flower Shop three years ago to provide a Christmas tree for a local family and the initiative expanded to two trees for area families last year. But the loss of someone close to Beaulieu this year prompted him to work with Davis in increasing the number of Christmas trees available for local families in need.

This year Beaulieu has donated 10 Christmas trees to anyone who needs one and encourages other local businesses to donate trees as well.

“I originally did this during the pandemic in 2020 because I figured people were hurting and it was a way of helping,” Beaulieu said. “It’s truly amazing feeling to make someone’s holidays brighter.”

Davis ordered the trees from a farm near Dover-Foxcroft early in November and the tree shipment arrived by flatbed truck on Nov. 22 at Windham Flower Shop, 299 Roosevelt Trail, Windham, right before the start of the holiday season.

Available Christmas trees range from 4 feet to 10 feet in height and will be provided while the supply lasts at no charge on a first-come first-serve basis to families who need them with no questions asked, Beaulieu said.

Rising costs of gasoline, heating fuel, groceries and other items have left many local families struggling financially this year and some have decided that the purchase of a Christmas tree is a luxury that they simply could not afford. Families in need also must deal with the fact that the price for both real and artificial trees this year is expected to be about 10 to 30 percent higher than a year ago with a smaller selection to choose from than in previous years.

Beaulieu says that providing Christmas trees to those families who may not be able to afford them this year makes him feel good.

“I know that times are tough for some people and the holidays make it even tougher. I sincerely hope that everyone who receives a tree this year enjoys it and that this gift is very special to them,” he said. “I operate a community business in Windham and have a lot of local people coming in here all the time. This community has been very good to me, and it is a privilege for me to be able to pay it forward and do something like this for those in our community who need help this year.”

The concept of paying it forward has been around in America for decades and is used to describe a kind act where the beneficiary of a good deed repays the kindness to others instead of paying it back to the original benefactor.

According to Beaulieu, his goal is to help others this year in the spirit of Christmas, but he also would like to encourage others in the community to do something kind or come up with their own way to “Pay it Forward” this holiday season.

“I am also once again nominating my friends and local business owners Kevin Dubreuil of Beacon Electric, Justin Saunders of One Stop Earthworks, Pat Thorne of Patman’s Redemption, Joyce Elliott of Elliott Nutrition, Maine Tax Professionals, Hayley Moon of Rustlers Steakhouse, Matthew Sherburne of Misfit Crossfit, Misty Hodgdon and Heidi Lawler of Spruce Salon, Cynthia Terroni of the Stockhouse Restaurant and Sandbar Pub in Windham, and Kenny Cianchette of Erik’s Church to purchase trees and nominating others to also carry on the spirit of Christmas,” Beaulieu said. “Feel free to join paying it forward and supporting our community.”

Just this week, Eliott Nutrition and Erik’s Church accepted Beaulieu’s challenge and donated Christmas trees at Windham Flower Shop for those in need in the community and others that he nominated are expected to join the effort soon.

“From first-hand experience, I can tell everyone that it is deeply gratifying for me to be able to do something for others during the holiday season and it’s especially heartwarming to know that something like this makes others in our community feel good at Christmas too.” <

Windham community steps up to ‘pay it forward’

Ashley Waters of Windham, left, 
learned in December that two
anonymous individuals had paid
more than $1,000 for physical
therapy for her son, Zeke, who
has cerebral palsy.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

By Daniel Gray

Some days, there are wonderful strangers who make our day just a little easier. There's someone there to help lend a couple dollars if you're a few short at the checkout, or the person in front of you paid for your morning coffee at the drive-through. 

 

These acts of kindness are often referred to as “paying it forward” and come in many shapes and sizes. Over the holiday season, a number of examples of amazing community members who were “paying it forward” came to light locally.

 

A classic example of “paying it forward” is always at Dunkin Donuts in Windham where some people in line at the drive-through pay for the person behind them. One instance of this happened to Kathy Plamann and her husband, Keith, of Windham.

 

He has been going through chemotherapy for a couple months and the only thing he can keep down because of his treatments is Dunkin's vanilla chai drinks. They were in line at the drive-through and were pleasantly surprised when they found out the person in front of them had already paid for his drink. 

 

Kathy Plamann said that she was so touched by this kind gesture that she then paid for the person behind her as well, even though the cost was $4 extra dollars. 

"My hope for all of us, with the tough times we are all going through, is to keep the Christmas Spirit going year-round,” she said. “These have been unprecedented times, we need to keep looking out for ways to bless people, which I already see in this community and surrounding towns."

Earlier in December, the Windham Flower Shop run by Rhonda Davis had a small challenge for the community in which if you purchased a tree, you then also bought one for another family.

Davis said she was surprised when their store suddenly got an influx of businesses and customers alike buying trees for families, and it all started with Nick Beaulieu, one of Davis' friends. 

Beaulieu runs the motorcycle shop Forever Two Wheels right next door to Patmans Redemption. He
had stopped by the flower shop and bought two trees, one for himself and one for a random family who needed one.

He then posted on Facebook to challenge the community into doing the same. His friends shared the post and it got traction quickly after that. 

By the middle of December, the flower shop had sold out of trees and gave out 65 trees to families free of charge. 

Beaulieu said that he enjoys “paying it forward” to people in any way he can, whether it be buying a couple’s dinner, or just simply buying a family's tree.

He said he didn't expect his small challenge to take off so well, but he has other tricks up his sleeve planned for next year that will help local business and families in Windham during the holidays.

Another small blessing in disguise in December was when Ashley Waters of Windham found that two anonymous women had paid for physical therapy appointments for her son, Zeke, who has cerebral palsy. 

She said that the family has had so many medical bills this year and the physical therapy that their son needs was very costly.

 

Waters says it got to a point where Zeke didn't get to go to physical therapy at all since the family was behind on payments. 

However, two anonymous people paid more than $1,000 for appointments for Zeke and his mother couldn't be happier that he's getting the help he needs. 

For the community, Waters just wants to remind everyone that despite the tough times today with the pandemic, there's always hope and love right around the corner where you least expect it. 

"There are still good people out there no matter how much negativity, anger, and divisiveness there seems to be right now,” Waters said. “We can all still come together as a community. At the end of the day we are all human beings and we all thrive from spreading love and feeling love from others no matter how big or small it may be."

People here just always stick up for one another and help each other when needed. Our community truly is a place of caring, amazing people despite the roughness of this year. For 2021, let's strive to keep that closeness and to continue to lend a helping hand to those who need it. <