Stories of Kindness from Around the World

On April 6th, I turned 20. I refused to accept any gift for my birthday as I felt I had everything I needed and could ever ask for. Instead, I wanted to give back to those who are not as fortunate as I am.

When I applied for the KindSpring Kindness Contest, I wanted to use the $100 to buy twenty $5 gift cards from Tim Horton's, (a Canadian coffee and doughnut chain) write inspiring messages on them, and then hand them out to the homeless.

However, when I shared my birthday idea to a few individuals, they felt inspired to help. My dentist donated toothbrushes, floss and toothpaste. My best friend gave me leftover healthy snacks she had. Lastly, my little siblings gave me a few dollars each from their piggy banks, which I was able to buy little birthday bags with (they wouldn't let me give back their money).

I'm doing a paid internship with a social service agency in an area in Downtown Toronto heavily populated by homeless people. As I walk to work from the subway station, I watch people put their heads down as they pass by homeless people, pretending not to hear or see them.

So, this morning I packed my backpack with these twenty birthday bags, and before work handed them out to homeless men and women. The streets were packed with people walking to work. A lot of them stared at me, smiled, and some thanked me for what I was doing. My only hope was they were inspired to do the same, or something similar.

However, the best reactions came from the homeless individuals. A lot of them cried, thanked me many times, and were overall so grateful for what they were receiving. Items we commonly take for granted.

We shouldn't judge homeless people, instead we should encourage them in anyway possible. No matter how small of an action we think we're doing, you never know the ripple effects of that action.

So, here's to my 20th year of life, and an exciting act of kindness to honour it.