Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A Kindness Sale

A Little Bit of Kindness Goes a Long Way

Chocolate Crepe Kindness

This rainy Sunday morning my son and I visited our local farmers' market. As a special treat, we decided to get some crepes for our breakfast from one of the stands. While he was in line getting those I went down to my favorite stall - the apple farmer! I just love the smell and sight of those stalls at this time of year!   I was chatting with the woman there about the best kind to get for making pies and I was just about to pay for mine when my son wandered up with two plates of delicious crepes. One of the girls behind the counter said, "Oohh, those look yummy!"   After paying for the apples and finishing our rounds we decided that we had to get her a crepe too and my son started describing all of the varieties they had, in particular one that he saw someone else get ... Read Full Story >>

A Big Urge To Do A Little Bit More

This morning I went to drop of my large items to the recycling center. There was an Asian lady in the line who looked about 65-70 years old. She had 6 big black bags of recycling with her. I asked her if she wanted my items, because she was commingling and she could get money for it. She accepted them and thanked me with the most wonderful, loving hug I have ever had. After leaving the recycling center, I went to the market. I had just finished writing my book, and am hoping to get it published someday. I wanted to pick up some steaks to celebrate. It was kind of a special occasion for me, since I have been unemployed for four months and money is tight.  At the market, I had the steaks in my hand, but then thought about the lady at the recycling center. I put them back ... Read Full Story >>

Getting Things Moving by Blocking the Way

I love my truck! I have a big old 99 Suburban Chevy model. One of the biggest they made. I love driving on the road with my Burby!   So there I was driving, singing, having a fabulous time when suddenly I saw ahead of me a congestion of traffic. A three car accident had slowed things right down. It seemed they were all okay and the police were handling it. Meanwhile, everyone was crawling along.  I was watching and waiting for my opportunity to get past all of this congestion. What had been six lanes of flowing traffic was now only three, one lane going west, another east, and a single turning lane. It was horrible.   I slowly came closer to my chance to make a move. Looking around I could see an older woman in the turning lane, obviously upset. Horns were blaring behind her and she hadn’t managed to make ... Read Full Story >>

A Smile Filled Shopping Surprise

I was shopping at a store and passed by a shopper who smiled at me. As we shopped, we kept ending up in the same aisle. When I got to the check out counter, she was right in front of me.

She checked out and left. Then I checked out and left.

As I walked back to my car, I noticed that she was just getting into her truck nearby. I called to her to wait a second. 

"What happened?" she asked.

"Nothing," I smiled. "It's your lucky day!"

I handed her a Smile Card with 10 dollars and said, "You seem like a very nice person. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!"

Then I added, "Maybe yourself some lunch or something!"

Beaming the biggest smile, she responded, "I don't believe this!"

I walked away with an even bigger smile!!

Moved by a Spontaneous Act of Kindness from a Stranger

Last night, after donating the last of my change to Children In Need (a U.K. telethon appeal,) I got on the train from London to Manchester. Feeling hungry, I went to the buffet car, only to find that the card machine was broken and I couldn't buy a sandwich. 

Granny Style Clothing and an Unexpected Friend!

Yesterday, I went shopping for slippers with my daughter. First, I thought we should go to the High Street in town but then something took me to a supermarket I don't really like.   While we were chatting (and my ten year old daughter was having lots of fun calling my choice of clothes "granny style") a young employee must have heard us.   She came over and asked if we were Portuguese. we said, "Yes," and started a small conversation. She said that she had been living in town for ten years, had two small children, and had lost her husband a year ago to leukemia. She felt really isolated because she had no family here. I know how difficult it can be to live in another country without friends.    I knew in my heart that the fact I was there and that she had found the courage to talk to me was ... Read Full Story >>

Jump Starting a Little Kindness

Believing in Kindness

I was on a long drive this past weekend and stopped for a rest break.  I noticed a man in a wheelchair sitting by the stop sign.  He was holding a sign that read, "trying to make it home for the holidays".  I quickly dismissed it because I had no cash to give him. I watched as people drove by and either ignored him or stared at him like he was a curiosity of sorts.  I felt really badly for him. I started to drive away but turned around and asked him if he was hungry.  For some reason, I seem to be called to feed hungry people lately.  He seemed shocked that someone was interested in his well-being and said yes, he would like a sandwich and a soda. I know some people balk at the idea of giving money to strangers because they may use that money for drugs or alcohol ... Read Full Story >>

Three Gifts Make Quite a Day

Chocolate Hugs to Spread the Smiles

Inspiration From my Daughter

I thought that was so sweet of her! It seems she not only reaches out to her friends these days but to her teachers and other children as well. I thought that was awesome! 

Offering a Helping Hand at Sea World

From 5-year-old Kayla:

I was in Sea World with my Dad, Nan, and Pap. The show was over and it was really crowded. I was holding my Dad's hand and then my hand slipped. I stopped because I couldn't see him anymore.

I started to cry, and a lady came up to me. She asked me my name and offered to help me find my Dad. She sat with me for an hour.

Then we saw them.

I hugged my Dad so tight! I never wanted to let go.

Dad said, "Thank you," and I did too.

I hope she knows that without her, I would have never had found my family.

More than Lunch and a Bowl of Soup

Last year I bought lunch for a guy who had scraped his pennies together for a cup of tea. He rewarded me by telling me a little about his life, how he had lost the battle with drink but how faith had turned his life around. Now, when most men his age would be enjoying their retirement, he lived in a hostel and spent his time distributing religious tracts to shops, offices and strangers in the street.   Well, yesterday Julie and I were back in the same coffee shop. Julie looked over my shoulder and saw the same man, sitting there with a solitary cup of tea, dressed as he had been the time before despite the fact that the outside temperature was sub-zero.   We finished our bowls of piping hot soup with crusty bread then I got up and walked over. Knowing he would not remember me I sat down beside ... Read Full Story >>

An Unexpected Ice-Cream Treat for a Veteran

My husband went to the hospital the other day to visit a fellow VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) member who has been diagnosed with brain cancer. He has just recently joined the VFW and tries to help any chance he gets. The gentleman he was going to visit had commented on a previous visit that the fish the hospital served wasn't good. So, my husband decided he would stop by Culvers on his way and pick up a fish dinner and a shrimp dinner for his friend and his friend's wife. While he was at the store he asked for a few plates to go with the meal, explaining why they might be needed. The Culvers employees he was talking to told my him to go to the ice cream freezer and pick out his favorite flavors to take along. It was their treat!  Besides the generosity of the employee at Culvers ... Read Full Story >>

A Christmas Manger Overflowing With Kindness

Making A Difference With M&Ms

Dessert On The House

A friend and I went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch last weekend. Since we are vegetarians we customized our order.  

The Traffic Warden's Toes

I was recently on a working trip to Mumbai. One evening I took an autorickshaw home from work. It was around 6 p.m. and there was heavy rush hour traffic. Because of this the rickshaw was traveling at a snail's pace. I was lost in my own thoughts, thinking about the day's events, when a Mumbai police traffic warden materialized as if from nowhere. He ran alongside the rickshaw and slapped the driver three times, quite violently, across his face.    I was shocked by this sudden turn of events! I asked the driver to take the rickshaw to one side of the street and stop. I asked if he was hurt and he said his eyes were sore because of the slap. Other than that, he said, he was fine.    I asked what had happened. He said that, by mistake, he had  run over the traffic wardens shoes. I told him he should ... Read Full Story >>