Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Long Distance Thanksgiving Kindness

I work with a warm, fun-loving woman named Heather.  This year our boss asked a group of us to join his family on Thanksgiving.  Seated around the table, Heather said something had totally changed her the day before -- like she was walking in a new direction.  I listened and watched as her eyes welled with tears. Heather deals daily with people on the telephone.  She was speaking with a Veteran and asked if he was looking forward to Thanksgiving.  She was surprised when he said no, and asked why. He had been let go from his job more than a month before and was having a tough time making ends meet.  He shared how hard it was to feel powerless to provide a Thanksgiving meal for his wife and children.  She wished him a happy holiday and good luck.  There was nothing to do but say good-bye and hang-up. But I must do ... Read Full Story >>

A Moment of Calm

My husband and I were cleaning windows together yesterday. We  have the double-hung windows that you can pull forward and flip, allowing us to clean the inside and the outside surfaces. My husband was washing one window - and it popped out of its frame!  Well, our house is for sale and the last thing we needed was for something to break. He was so upset and tried with all his might to get it back together, using a few less than pleasant words (I am sorry to say). After twenty minutes he still could not get it fixed. That's when my 23 year old son told his dad to walk away for a minute and he would try to fix it with me. It's amazing how you can see things more clearly and do things more easily when you are calm. He and I fixed the window in three minutes! I called ... Read Full Story >>

Chosing to Spread Smiles

Yesterday some colleagues from work and I volunteered at our local food kitchen. I brought some Smile cards with me and was determined that I would smile and be pleasant and present to everyone I met that day. This time I was serving food so I was not mingling with all of our guests and did not have a chance to give out any of my Smile cards. But I made sure that I laughed and joked with any who wanted to exchange some wise cracks. I smiled and cheerfully greeted them all. It was a lot of fun. Just choosing to be happy and trying to spread good cheer made a difference. Whether it was my fellow volunteers or some of our guests, I tried to make everyone I could smile. We cannot always choose what happens to us. I saw that first hand with some of those eating with us. ... Read Full Story >>

Quietly Making the World Better

My aunt down't use a credit card so she usually carries a lot of cash in her handbag.  One day she ;eft her handbag in a cab that she had taken to go and visit her sister in the hospital.

She thought it was lost for good and was quite upset as her cellphone, money and some important papers were in it.

The next day, while she was visitng her sister again, the cab driver turned up at her apartment to return the bag! The security guard at the door offered to take the bag but the driver refused. He came back again that evening and personally gave the bag to my aunt.

She found everything intact and she offered him some money to thank him. He refused saying it was his duty to return the bag.

It's a lovely reminder of all the honest people out there quietly making the world a better place, not for their own gain but just because they think they should.

My Best Smile Card Response Yet!

This weekend I went grocery shopping. The cashier I chose was talking to the ladies in front of me and then something they were talking about reminded her about sending relief for a co-worker.  She quickly took care of that and called the person to tell them help was on the way. When it was my turn to checkout she chatted with me too. I had prepared a little Smile Card package that I normally use in drive-throughs before coming inside the store just in case I found someone to share it with.  Well I knew she was the one. I could tell she really cared about people. When we were all done with my transaction I said, "This is for you," and handed her the items.  She looked at it and said, "Thank you!  I really needed this today!" Then her eyes filled with tears and she gave me a hug! I told her, "Now, ... Read Full Story >>

Taxi Cab Compassion

After a somewhat late night on the town celebrating with two friends who had just finished grad school I decided it was time to head on home. So I walked towards the bus stop a little worried that I might already have missed the last bus. It was a Sunday and the buses were few and far between. When I arrived there were still a few people waiting, so I thought perhaps there might be one last bus. After waiting a while I called a friend and asked her to look up a schedule online. Sure enough we had all missed the last bus by about ten minutes. One person insisted another bus was to come so we waited. An hour and a half after arriving at the stop I had had enough. Some people were getting distraught  as it seemed the only way home at that point was to call a cab ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Ripples From a $10 Bill

The other day I got wind of a family that was a little tight on money and could use some groceries.  On a total whim, I stopped at a general corner store and picked out some bread, eggs, and milk for them with the single bill I had on me. 

As I paid for the food, a lady joined the line, also holding a carton of eggs.  I told the cashier I wanted to pay for hers also.  The lady smiled: "My daughter came over to visit this morning wanted me to make her some French toast.  I was out of eggs.  Thank you so much!"  T

he cashier said, "This reminds me of that movie PAY IT FORWARD!"

I don't know how many people were fed that day from one ten dollar bill, but I DO know I was filled with happiness being part of it!!  :)

252 Sets Of Smiles Sent Out

I shipped my 252nd set of Smile Cards today. On average there are 10 cards per mailing so that's over 2520 Smile Cards sent.

It makes me smile every time I address an envelope and send out a set of Smile Cards - and smiles. It's heartwarming to read how these cards are intended to be used and gives me many wonderful ideas on doing good with my own cards!

If you've ever considered volunteering to mail out these cards, I'd suggest you give it a try and find out just how much pleasure you will receive in return.

Have a sunshine day! 

A Shoe Seller Walks in the Shoes of Kindness

Today, I felt terrible. My head was full of problems and confusion.  I decided to take a walk even though I didn't know where I would go. The most extraordinary thing happened when I was out on this walk. I saw an old man sitting on a chair. He was a seller of second-hand shoes. I thought he looked at least 70 years old. He seemed so tired and nobody was buying his shoes. I wanted to give him something but I had not brought anything with me. Then, a little girl came toward him. I heard the child say, "Grandfather, may I polish your shoes?" That old man took pity on her, smiled and he gave her a  shoe to polish. The girl said, "I polish the shoe because I need money to buy my brother a new school uniform."  I heard this and tears came to my eyes. The old man answered, "Oh, little girl. Just stop doing this. Come with ... Read Full Story >>

From A Sad Time To A HelpOthers Time

I have just given away my first two 'Smile Cards'. My mum is ill in hospital so i have been sitting at her bedside for the last three days. On the first day when I entered the emergency department I saw a young girl of about twenty-five sitting on her own, looking a bit sad. I looked at her and smiled. She looked at me but her face remained sad, so I reached into my bag and handed her a Smile card. She took it and read the words (You've been tagged.) She looked my way and said, "Thank you." And then came the big bright smile! It gave me goose-bumps! The  next afternoon, when I was leaving the hospital, I spotted another young girl waiting for a bus. She was on her phone and was crying. I walked up to her and, without a word, handed her a Smile card. She looked into my ... Read Full Story >>

Celebrate World Kindness Day on Nov 13th!

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead Join us in celebrating World Kindness Day on Saturday, November 13th by, you guessed it, doing something kind for someone else! :) Want to do something kind, but just can't think of what to do? You're in luck! We've got loads of ideas on our site, where you can find one that moves you personally.  We've also included some of our favorites here below, which are quick and easy for everyone to do this Saturday in the spirit of joining the global community to promote kindness. Kindness Ideas Give a friend your favorite inspirational book with a personal note attached. Pay for the person behind you in line. Plant a fruit tree where it will thrive. Leave ... Read Full Story >>

Exercising the Kindness Muscle

Today my husband and I drove to a nearby park for our exercise.  The park has a lake with a paved path along it's edge which is about two miles long.  There are some benches dotted along the path, and approximately half a mile into our first lap, we noticed a woman's purse hanging on the back of a bench. We looked around but there was no one nearby so we opened the purse to check for identification. Although we had passed a few people during our lap, it was evident that we hadn't passed the woman in the driver's license photo. Inside the purse was her wallet, license, credit cards, car keys, etc. so we just couldn't leave the purse there in hopes that she might return.  We decided to carry it with us and hope that we would come across the owner.   After about another mile, we saw a man and woman walking hand in hand ahead of us. As we ... Read Full Story >>

Sacrificed For A Sister's Education

I've never posted a story before but, upon recently graduating from UC Berkeley, with as much financial support as my family could muster, I feel the need to thank my sister Mollie.   Mollie started out at UC Santa Cruz two years ago, when I was already a junior at Berkeley, at a time when my family could no longer afford to support two college students.   We both started working to pay for our housing while our parents were still paying our tuition. Then we took out loans for tuition too.   After one year of college, my sister moved home to San Francisco and took classes at SF City College instead and started working full time. She did this by choice and quietly let our whole family think that she wanted to move home anyway, that it was for her as much as for my parents' financial situation.   Over the past ... Read Full Story >>

A Neighborhood Pulls Together To Be 'Kind People'

Two weeks ago while my daughter and I were eating dinner I saw a police officer walking past my backyard with a worried looking woman. I opened my door and asked if everything was okay. Apparently the woman was the grandmother of an eight year old boy who had gone missing an hour earlier.  I said we hadn't seen the boy, but we would help look. I asked my two year old daughter if she understood why we had to go looking for this boy and couldn't finish dinner right then.  She replied, "Be kind people, Daddy." (That still makes me want to hug her!) We hopped into our truck and went searching all over town for about an hour and a half.  Along the way, as we asked various strangers on the street if they had seen this little boy. A group of kids said they would help too. They hopped on ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness for the Animals

I am one who loves to give to those in need. For instance, if I see a homeless person on the side of the road, I hand them $5. The way I think of it, it doesn't matter what they use it for as long as I showed that I care. One subject that emotionally touched me was animal abuse – for instance, there are commercials that depict animals that were abused and neglected and had only a slight chance of living. I had to do something about it! So I contacted my local humane society and asked if I could have a fundraiser for them. They were openly grateful for my offer. Leading from this, I went around town and collected donations for a raffle to raise money for the abused animals of our local humane society. To add to the appeal of this event, my dad wrote a song called ... Read Full Story >>

Helping a Mother and Daughter in a Pharmacy

I am stationed in Guam with the Air Force. There is a lot of poverty here. 

Last week I was at the pharmacy picking up my usual medicine when I noticed a mother and child counting their dollars and change. The mother was unable to pay for her prescriptions, so without thinking, I took out my credit card and asked the pharmacist to put her bill with mine.

As we waited for our medicines, she explained that her other daughter had gotten scalding oil in her eye while in the car. I was horrified and glad that I was able to help. We exchanged numbers and she would not stop thanking me.  A week later, her daughter called to thank me and tell me that her eye was better.

Leaving Flowers on the Perfect Doorstep

I went outside and cut some flowers growing in my yard. I was going to leave them on the doorstep of some random house in my neighborhood.  I wrapped them up nicely and went to find a house. I rang the doorbell of the first house and ran off.  A couple minutes later I walked by and saw the flowers still there. I went and picked them up because I didn't know how long the people who lived there would be away for and by the time they got back, the flowers could be wilting. I went to find another house. Same thing happened. Nobody was home.

Cruising along to find yet another house, I saw an elderly couple leaving from their home on a walk. It was the perfect  place! Once they were out of view I dropped the flowers off.  I was riding back when I saw them again. They were on their way back home. 

I can't help but wonder if they knew it was me or what their expressions would be when they discovered the flowers. It was an awesome thrill and I loved it! I'm excited to do other things!

If you have any ideas on anything I could do please comment and tell me!

30 For 30: A Birthday Wish

Check out the video below, from a HelpOthers member ...

If you're so moved to support Hywy's 30th b'day by doing a kind act in your community, please leave a comment below about your intention, and it will be sent directly to her -- and wil make her day/year. :)

Much love to all of you who make this world a better place, one kind act at a time!

A Long Queue Made A Little Shorter

 During a recent business trip there was a hold on trains to the airport and many people were stranded and had to buy new tickets for flights and also arrange hotels for the night. I was traveling alone and like everyone else I had to stand in very long queues. I had queued for about 30-40 minutes and was looking around when I saw a lady with a small child in her arms near the back of the queue. I knew she had at least another 30-40 minutes to wait just to reach my position and maybe 10 more minutes from there as I was quite close to the front of the queue. I could also see that she was quite tired and the child was heavy and asleep on her shoulder. I looked back until I caught her attention. Once I got her attention I waved her forward and asked the ... Read Full Story >>

An Opportunity to Help at the Nursery

I was picking up a few plants at a nursery for my small patio area. The young woman who assisted me was helpful and pleasant to the point of making my day a better one.

As I was finishing at the cash register a supervisor told the young woman to go for her lunch break. She said she didn't want to go. When pressed on the issue she said she was so broke she didn't have any food at home to make a lunch. She laughed it off, saying she'd go get a coffee.

I gathered my things and she offered to help me out. As I parted I put a $10 bill in her hand and encouraged her, with a smile, to enjoy lunch today. She smiled widely and said she would.