Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Flip Flop Kindness For A Colleague

Things at my work are really good these days which is much better than they were last month.  One of my co-workers was giving me the silent treatment but that's all forgotten and forgiven now. This weekend my fiancé took me shopping for my birthday.  We went to several stores.  At one store I found the cutest little flip flop bird house.  The coworker who I have forgiven for the silent treatment (previously mentioned) LOVES flip flops.  I think of her every time I see them.  I just had to pick it up for her.  I wasn't sure when I was going to give it to her (I was flipping back and forth) but in the end I decided to.  "What are you waiting for?" I asked myself, so I gave them to her today. (This is just a random picture.  The one I got is cuter!) She loved it!!!  She said it matches some little outdoor lights ... Read Full Story >>

Honoring A Daughter By Paying-It-Forward

Mandy was the kind of girl I was blessed to have as a daughter, the kind of friend everyone wanted to have, the kind of spirit that radiated joy and happiness when ever she entered a room. Mandy left this world to go be with her Lord on November 15, 2008 in a tragic car accident. Since then, I have tried to live each day of my life living up to her expectations.  I started the Kindness Revolution on Mother's day 2009 and gave out over 100 flowers to random women throughout the weekend along with a card letting them know to pay the kindness forward.   I have given away jewelry, paid for coffee and tolls, paid for groceries, cleaned off car windows trying to spread the kindness and to do as she instructed.   I know that each time I do a kind act, I get back 100 times more than I gave.    The feeling ... Read Full Story >>

An Old Woman's Big Effort to Make a Small Difference

I take the train into work every morning from a train station near my house.  I can get to the station quite easily as there is an alley way at the back of the station which provides a great short cut.  In the summer, when it’s hot, I always try to rush through it because it can get quite smelly sometimes. (I think the heat makes all the rubbish that people throw in the alley way smell bad.)  Today was one of those days that I was trying to rush through as usual when something made me stop for a moment.  I saw the most unexpected and beautiful act by a frail old woman walking ahead of me. The old woman was quite short and thin, she was Asian and she had white hair.  I remember that she was wearing a bright orange jacket and she was walking with the help of a white cane.  ... Read Full Story >>

A Tax Official Goes An Extra Mile

Working at a Bank as I do, one of my hats is being a lending assistant.  Sometimes we do loans for individuals buying vehicles from other individuals.  This is fine other than the fact that titles are a very hard item to "get right".  As happens often in these types of transactions the title was indeed not completed properly.  One thing was wrong.  I received a call from the tax office!  The woman explained what was wrong and offered to send it from the Angleton tax office to the Alvin tax office since she noticed our customer is from that city.  WHAT!?!?!  A county tax office official offering to go the extra mile!?!?!  How NICE!  Normally you would receive the title back along with all of your paperwork with a paper explaining what is wrong along with a hefty late fee.  If was such a nice change of pace to come in ... Read Full Story >>

Drive Thru Kindness

I have a simple kindness idea that I have been trying out recently. 

When I'm going through a drive-thru, I give the person behind the window something small that I hope will make them smile.  A smile button, or a donought or something similar.  Like today when I was at the McDonald's drive though - I gave the person serving me an apple pie.

He was an elderly gentleman and he was certainly surprised.  I think it took him a minute to figure out what was going on as he was in the middle of a very busy day but he was very grateful. 

I'm sure he will remember that for a long time to come, even though it was such a simple gesture ;).

Inspiring Video Dedicated To HelpOthers.org!

I returned from a lovely holiday with my family and sang in a number of different concerts around the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions in New Zealand. It is always such an honour seeing the joy on people's faces. One concert we sang at was at a local rest-home/retirement village.  It was nice to see 100 elderly people so happy after we, "The Short Sistars," had sung.  It was so wonderful to see so many happy faces, all saying they want us to come back and sing again soon. So next Uni holidays the managers have invited us to come and perform again.  When our music fills the air, I love seeing these elderly people, who aren't in the best of health, and the beaming smiles appearing across their faces as if they feel at peace, maybe :) Then spent the second week down in Palmerston North..Visiting my sick Grandma in hospital everyday and looking after ... Read Full Story >>

Sharing a Birthday with a Homeless Friend

I live in a big Scandinavian city that unfortunately has a lot of homeless people. Luckily there are small ways of helping them even though you may not have a lot of money.  One way to help is to buy their monthly magazine. By doing this one day,  I got to know a young homeless man who was often standing at the train station, selling the magazine. He was a refugee from another country and I can only imagine what kind of psychological scars he must have had from living in a war-torn country, escaping it and then ending up being homeless.  After a while, I discovered that his birthday was close to mine which meant that we were born under the same sign of the Zodiac, something we talked about once in a while. I met him last year shortly after his birthday, and without thinking, after congratulating him, I asked if he had had ... Read Full Story >>

One Person Stops to Help Out

We had some guests visit us from East Africa -- a 65-year plus father and his 40-year-old daughter were in Mumbai for the father's heart check up.  When they were returning home from the suburbs, their cab got in an accident that caused the father to hit his forehead on the metal dashboard.  Profuse bleeding ensued, and the daughter, in a state of panic, had no idea what to do.  She gave her father a cloth bag to hold against the bleeding and went hunting for another vehicle to take them to a hospital.  Sadly, the people passing by were busy with their lives and did not come to the aid of our guests. Suddenly, an angel seemed to appear out of no where.  Cassandra, a guest relations co-coordinator at a top hotel in Mumbai, helped them not only find another vehicle to get them to the hospital, but also went with them even though she ... Read Full Story >>

Delivering an Important Document on an Important Day

I was a recipient of a profound act of loving-kindness this morning. I woke up around 8 am to find my dad telling me happily, first thing in the morning,: "Your I-20 visa has finally arrived!" To those who are not familiar with these terms, the I-20 visa is the document I need to proceed with my next degree, without which I would not be allowed to enter the US.  I have been extremely worried recently since I had only two weeks left to receive this important document. "I knew it would come today," my dad and I said at the same time. It was the anniversary of when my grandfather,  a truly beautiful and kind soul, died. In fact, the house was noisy and busy with the rituals done to mark this date. Someone, I don't know who, had come up to the house, and learning from the maid that the rituals were going on, dropped ... Read Full Story >>

Get Well Wishes With A Sweet Treat

Last week, where I live, the property manager, Holly and the fix it man (of sorts), Bill  both went in for surgery. 

I found some get well soon cards and purchased them.  They were on clearance!  I also had a sweet treat for each of them.  Of course I included a SMILE card in each one!!!  = )

I tied Holly's up with a red string and tried to drop it on the counter with no one noticing but I got caught.

Bill's, I tried to slip into the mail while his wife was collecting it from the office.  I accidentally put it in her discard pile.  Thank goodness the cashier caught it and saved it from going in the garbage!!!!

I got "busted" on both but that's ok.  It's not always about being anonymous. 

Smiles...

A Lesson In Receiving Graciously

I often walk from work (near Pier 39 in San Francisco) to the Embarcadero BART station, where I catch a train back to the East Bay. Several times, I passed a gentleman who I presumed was homeless.  He had a lot of his possessions tied down to his bike and held a cardboard sign that said he was a vet who doesn't drink or do drugs, but would appreciate anything that could be given.  He usually has headphones on and is listening to the radio. He is always minding his own business, often reading as well.  I've never seen him actively "panhandling." Several times, while I was passing him, I realized I had some food with me, so I turned around and offered him that food (most recently, a blueberry muffin).  He took off his headphones, and said "Umm, blueberry muffins are my favorite!" with a big smile and a gleam in his eye.  ... Read Full Story >>

A Track Meet Encounter That Inspired An Idea

While attending my 16 year old's high school track meet, I noticed that one of his teammates was running the events in regular sneakers.  So, I asked my son about it later on and he told me that the kid couldn't afford "spikes".  I'm a single mom and being able to afford equipment for sports has been tough at times.  My son and I are very fortunate to have a very supportive family that always pulls together when one of the kids needs something.  It was obvious my son's teammate needed the help of some extended family.  So, my son and I came up with a plan that would allow us to help the kid without embarrassing him.  The next day my son approached his teammate and told the boy that his uncle bought him a pair of spikes that were the wrong size.  My son asked his teammate his size and when he told him it was size eleven, my son said coincidentally ... Read Full Story >>

Carrying a Load With A Big Smile

It is a terribly rainy wet winters day here in Tauranga. While I was walking from the library after getting together my University applications for next year at the end of my lunch break, a man was walking towards me with two HUGE boxes of pamphlets. I thought, "What on earth is that man trying to do? Carry all that stuff?"  Then all of a sudden he dropped it all!!!!!!  It was a terrible mess with hundreds of brochures all over the path in front of me! "Oh no," I thought. The man sat down and started trying to pick all of the brochures up. I couldn’t believe how many people walked on by without even caring in the least. I thought, "I’m not going to be one of those people who don’t care about this man. I’m going to help him."  So, even though it was the end of my lunch break ... Read Full Story >>

My First Smile Card Experience

I just recently found this site and spent a few hours reading the stories. A lot of them were so touching that I cried a few times. While I normally do things like open doors for people and help out when I can, I knew I wanted to do something more.

I had just recently started a class and on the first day the professor apologised because she is usually much more full of energy than she was on that particular day. Her mother had just gotten diagnosed with terminal cancer and so she was very down.

I didn't even think about it until right before the next class, and then suddenly an idea dawned on me. I printed out a few smile cards, grabbed a few quarters and headed to class early. Once I got to the school, I went to a vending machine and purchased some M&M's. I then went into the class and put the M&M's along with a smile card on her desk.

I know it wasn't much but she was obviously more happy than she was just a couple days before and I hope I helped ease her pain a little.

Investing Love In Young Children

My childcare job allowed me to positively impact children from a young age while staying at home with my own children.  One single mom found my fees beyond her reach at times when she was short of cash and/or between jobs.  She brought her daughter to me as often as possible but sometimes had to resort to less expensive babysitters. Upon returning to me after a lapse of attendance, the daughter acted withdrawn, timid, and scared.  Realizing that childcare from multiple babysitters was negatively affecting the child's emotions, I reached an agreement with the mother to give her child a consistent caring environment under my watch.  Accordingly, the mother paid when she could.  When she was short of cash and/or between jobs, she dropped off her child under the guise of being my daughter's friend for the day. This arrangement paid off abundantly.  As the children I babysat reached school age and ... Read Full Story >>

Coupon Kindness in the Checkout Line

I recently went to a craft/sewing supply store to purchase a few things that I needed.  I had saved up some coupons for the store and brought them all along with me.  I'm usually quite a shy person, but as I was waiting in the long checkout line, I worked up the nerve to ask the lady ahead of me in the line and the couple behind me if they would like a coupon, as I had extra. 

Both were really pleasantly surprised and grateful for this (it was so nice to see their faces erupt in thankful smiles!). I also left several coupons on the counter for others to use if they wanted them.  :)

I highly recommend this action - it doesn't cost you a penny and saves others some ;)!  Just save some coupons - you can find them in store flyers, or get on the store's mailing list and some stores offer coupons online that can be printed out for use in their brick-and-mortar locations.  Just keep an eye out on expiration dates, and enjoy surprising people with kindness in the sometimes dreary hassle of a checkout line! 

Happy coupon hunting :)

Paying Forward a $500 Gift

Every Wednesday for 2 years now, a group of us ladies goes to a special thrfit store to look for some bargains. At this store, you could buy anything you could put in a bag for  only $1! I bought a few bags and came home to sort it all out on my kitchen floor, as I usually do. As I was looking at a men's leather coat, I started to check it for any flaws.  I felt something in a hidden inside pocket, so I pulled it out .  It was store purchase receipts, but I did not think much of it until I unraveled it and suddenly saw a $100 bill!!!! OH MY! Well, when my husband and I finished counting it all, it ended up being $500!  My husband and I were in shock! Unfortunately, there was no way to find out who the original owner was as these were clothes we bought from a ... Read Full Story >>

An Act of Kindness Beneficially Impacts Health

 I came across this passage in the book "The Power of Intention" by Wayne Dyer and I wanted to share it with all of you:
 
 
"The positive effect of kindness on the immune system and on the increased production of serotonin in the brain has been proven in research studies.

Serotonin is a naturally occurring substance in the body that makes us feel more comfortable, peaceful, and even blissful.

In fact, the role of most anti-depressants is to stimulate the production of serotonin chemically, helping to ease depression.

Research has shown that a simple act of kindness directed toward another improves the functioning of the immune system and stimulates the production of serotonin in both the recipient of the kindness and the person extending the kindness.

Even more amazing is that persons observing the act of kindness have similar beneficial results.

Imagine this!

Kindness extended, received, or observed beneficially impacts the physical health and feelings of everyone involved!"

Cukes, Zukes and Smiles

My parents live in a semi-rural area, and are fortunate to have some land to plant a garden.  This year, they planted some cucumbers and zucchinis.  They grew extremely well so they had an abundance of 'cukes' and 'zukes'.  They decided to give the extra produce away. 

I thought maybe my family could sell the extra food (they certainly could use some extra income themselves), but they wouldn't think of it - sharing the produce is something they've done their whole life. For my parents, giving the food away is part of the fun of growing a garden.

My parents took some of the cukes and zukes to some elderly friends they knew in the town, and to a building complex in a really poor part of town, where people rarely can afford to get fresh veggies. 

Hopefully they made those people's days a little brighter ;)

A Profound Sense of Joy in Giving

It was 7 in the morning. I was on a train to another city when I struck up a conversation with a young professional sitting next to me. I gathered that he came from a farming family and was now doing exceptionally well in the IT industry. He also revealed that he was stressed and disconnected from his roots. He was kind enough to give me a window seat, help a co-passenger when he dropped his coffee, etc. Just small acts which showed what a good person he was. I was pretty involved in reading my book - a biography on the Dalai Lama. Anyone who knows me well knows that the Dala Lama has played a huge role in my life although I haven't met him. In fact he is one of the main sources of inspiration I have and reading a book about him which my Dad had given to me was just ... Read Full Story >>