Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Dinner And Conversation

Yesterday, I spent the day at my child’s sporting event running the snack bar. At the end of the evening, the event organizers were going to throw away the left over hotdogs and hamburger buns, chips, salsa, cheese, etc.

Instead I took them home. We spent the evening making cheese sandwiches and packing ziploc bags of chips. We then went to an area where a lot of homeless people live and handed out sandwiches and chips for an evening meal (about 40 meals total) and spent some time chatting with a couple of people.

It was so fulfilling to to witness the appreciation and gratitude for a full belly. They were happy not only to have some food, but grateful for the opportunity to have a conversation and be treated like anyone else. I was thankful to have met some new friends and for the opportunity to help my fellow humans.

63 Reads

51st Birthday!

I usually donate blood on my birthday, but I gave too recently. so, today I decided to do something a little different. I turned 51 today. So, I put 51 one-dollar bills in my pocket and surprised people around town: • Bought a Starbucks coffee for a man. • Later, bought another for a woman. • Gave a few bucks to a man asking for money on the street. • Paid for a man buying coffee for him and a friend at a different coffee house. • Bought Boba milk tea for a couple. • Paid for Taco Bell dinner for a couple. • Gave the last few bucks to the guy behind the counter at Taco Bell. Some were hesitant to accept at first until I told them that was how I was celebrating my birthday. I got a lot of "Thank you"s and ""Happy Birthday"s. My favorite part is all in my head. I imagine the story ... Read Full Story >>

100 Reads

Trust For The Best.

I went to get my driver’s license renewed.

A young man came in wanting to get his license reinstated.
He couldn’t. Apparently he had outstanding child support. The clerk told him to first apply for an ID.

The man whom I assumed was out now from jail or corrections and trying to be back in the community became overwhelmed by the unexpected fee he had to pay to get the ID.

He was about to leave the office all together but decided to fill out the application. I went to the clerk and asked her about the fee. She told me; I paid for it and left.

A fleeting thought came in “You are helping a deadbeat dad”, but I quickly reframed to “He just needs some support to get himself back on track.” And had to let go of the outcome. I also got in touch with my gratitude for what  I have, my health and my family.

So I wanted the same for this person.
 

125 Reads

Merry Christmas To Two Little Girls

I just went to get money order, pay bill and such at customer service.

A grandma with her 2 granddaughters were behind me. We were making conversation and laughing. When I was finally done, I handed each of the girls $5.

I said it's not much, but Merry Christmas. The older one was in shock. (Maybe 10 yrs old) I wrapped my arm around each one and gave a hug. They were so happy and said thank you.

As I walked away, the older one said to her grandma: "Grandma, I'm going to cry."

Her grandma said: "you are?"
She said: "Yes, I'm going to cry."
I felt so happy to make them happy.
 

284 Reads

Pay it forward at the restaurant!

What a great night!

My family and I went out for dinner to our local hangout, a well known chain restaurant. I was prepared this time, and had 2 Smile Cards with me.

The outcome? Well, the family whose bill we paid for, they turned around and decided to Pay it Forward, too!!! It was so cool.
So basically, we paid their bill by surprise. Then, touched by the act of kindness, they picked out another table and went to pick up their bill.... I love domino kindness!!

All this random kindness was spotted by a bystander who came over to ask me about it. I told her about our awesome community and gave her my 2nd smile card.
She said that she would try to do a kind act too!!

RaK Pack (definition: a group of people who do Random Acts of Kindness)

 

159 Reads

5132 Lunchboxes Packed With Kindness!

As part of a club at school, my daughter has to do Community Service. We had been talking about different ways to fulfill it. She eventually decided to do one her friend suggested last night.

She said that they had packed bagged meals for needy people. She was so proud that they did 5,132!!!

Cool news is that apparently they now do it on a somewhat regular basis. She had thought as she was packing -  Wow, mom would really love to do this!That made me happy. Even better was she asked me to go back with her sometime!

177 Reads

Get Warm Project!

There is a very kind local lady who has organized an initiative called the Get Warm Project in Vancouver BC (Canada). All the donated items such as socks, gloves, blankets, toiletries are bundled into bags and then handed out to people in need in one of our country’s poorest areas. This morning, a group of volunteers got together to bundle each bag of items in preparation to hand them out to people in need. I signed up to help bundle the bags this morning. It was so nice to see people truly caring about poverty, addiction or homelessness which many people may just ignore or disregard, due to their circumstances. ... Read Full Story >>

207 Reads

Small Help Goes A Long Way!

I was on a 10 hour long flight journey. I was sitting on the aisle seat and there was a woman sitting on the window seat who was unable to recline her seat. So, she called the stewardess and complained that the seat would not recline. The stewardess reached over me to try and push the button of her seat, but to no avail. She then offered to move the woman to another seat, but the only seats available were middle seats. The woman said that she could not sit comfortably in a middle seat, and sadly decided to stay in her own seat. I thought of helping her in some way. I tried my own seat recline button and it was very hard to push, but it did move the seat back. I leaned over to the woman and told her that the buttons are sometimes very hard, and asked her ... Read Full Story >>

239 Reads

Recycling At The Beach!

A few days ago I was at the beach, and I felt sorry to see so much trash lying around near the rocks. How could I relax with so much litter around?
So, my friend and I grabbed a pair of gloves from a nearby place, and started picking up the litter - as many number of cans, napkins, bottles, and rubber as we could find.

While we were picking up these items, a man passing by also joined us and lent a helping hand. I think we collected a bag full.

We should all do our part to be the solution and recycle!
 

160 Reads

Childhood Books for Local Library

This morning I donated a box full of my childhood books to the local library. I hope that those who read these books can gain some knowledge which may help them in the future. It is said that knowledge is the best gift you can give, and I hope to donate more books for children to read.

It feels really good to donate!! While I was there, I also signed up to volunteer to read to the children on my free days. This will be a wonderful experience which I await eagerly.

153 Reads

Cookie Love

The Healing Power...of Cookies! 

I made a double batch of oatmeal raisin cookies.

Our mothers (my husband and mine), were great bakers and infused such LOVE into everything they made. I have learned from them to add the same into my culinary endeavors.

The extra cookies provide kindness opportunities as I run errands today. Also, I like to have them packaged and ready for when our UPS and PO delivery persons come to our door this holiday season, as well as any unexpected guests.

You just never know who might need the healing power of a cookie!
 

218 Reads

I Was Dropping My ...

I was dropping my mom and sister off at the train station after their holiday visit. On the way I saw a man in a wheelchair in an empty lot. It looked like he wasn't wearing shoes. After dropping off my family, I went back to the lot and he was there. His chair was on the incline that lead to the street and it looked like he was struggling with his bare foot to keep from sliding into the street. I asked if he wanted me to pull him back up. He nodded. I asked him to pick up his feet and pulled him back up into the lot. He didn't respond when I asked if this was far enough. Then, I opened the box I had brought with me. It was a shoe box with an old pair of shoes that I had kept in my car in case I ... Read Full Story >>

746 Reads

Love Of Books

Our local school is having a book fair so I donated some money so the librarian could buy a book or two to a child who cannot afford to buy their own.

I love reading and want others to enjoy it also!!! Hope they got a lot of books for others!
I also take scraps of fabric from each quilt and make bookmarks. I donate them to the school. The librarian says the children love them! Makes my heart happy😁😁

211 Reads

Fruit For Children

I saw a big container in one of our supermarkets in Cape Town with mixed fresh fruit in it.

On the side of the container, there is a note saying that any children under 12 may take some of the fruit for them to eat – it is for free.

I think this is a very clever – and kind – initiative, also because lots of food get wasted worldwide.

235 Reads

“hope Is The Thing ...

“Hope is the thing with feathers,
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune
Without words
And never stops at all…”

- Emily Dickenson

Inspired by the awareness brought to our attention by brad2 and ladybird’s posts about the card writing campaign of HOPE for the children of Makwa Sahgaiehcan School, who have been marked by a rash of suicides, made a few oversized origami models with a positive theme.

Mailing them today, so the school can receive in time to read and perhaps place on their holiday tree of inspirational messages from around the world.

Here is a link for more info about: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/sask-woman-card-writing-campaign-makwa-sahgaiehcan-1.5376572

Keeping those struggling with mental health issues, especially our dear children and their families, close in prayers and thoughts.

Thank you, my kind friends, for bringing Light to those in need. Shine on!


203 Reads

Found Some Lovely Christmas Decorations

Found some lovely Christmas balls which open magically just to hide a KIND card and maybe a peace dove. I'm preparing a box full of small gifts for anyone who visits in December to pick and take for them or to give away. 'Kindness is never wasted...'
 

91 Reads

What A Way To ...

What a way to start my morning. Walked to the beach to Touch The Ocean, while listening to my audiobook and talking to my mom. Then, headed to Sprouts for items for breakfast. On the way out I saw a woman who appeared to be in need. I offered her one of my "homeless bags." She was grateful. I asked how she was doing with socks. She needed some, so I told her I'd get some for her. Ended up buying her socks, gloves and a knit cap. When I came out of the store, there was another woman in need with the first woman. The first woman gave this new woman some of the food I had given her. So, I gave her a bag of her home which she didn't want to accept at first, but turned out she had no food. It had been stolen the night before by other homeless ... Read Full Story >>

144 Reads

Miss Joy

It was approaching Christmas. She was so happy to be involved in the Secret friend gifting in school. She put her heart and soul into it and travelled about 3 hours just to get a special gift. Every day for a week, she left small anonymous gifts wrapped with love. Then the reveal came;  all  the Staff met in the meeting room where all the beautiful gifts were on display. I wondered which one was hers.  I knew she would have been happy with any of them. As was customary, when you received your gift, you then passed on the gift you had bought for your secret friend and said a few special words about them. Somehow, there was confusion, she ended up gifting before she received. She stood filled with excitement and love which is so typical of her. But where was her gift? Where was her secret friend? Confusion? No, sadly, no ... Read Full Story >>

183 Reads

Humanizing The Homeless

Recently I invited a homeless man to have lunch with me at the Soup Plantation so that he could eat as much as he wanted to fill his tummy. I met him over the phone when I was calling Father Benno’s, a soup kitchen. Something within me stirred to invite him to lunch. Since he did not have a car, I offered to pick him up. We had a wonderful four-hour lunch. I learned a lot about his struggles but more importantly, I left lunch feeling a greater gratitude for a roof over my head, warm shower, comfortable bed, and food on the table – all of which we may not think twice about. He, too, enjoyed the connection, his lunch, and a rest from spending his afternoon on the streets. I learned long ago that one person alone cannot solve the homeless epidemic in California or the U.S.; however, each person ... Read Full Story >>

930 Reads

A Story Of Kindness As A Gift

I began a new practice last year, which I have continued. After many years of being on the receiving end of gifts from my students, especially around this time of the year, I asked my students to forgo giving me anything. Rather than getting me something that I don't need, I asked them to take that money and make a donation to a non-profit and I gave them names of a few that I like to support. There are so many beings whose basic needs are not even met. I have an abundance of all that is important! Or, I asked them to do an act of kindness and write me a card telling me about it. On Monday a student gave me a card and said, "don't worry, there's no gift card in here." She began my telling her her act of kindness. She volunteered at a hospital and told me about ... Read Full Story >>

949 Reads




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