Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Helping An Old Woman Collect Money

Last Thursday, an old lady came to my office and told me that she is in need of a good amount of money for the treatment of her only son who is serously ill. She was afraid of approaching others for collecting money. So, I collected some money from my office and other offices around and gave it to her. She was crying when I handed over the money to her.

1081 Reads
  • Posted by itsvinuhere
  • Jan 3, 2019
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There Is Always Support

I watched a person struggle to go up and down the stairs during intermission at a play. The stairs had no handrail. After the play, I offered to be the person's handrail and she accepted. She had shattered her ankle skydiving and the recovery was longer and more difficult than expected.

1029 Reads

Coffee for an Angry-Looking Young Man

Yesterday, I let a very angry-looking young man pull in ahead of me at the coffee shop drive thru. I had decided that I would pay for the order of the person behind me when I was told that the "angry young-man" had paid for mine and said "Merry Christmas!" What a wonderful surprise and what a testament that appearances may be deceiving. This exercise in looking for, acknowledging, and sharing stories like these warms my heart so here's some love to those of you reading these snippets of joy!

1846 Reads

Extra Love On Correspondence

A while ago now I had these amazing stickers made up to seal all the random love letters I write.

They say "You Are Beautiful".

Because honestly we all are and we all need the reminding 💖

I also never post a letter, bill or any correspondence without adding an extra touch of love in the form of words, or a quote on the back.

Every letter is different and unique and I just write whatever is on my heart to write 💌

1196 Reads

Passing the Friendship Test

Sorting through some things the other morning I noticed I had multiple blow up pools, so offered one for sale on a facebook page for only $10. Within minutes of posting I had interest. A friend of mine was one of the first to reply and said she can pick it up later that day. Sold! A minute after speaking with her a man sent me a message and wrote the following "Stuff giving the pool away. I'll double it and give you $20". I replied to him straight away apologising saying i had just sold it and I cannot accept his offer. What he said and did next blew me away.... He replied saying, "I was wondering if you'd pass the friendship test over $20. You pass." He then asked if I had a paypal account and told me he would love to give me the $10 I had originally asked for the pool ... Read Full Story >>

1306 Reads

Designing for Kindness

When I visited my grand kids this weekend, they excitedly showed me the advent calendar their family had made. Each day had a kindness activity (in red ink) and a fun family activity (in green ink) Some of the family activities were combined with the kindness activities to reinforce the idea that service and kindness are fun. For example one day's activities are "make a hot chocolate mix and package it for gifts.-- then sit down and enjoy a warm cup of cocoa and a movie with the family."
Involving the kids in designing you own family's advent calendar is such a great idea and makes it even more meaningful.

Here is a sample free printable advent calendar:: https://www.coffeecupsandcrayons.com/random-acts-of-christmas-kindness-advent-calendar/

826 Reads

"There's an extra $10 on there for you."

Last week at a gas station something beautiful happened to me. I desperately needed to put a little bit in my tank... when I say little, I mean that I was cashing the $4 winning lotto ticket that I found buried in the bottom of my purse. (Which, by the way I was ecstatic to have found, but this wasn't the whole story) When I went to cash in the ticket and tell the attendant which pump I was on she asked me to wait for a second. I waited, not asking why. She then looked at me and said, "There's an extra $10 on there for you." I was shocked, humbled and grateful. All I could say was thank you, along with making the promise to myself to pay it forward and share the kindness.

771 Reads
  • Posted by felisadizon
  • Dec 27, 2018
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Music To My Ears

She didn't like us. Any of us. We didn't do anything to offend her and she didn't know us but that didn't matter, she still didn't like us. As new teachers in the Emirati school, we Westerners greeted her every day. She ignored us. She came into our rooms and  bypassed us as she shook hands with all the non Westerners in our staff room. Whenever we saw her, she avoided eye contact with us.Eventually, we stopped trying to befriend her. I won't say her nationality but her friends had been fired from the school, we had been employed in their place and that was enough for her to have nothing to do with us. Well after 16 months in the school we had a secret pal gifting. I drew her name from the glass jar and that meant she was my secret pal. My role was to buy her a gift and ... Read Full Story >>

2292 Reads

"Would you like these?"

Was the recipient of an act of kindness tonight!

There was a knock at the door. A young boy from down the road. He attends the same school as my sons.

"Would you like these?" he said as he handed me an old school bag of his in amazing condition, filled with many items of school clothing.

"Yes, please, and thank you" I said.

This is such a thoughtful gift and one that will save me and my family a lot of money.

How blessed we are when kindness boomerangs back to us 💞

763 Reads

Hangers for the Laundry Mat

My dryer is broken so I have to go to the laundry mat to dry my clothes. There is a sign posted in the laundry mat that says "save our environment, bring in your unwanted hangers." It just so happens I recently cleaned out my closet and had a box full of hangers that were headed to the garbage can tomorrow. Went home picked up the box and brought it back to the laundry mat. The owner was so pleased and thanked me for being so generous. Imagine!

393 Reads

Random Snack of Kindness at a Basket Ball Game

My son and I went to a basketball game the day after Christmas. We went to the snack counter to buy a snack, we placed the order, and a gentleman that was in front of us paid for our snack. It was a total surprise for us and it took me a minute to understand what was happening. He was with his son and he told us that his dentist had given them the free ticket to the game and so he wanted to pay it back. He also wanted his son to show his son how to do good deeds. This was his way of returning kindness. It was a fantastic moment and I have decided to do the same starting now. Thanks to the 'Random Act Of Kindness'. I came across this website the same way. I'm so glad to be part of this community. Thanks for all your kindess. :-) I'm a teacher and this will be my first story that I will share with my students for the New Year.

558 Reads

Leftover Garden Fruit

Thought this was pretty fantastic and such a great idea of kindness.

In Norway, when people have left over fruit from their own gardens, they bag them and hang them on fences for anyone in need of who wants. 

907 Reads

Inspiring the Store Clerk to Donate

On Saturday, my wife went to an after Christmas sale and purchased $75 of stuffed toys for foster children that she will set aside for next Christmas. The cashier asked what she was doing with all of these toys. When my wife told her, she came around the counter, gave my wife a big hug and said that she would start doing the same thing for foster children. She said that my wife had reminded her what she was supposed to be doing.

538 Reads

Offering a Seat for a Man and his Kids

My sister and I had planned to sit together for a plane ride our family was taking today. As we settled into our seats, we heard the flight attendant asking a woman a few seats behind us to move down one seat so that a father and his baby could take her place, which had an infant life vest unlike their assigned seat. The lady was rather unhappy with this, so I gladly let the man and his daughter take my seat instead, and moved to the front of the plane. My sister had plenty of cute stories from sitting with the baby after we landed.

1027 Reads
  • Posted by RachaelEliza
  • Dec 21, 2018
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Kids Counting Pennies

There were three kids in the supermarket, counting pennies and trying to make cheap and healthy choices, I guess with limited finances. I had a $10 gift card in my purse, so I gave it to them. They were so excited! They kept on saying thank you, and said they were going to buy a box of ice blocks and give some to other kids!

499 Reads

Sharing A Train Seat With Another Passenger

Last Saturday, I was on a train during my journey from one state to another state. I had a reserved seat so I was very comfortable but in front of my seat there was a family who was traveling with little kids and had only one seat. They all had to cram into that one seat, and there was no space for the women. The weather was also very cold. I decided to move a little bit and share a fourth of my seat so that the women and their children could sit down and travel comfortably.

After having a seat, the whole family was very happy and had beautiful smiles on their faces.

Sharing increases happiness!

710 Reads

A Yard Raking Angel To The Rescue!

The first snow of the season to begin this evening is in the forecast. Leaves are still on the trees and there are masses of them on the ground. Yesterday afternoon, I girded myself, rake in hand, and began to clean up. My elderly neighbor has two large trees and her front yard was full. I raked hers after completing mine, but was beginning to feel tired and a bit sorry for myself when a car pulled up -- it was the neighbor from across the alley who had been on her way home from errands. She jumped out, got a few more yard waste bins from the elderly neighbor's back yard, and we both began to fill and move them to the alley. Got the job done in half the time. The nice part was that we got to have a good chat while doing the work. It's nice to have an angel to the rescue.

470 Reads

Sharing Space

A few weeks ago I attended a literary fest in my city. I saw an elderly woman struggling to find an empty chair. She saw an empty chair at some distance and was moving in it's direction, but I got up immediately and offered her my chair so that she didn't have to walk as far as the other chair. She was pleasantly surprised and thanked me.

793 Reads

A Friendly Warning For a Small Creature

Driving home from our weekend trip to the coast an oncoming car was flashing his headlights at us repeatedly.

We knew he was trying to warn of us something. But what?

An undercover cop car? Speed Camera?

Then we saw it up ahead, crossing the road ever so slowly.

An echidna waddling across the road.

Thankfully we were able to slow right down and wait until he crossed. All because of the kindness of a man we did not know in his pick up truck.

It was a highway and we were going very fast as you do on freeways. Had it not been for this on coming car and his flashing lights I'm not sure if we would have been able to avoid hitting him.

Very blessed and grateful for the kindness of others on our roads 💞

560 Reads

Overcoming Fear to Help Someone

A rather poor-looking woman approached me as I left a store. Asked me if she could use her phone to call a shelter. Told me that her husband had abused her, that she and her children live in their car and need to get to a shelter or find gas money to go to the next city. It was starting to snow. I let her use my phone. Nobody answered her call. Then she asked if I'd drive her a few blocks to her car. I let her in my car (at this point I could feel the "sucker" stamp appearing on my forehead) I usually keep "goody bags" in my glove compartment just for events like these, but I had none with me last night. She asked me for money for gas. I had none on me. She suggested an ATM (so conveniently right at the next gas station). I considered telling her ... Read Full Story >>

995 Reads




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