Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Travis Randolph Eating Lunch With My Son!

[Saw this on FB today, by Leah Paske, and was very inspired so I'm resharing below.] Several times lately I have tried to remember my time in middle school, did I like all my teachers, do I even remember them? Did I have many friends? Did I sit with anyone at lunch? Just how mean were kids really? I remember one kid on the bus called me "Tammy Fay Baker" bc I started awkwardly wearing eye liner in the sixth grade, I remember being tough and calling him a silly name back, but when he couldn't see me anymore I cried. I do remember middle school being scary, and hard. Now that I have a child starting middle school, I have feelings of anxiety for him, and they can be overwhelming if I let them. Sometimes I'm grateful for his autism. That may sound like a terrible thing to say, but in ... Read Full Story >>

3111 Reads

A Dear Friend of Mine

A dear friend is having a hard time at the moment. A friend who is the kind to never admit it or ask for help. So I suggested we catch up as some "girl-time" is much needed by the sounds of things. My friend let me know she can't meet up with me this week because she is very short on cash and can not afford it.

Now this friend would never ask for money or allow me to pay for her. She is that type. You know, the independent would never accept or allow it. So, I'm taking her to lunch. And here's how...

I remembered I had two free discount coupons for a free lunch at a new place in town in my purse. I told her this and said I'd love to use them for both of us. She accepted. Because it isn't costing me, she feels okay about it!

Kindness always finds a way. 💜

1338 Reads

Breaking Down Walls While Sharing Same Passions

You may find the the following story not so spectacular, or even kind of cliché​, but for a person (that would be me) who barely has done anything to help the needy in a direct way, I think it's a story worth told. While I was at second year of middle school, my class as a team had to develop a community project in which we needed to visit a vulnerable group of our society, such as homeless, orphans or immigrants and spend time with them sharing quality moments. The group we had to look after were the orphans from our community. At the begging, we weren't sure enough about what we could do, nor if it will be a good idea, taking into consideration that they were all male orphans from a not so little age (most of them were twelve or older). We simply thought that they might see us in ... Read Full Story >>

1913 Reads
  • Posted by DanielAlvarad
  • Aug 31, 2016
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She gave this part of herself to a complete stranger

The other day I walked along with my friends towards the cafeteria and outside I could see a crowd made up mostly by girls.  I couldn’t make out what was happening. As the confused gossip-lovers that we were, we came closer and were able to see that a lady was cutting a girl’s braided hair. Of to the side there was a poster which encouraged you could donate about 10 inches of your hair in order to make hair prosthesis for patients who suffered from cancer and had lost all or most of their hair. I was in awe by the courage of those girls that were excitedly waiting their turn to get their hair chopped off. We then made our way passed the mob of students so we could get into the cafeteria. We sat down and proceeded to eat our lunch.  I kept thinking about the audacity of the ... Read Full Story >>

2163 Reads

Today's Opportunity For Kindness

At the beginning of the month I had purchased some banana chips, sunflower seeds and trail mix for today's opportunity.

As I was leaving a mall parking lot, I saw a woman and her dog. She was holding a sign: "Need work." I asked if she would like my items.

She was genuinely pleased and when she saw the trail mix, she told me it was her favorite.

Wished I'd had some dog food.

#‎AprilRAOK‬ ‪#‎BeKindToOneAnother‬

1549 Reads

The Ripple Effect -- Inward And Outward

I just got my credit card statement and it inspired me to share a small act of kindness I experienced recently. I flew home to tend to my elderly Mother following surgery, but am terrified of flying so I had taken some medicine to help me get through it. As I was half asleep, the high school boy sitting next to me ordered a breakfast sandwich, but when the flight attendant said, "It's credit card only," he replied, "Oh, okay, never mind." Man, I launched out of that half asleep and said "I've got it!" Although he protested, I assured him I had it covered. He said he was so hungry and so grateful. I was so grateful. I explained to him that there had been a time in my life that I didn't have a credit card and wasn't able to get a flight to my grandmother's memorial service so I was ... Read Full Story >>

1737 Reads

How I learned To Talk To My 16-Year-Old Granddaughter

I had not seen my granddaughter, just the two of us, for months and then I got two days notice that her mother was going to drop her off at our house in the morning to spend the day! I panicked! She is 16 and a stranger to me. I decided to look online to see what I could talk about with a 16-year-old. At least 50 questions popped up on one site. I ran them off and had them on hand.

When she was dropped off we sat for awhile and then I asked her if we could share our lives by asking and answering questions. She agreed at once and for the rest of the morning, we had a wonderful conversation. I think she felt honored that anyone would care that much about her to ask about her life. We continued our conversation at a quiet restaurant and I really got to know so much about her, and she about me. It was such a special time for both of us. 

2005 Reads

A Pay It Forward Ripple From The Toll Booth

On the road with my mom, drove on the Thruway (I-90) for about 1.5 hours to our exit, and at the booth the guy inside questioned why we were so happy?-because  mom and I were just cracking up over something. Ii paid our toll and then gave him $5.00 and a Smile Card to help pay the car behind us and asked him  to please give them the card.- We drove off and that car stayed at the booth for an extra minute and I'm sure was reading the card,hopefully happy and smiling. Our light turned green and off we went. Mom said, ''Humph, wow, I'm very impressed." I said ''I know, take a look at this person that you raised'' - it was Awesome! Part 2 of the story - Driving back today in a complete downpour, lightning, thunder, sheets of rain, hoping it would get better but it just kept steady or ... Read Full Story >>

2097 Reads

Hats For The Homeless

A true kindness soul! ❤️Bless this man.

 A 91-year-old man fighting cancer is knitting warm hats for the homeless while bedridden in hospice care. Despite being weak and frail, with a mass on his kidney, Morrie Boogart, has knitted more than 18,000 hats.



2881 Reads

A Kind Gesture, Two Smiles And A Hello

Last night I traveled by train. The rampant xenophobia surfacing after the terror attacks has really been on my mind. Shunning the very victims and refugees of horrible aggression has weighed deeply on my heart. How could we turn on people because of their religion, culture or skin color? How could we turn on people who are undergoing such suffering? Are we so narrow? I have been contemplating about what I can do. Could I take in a refugee? I want to somehow reach out to these disaffected people. I boarded the train yesterday. The train was empty so I took the prime group seating at the end of the car so I would be facing forward. Shortly thereafter a mother and her three children squeezed into the row of seats in front of me. I asked the mother if she would like my group seating for her family and she gratefully accepted. ... Read Full Story >>

2089 Reads

I Love Gratitude

Yesterday I donated some unwanted items to Habitat for Humanity where the items will be restored and sold. As I was carrying the items downstairs I thought about when I was a child. Roll back 50 years.. I grew up in a very poor area. We lived in a terraced house, two bedrooms and 8 children, yes no typos, 2 bedrooms and 8 children, 9 years between the youngest and the eldest. The dining room was converted into a bedroom. Still they were cramped conditions but we knew no different. Money was scarce and my mum never was in a position to donate to charity, we lived in survival mode. One pair of shoes each and in fact I vividly remember going to Mass and not wanting to kneel down for Communion because there were holes in my shoes. I was no different from the rest of my family in that ... Read Full Story >>

2283 Reads

The Frail Elderly Lady On The Other Side Of The Door

I instruct an exercise class at a retirement home every Tuesday afternoon. There is one resident who is no longer able to attend the class because she is becoming so frail. She has had several falls. We have had an agreement between us that I would still knock on her door to invite her to class but instead of an invite I give what she calls a 'wee cuddle'. I have been doing this since about March. Today there was a sign on her door saying she had a fall and was unable to use her walker and must use a wheelchair. I did not knock because she often is napping at the time I make my rounds to gather up folks for the class. After class she was just coming out of the elevator for the social hour. One whole side of her face is badly bruised, cuts around her ... Read Full Story >>

4019 Reads

Thank You For Caring When No One Else Did

My friend who I caught up with last night shared this story with me: My friend lived in an apartment that overlooked a busy street in sn inner city. On Christmas Eve, from her window she saw a woman, alone, upset and in distress. She went out and down to the street and asked if she was okay. My friend could see that all was not well. She invited the woman into her apartment, and the woman asked if she could shower. My friend said she could, gave her a fresh towel, and clean pajamas to wear. The woman showered.  About an hour later, she emerged. She said she was alone in the city and had nowhere to stay. My friend said that she could stay on the couch for the night. My friend felt that being late on Christmas Eve, it would be impossible to get social agency assistance, and it ... Read Full Story >>

2129 Reads

The Woman at the Picnic Table

My husband and I were having a conversation a few weeks ago about how life flies by quicker than you can imagine. This conversation was unexpected, but I really took it to heart. As we sat and spoke about how it seemed like yesterday was the first day we met. We soon came to the realization that god has blessed us with three healthy years of marriage, a home, college educations, established careers and a loyal furry friend. We also came to the harsh reality that time does not slow down for anyone. Later that day we were on our way to a family event and as we pulled into the local gas station I noticed a woman sitting all alone at a picnic table. It was around 80 degrees and she was dressed in a winter jacket and long pants. As we pulled away from the gas station, I told my ... Read Full Story >>

3823 Reads

They Were Married for 61 Years and Grew a Garden

It’s been a busy month! I am super busy with work. Trying to find that work/life balance that is essential to both. I received happy news from my neighbors, Jon and Michelle. Michelle delivered little Skyler just the day before. She came in with the assistance of a midwife. A one hundred percent natural delivery and all is perfect. Jon was able to overnight with Mother and child for two nights and he texted to see if I would water the tomatoes which I happily did. I saw pictures on Facebook this morning of the beautiful Skyler, a serene Michelle and a beaming Dad. Jon does love his girls! I scrambled to finish my graphics work for delivery this morning. It seems every minute counts when you are up against deadlines. I met with the client where I was rewarded with another project. On the ride home, I thought it would be nice ... Read Full Story >>

2009 Reads

A Big Bang For My Bucks!

Forgoing my normal meditation routine in the a.m. I decided I would go to the Dollar Tree store this morning before work and pick up some balloons for a coworkers departure. Well, you know as well as I do that you end up finding other items and spending more time in the store than initially planned right ? Which is exactly what happened to me.  Eventually making my way to the cashier I unloaded my twenty items (Laughing) and while the cashier was ringing it all up, I glanced behind me and there was a woman unloading her items behind me; notebook paper, tissues, comp books, pencils to name a few things. Then the cashier had finished my order. And suddenly I had this overwhelming adrenaline rush of excitement (Hair-raising included) ! THIS IS MY MOMENT to commit a Random Act Of Kindness! So I said to the cashier that I wanted ... Read Full Story >>

1989 Reads

Let The Rain Reign

I remember how hard and intense the rain fell in NYC one morning. It was as if pebbles were falling from the sky. I was walking to the supermarket and saw a little girl huddled under her moms arms, doing her best not to get wet. Our eyes met as her mom asked her to hold on as the light was about to turn red for them to walk across the street. I was feeling grateful and all of a sudden the rain was a shower of help and health as opposed to a hindrance. I offered my umbrella to them and they were so overcome with the kindness that the mom offered me cash. I smiled and said "You keep the umbrella and give the cash to your daughter every time she gets good grades." The little girl jumped up and down and encouraged her mom to take the umbrella. ... Read Full Story >>

2228 Reads

The Smile That Stole My Heart

Recently, I went to a small town for a short holiday with my husband and daughter. On the first evening, we decided to visit the nearest eateries to check out the local delicacies and do some shopping as well. After spending some time buying this and that, we decided to get a bite to eat. We had to await our turn at the restaurant. I stood on the street outside, looking at the crowd of holiday makers. Suddenly, I noticed a small boy of about seven clutching an array of hand -made gift bags. They were small but very colourful. The boy smiled widely and asked me to buy one. He said he had made the bags himself as he wanted to contribute in the household expenditure. I smiled back and asked the price of the bag. He named an exorbitant amount. I told him it was too much for such ... Read Full Story >>

3561 Reads

A Call from a Friend

I called my mother-in-law this morning just to check up on her. While we were speaking on the telephone someone knocked on her door. She was obviously anxious and asked me what she should do. I told her not to open the door, and if it was someone who knew her well they would knock the living room window. I rang back about 10 minutes later to check on her. She was really upbeat and told me a friend had called. I was pleased but thought this was a bit mysterious as she did not identify her "friend." A short while later she called me back. She sounded so happy. Her friend had just left. It turns out her friend was a policeman from the local police station. A few weeks ago, he called to her house when someone attempted to break in. Since then he returned with alarms for all ... Read Full Story >>

2126 Reads

A Mindful Moment Changed Her

The knowledge that everyone is really doing the best they can even though my judgmental mind may try to tell me something else. I usually don't have any idea what a person has gone through or what challenges they may be facing in life.

Even if they are grumpy or angry I try as much as possible to offer them kindness, at least silently.

One day on a busy street, with challenging parking, a woman came out very angry and appeared afraid that I was going to park too close to her driveway. My natural impulse was to respond in kind, but I was able just to take a mindful moment and wish her a lovely day and assure her that I would not block her driveway.

I felt so much better than if I had spewed back negativity.

1580 Reads




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