Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A Special Delivery to the Post Office

Though I am a little late in posting this, I would not want to miss sharing it. For my final day of World Kindness Week I wanted to do something in honor of all of the wonderful volunteers here at HelpOthers who ship Smile Cards. Their hard work and dedication help spread smiles and enable others to do the same. How could I best do that? I had a few things to send out so I needed to go to the post office. They know me there as the "Smile Card guy" because of some of the things I send out. They know about Smile Cards as they have asked me in the past. I decided to bring them a dozen donuts. The clerk did not notice the box as I set it down while she stamped my packages being sent. As she rang me up, I slid the box of ... Read Full Story >>

Runaway Coffee Barrels and the 'Angel of Mercy'

Coming home from a coffee shop today, we had our old truck loaded down with three 50-gal. barrels of mostly coffee grounds that we use to make compost.  My husband had laid them down in the truck, and as we came up the ramp to a major intersection the tailgate hinge broke and all the barrels rolled out into the street behind us. Thank goodness there were no cars immediately behind us, which was a bit of a miracle since it was lunch hour. One barrel rolled right into a lane, and the two others were partially in a lane.  We slammed on the brakes, jumped out, and I retrieved the closest one while my husband started running back toward the ramp to get the other two. I knew that one of the ones he was going to get was extremely heavy; we had had a horrible time getting it into ... Read Full Story >>

A Lesson In Kindness From My Mom

When I was about twelve, I was headed to a restaurant for dinner with my family. It was winter, and on that particular night, the wind was really blowing. As my mom and I headed towards the restaurant from our car, a girl about my age and her mother came up to us. They asked if we had any spare change. My mom immediately asked where they kept their things. They pointed to an old car in a parking lot across the street. The girl said there were six of them living in that car, which was the same size as my own family. My mom said she had something to do, and after handing the people a few dollars, we said good-bye. Then, my mother sent me inside the restaurant with my dad and my three siblings. But she didn't come. Later, I found out that she had gone home and practically emptied ... Read Full Story >>

One Garbage Bag at a Time

I live in an apartment building where there are several elderly people and other tenants that are on a low or fixed income. There is a older gentleman neighbor of mine that is always willing to help out and go out of his way to help anyone in need. A few weeks ago, I was taking a large amount of trash out to the dumpster. This neighbor saw me and stopped to help me as he was taking out his own trash. When we got to the dumpster, he dumped his trash out of the bag. However, he kept his trash bag. "Why don't you throw the trash bag away?" I asked him. He replied that he has been using the same trash bag for a couple of months because he really didn't have money to spare to buy new ones. This immediately made me tear up. I thought about how we can ... Read Full Story >>

The Art of Waving

It began a year ago, around Christmas.   While driving around the corner of our townhouse complex, I always notice an old man sitting by his front yard. He is usually smoking or drinking and looks rather grumpy.   One day, while I was driving past him with my daughter, I decided to wave at him with a lot of excitement. Initially, when he noticed me waving at him, he looked a bit shocked. Then, I saw his hand go up and he waved back.   "Why did you wave at him?" my daughter asked.   I told her that it's just an act of kindness that doesn't cost anything, and it gives both him and me a sense of joy. She responded by saying that she was a bit embarrassed to wave to a stranger, but next time she would try it as well.   Lucky for us, we live close to the old man, so we saw him ... Read Full Story >>

A Little Act on Garbage Day

Every Tuesday morning, the garbage gets collected on our block.

Most people are at work during collection time and don't get home for eight to ten hours after the trash has been picked up.

After noticing all the empty bins sitting on the driveways, I've started going around the block after the collection, picking up all the trash and recycling bins, and putting them back beside the house or in the little passageways between houses. That way, the bins don't blow around, the lids don't get lost, and I can pick up the bits of trash that didn't quite make it onto the truck.

I have no idea if my neighbors are pleased, but it makes me feel good, and the block sure looks better for the whole day! :)

A Week of Kindness Adventures

World Kindness Week last November was a great excuse for my family and I to go on some kindness adventures! On Thursday, my daughter was in a play for her school. She really wanted me to bring some flowers like I do for her when she has ballet recitals or other events. It makes me smile that it means so much to her and that it makes her feel special. So I bought an extra bunch to give away to someone else to spread some smiles! Then, on Friday, I brought a box of individually packaged crackers and cookies. I put them in our break room with a note telling people to help themselves, along with some Smile cards. On Saturday, there was a parade in our town. My wife and daughter were in the parade for their Girl Scout troop, so my son and I watched along the parade route. It was ... Read Full Story >>

An Extra Ticket

Recently, when I went to the movies, I bought an extra ticket. I left it with the cashier, along with a smile card and a request to give it to the next person asking to see that particular movie.

Later, I overheard a couple exclaiming what a wonderful, truly unexpected surprise that was! I also left my 'free drink' coupon at the concession stand for someone else to enjoy...

Becoming aware of these opportunities for kindness opens up such a compassionate perspective on life. I am so grateful for this online community for helping me see it!

A Stranger Becomes A Friend

Today was my first day using Smile cards! 

Smiles Over Broken Glass

It was a windy day. I had kept an empty, washed glass bottle on the patio for drying, which I intended to use for some craft project.  Because of the wind, the bottle rolled, fell and broke on my downstairs neighbor's patio. My neighbor uses his patio frequently, so I immediately went down to warn him about the broken glass. However, he was not at home. I took a broom and cleaned up most of the mess around his patio from outside, but there was still some broken glass left inside his patio. I didn't want to intrude into his property, so I left him a note that explained what happened and asked him to contact me, so I could clean up the mess.  After an hour, he called me, and asked if I could help clean up inside, because he didn't have a broom. I went to his place and happily swept ... Read Full Story >>

Car Rental Surprise

Recently, my husband and I took a two-week trip to Boston.

As we were leaving, we went to return our rental car to the rental company lot before heading to the airport. My husband is handicapped, so we travel with a scooter. And for this particular trip, we also had two suitcases with us. As we were returning the car, I opened the back of the van to get our things out.

Upon seeing our scooter and luggage, the man who checked our car said, "Oh! Just leave everything in the van, and I will drive you to the airport. That way you don't have to take the shuttle."

Not only did he drive us to the airport, he also helped us get the scooter and the luggage out at the airport, so that we could do a curbside check-in.

This simple act of kindness was such a pleasant surprise at the end of our long trip! I am grateful to know there are people in the world like this man.

"Take your Time"

A Heart-Tug At Christmas

I had seen my old friend working at our local Wal-Mart for several months. She always stopped to say hi, then hurried off saying she had to get back to work.   Through our brief conversations I discovered she had been down a pretty rough road but somehow had maintained her positive and cheerful outlook on life. One day she told me she was living in an apartment building that well known for alcohol and drug problems, but was all she could afford.  A few weeks later there was a fire at the apartment complex and all residents had to move to a hotel until they could clean it all up. As she would tell me these things she would always point out that it could be worse and ended with a positive point about her situation.    I felt a pull in my heart to do something to help, because I had ... Read Full Story >>

48 Roses

Last week, I took my four children to visit their Grandma at her nursing home. All the people there love to see the kids.

Each week, my kids pick a pay-it-forward act to do. This week, they decided to hand out roses. So, on the way to the nursing home, we stopped at a flower shop. We picked up 4 rose bouquets (48 roses), and continued on our way to the home.

When we got there, the kids immediately began giving out those 48 roses. It was so uplifting to see their generosity put a smile on the faces of 48 unsuspecting and very happy ladies! :)

Treat Or Treat - No Trick

I spent a lovely Halloween with my family! 

The Shivering Man's Prayer

So many people today know how it feels to be on limited funds. I do my best to help others. Whether paying bills or at the grocery store, I am always looking out for those who need help. And today I was blessed to be able to help a homeless man.

Help After A Hurricane

Stopping for Kindness at the Intersection

I was driving home on a very hot afternoon and about to approach an intersection. One of the major traffic lights had gone out, and a police officer was standing in the middle of approximately twenty lanes of very busy traffic. Despite the fact that he had no hat or shade to shield him from the blazing sun, he was upbeat and doing a fabulous job. I needed to stop at the pharmacy on the corner, and while I was there, I wanted so badly to get some water for the officer! I had some hesitation, though, since it was a little out of my comfort zone to interact with a stranger in this way. I debated, struggled, left, drove partway home, turned around, went back to the pharmacy, got water, and then found myself contemplating how to hand it off to him in the busy intersection. I knew that he might not ... Read Full Story >>

God's Little Blessing Has A Breakdown

  Some time ago I was at the emergency room at one of the local hospitals.   While waiting there I saw a woman in a wheelchair crying softly. Not knowing what to expect, I went over and asked her if she was okay.     She said she wasn't and started crying a bit louder. I asked her if there was someone with her and she said no.    She began to tell me about how her family had let her down. She also told me that she felt she was having some kind of breakdown and that she needed help.      I stayed there with her for about 45 minutes and listened while she talked about her crumbling life. Eventually, she asked why I would take time to stop and help someone I didn't even know. I told her that she was one of God's little blessings and that I acted the same way I would ... Read Full Story >>

A Breakfast Bonus

I went to buy breakfast sandwiches for my husband and son on Saturday morning.