Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Top 10 Stories of 2012: Story # 4 - A Young Boy's Groceries

I stopped at a grocery store the other day because I was about to go on a long drive and I wanted to buy my favorite beverage for the trip.  It wasn't the store I normally go to, just one I passed along the way. As I walked up to the entrance, I noticed a man and a boy who was about 10 or 12 years old standing at the front of the store.  Customers walked past, as the man handed them half-sheets of white paper.  I walked up to them with curiosity, wondering what cause they were representing.  As I got closer, I saw that they had two carts starting to fill with groceries. I said hello and the man greeted me and handed me one of the pieces of paper, explaining that they were collecting donations for the local food pantry.  On the paper was a simple list of food items: peanut butter, noodles, pasta sauce, canned fruits and vegetables.  It also included a short story about the boy and his ... Read Full Story >>

14.6K Reads

Top 10 Stories of 2012 - Story #5 - 3 Years Later, A Smile Card Seed Sprouts

"Three years! I've had this card in my wallet for three years!" He sounded both elated and relieved. Backtrack a few moments. *The setup*   I'm flagged down while walking by a table in a restaurant where I serve. I hadn't been serving this table, but they wanted something with me anyway, so I went over. A young couple sat at the table, looking at me with intention.   "Are you serving those two women in the other room?" they said, gesturing to one of my tables. I confirmed, yes. "Well, we'd like to pay for their bill, anonymously," they offered tentatively. "Can you do that for us?"   Can I?! It'd be an honor. I told them so, and we worked out the details. The table to be tagged hadn't gotten to dessert yet so they even added on a slice of cake, and I offered to partner in the tag and cover anything else they ordered.   The ... Read Full Story >>

9673 Reads

Top 10 Stories of 2012 - Story # 6 Learning Kindness From My Father

When I was 12 years old, I went with my dad to his work - a car showroom.  I was wondering around and I saw a poor woman with a child in her lap standing outside the showroom.  I saw that she was crying a lot and went inside and told my father.  My father went out and asked the woman to come in to the showroom.  He offered her some water and then asked her what was wrong?   The woman said that her husband had died some months ago and that she doesn’t have anyone else in her family who can help her.  She does some manual labor to earn some money to take care of her daughter but she was sick for the last three days and was unable to go to work.  Now she doesn’t have a grain of food to eat.  While she was relating this ... Read Full Story >>

11.3K Reads

Top 10 Stories of 2012 - Story #7 - Where is Jeremy's Egg?

Jeremy was born with a twisted body, slow mind, and chronic terminal illness that had been slowly killing him throughout his young life.  Still, his parents had tried their best to give him as normal of a life as posible and sent him to St. Theresa's Elementary school. At the age of 12, Jeremy was only in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris often became exasperated with him.  He would often disturb the class by squirming in his seat. drooling, and making grunting noises.   Sometimes, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain.  Most of the time, he just irritated his teacher.  One day, Dorris called his parents and asked them to come to St. Theresa's for a consultation. Jeremy's parents sat quietly in the empty classroom in front of Ms. Doris, and she exclaimed to them, "Jeremy really ... Read Full Story >>

9908 Reads

Top 10 Stories of 2012 - Story #8- Turning Grief Into Giving

Twenty years ago I lost my son.  My friends decided that I needed to get out at least once a week and so we started going for coffee. Those friends helped me get through that terrible first year and still continue to help me.     We decided that we would try and help people when we could. So, we take a collection each week and then decide what to do with it. We have paid for breakfasts, helped an elderly man fill his oil tank, bought Christmas gifts for needy families , helped fire victims, and sometimes just sent flowers to someone who was feeling blue.     We usually do this in a way that no one knows and that makes it even better.     We also have a yearly tea at my house the first Saturday in December to start the Christmas season. We have been Secret Santa to three people and each ... Read Full Story >>

12.0K Reads

Top 10 Stories of 2012 Countdown - Story #9 - A Spontaneous Opportunity to Truly Teach My Children About Generosity

My kids and I were heading into the superstore over the weekend. On the way, we spotted a man wrapped in a blanket and holding a sign that said, "Lost my job. Family to Feed". At this store, a sight like this is not a normal occurrence. It was obvious the man was embarrassed, but desperate. My 10-year-old noticed him commented on how bad it must be to have to stand outside in the cold wind. While we were in the store, I asked each of the kids (I have seven :) to pick something they thought our 'friend' outside would appreciate. They picked a couple apples, a package of shrimp cocktail, a sandwich, some cheese and a bottle of juice. Then my 17-year-old asked, "Can we get him a gift card?" I thought about it. We were low on cash ourselves, but... well, sometimes giving from our 'need' instead of our 'abundance' is ... Read Full Story >>

28.2K Reads

Top 10 Stories of 2012 Countdown - Story #10 - 177 Messages of Kindness

Out of all the afterschool programs offered in their school, three energetic 11-13 year old girls chose to join this one.  The “Random Acts of Kindness Class”, the first of its kind, was an innovative experiment, offering children the opportunity to use their creativity and artwork to inspire their school and community by doing random acts of kindness.  A few weeks ago, I spent an unforgettable afternoon with these girls and their inspiring teacher, learning about their semester long adventure…   Why did you sign up for the Random Acts of Kindness Class? “I wanted to learn different ways of spreading kindness.  There are people sitting at home who might not have a great life.  Some people need kindness just to make their day.” – age 11 “If you see someone upset, you just want to make them feel happy.   When you do something nice, the only thing you expect in return is ... Read Full Story >>

30.7K Reads

Envelopes and Smiles

A couple of months ago, I made a promise with myself. I had put some money in an envelope in my wallet and set an intention to give this envelope away to the first eligible person I came across. Months passed by, and as I got busy with my daily life, I was unable to keep own promise. Whenever I opened my wallet and saw the envelope, I was reminded of my intention for it, and I would feel a little disappointed for having not acted upon it. The voice within pulled me to do something. Today, while walking to work on a busy street, I passed by a blind elderly lady with her hands outstretched on the sidewalk. Seeing her weathered face and sightless eyes, I stopped dead immediately. Waves of compassion washed over me, and I remembered the envelope of money that had been lying dormant in my wallet all these months. I ... Read Full Story >>

3487 Reads

Common Sense of a 9-Year-Old

My son is only 9 years old and is a pretty small guy for his age.  But he has a heart of gold. Today, he went swimming with some friends and my husband at a local pool.  My husband didn't swim, he was just watching from the side.  At one point, one of the boys cried out to our son, "Help me, my legs and arms are tired and I can't swim!" Upon hear this, my husband set off to jump into the pool with his clothes on.  Before he could do that, our little hero had grabbed his friend around the waist and swam him to safety.   We think his friend's legs were probably cramping from being tired. When I returned home, my son told me the story and acted as if it was just the common sense thing to do.   When I asked him about it, he responded, "I'm not ... Read Full Story >>

2877 Reads

Mangoes Filled With Love

I had just read a story on this site in which there was the encouragement "to extend your generosity a little further today." But,  nothing struck me immediately as to how I could do that.  Then I heard the trash truck outside our  house. I could hardly hear the usual loud sound of the truck collecting the trash in front of every house because it was just thundering rain so loud it felt like the rain  would come through the roof at any moment.    Then it hit me - I could give them something other than trash!    So I gathered up an armful of really delicious mangoes and ran through the rain to catch up with them. We made it a game of throwing the mangoes up to the trash man through the rain.He was catching them and sharing them with the other trash collectors.    The smiles on their faces seem to wipe away ... Read Full Story >>

3327 Reads

Extra Joy In Kinder Eggs

I was in a supermarket in Lithuania, where I live, when I saw a lady looking confused. she was looking for something to buy for her grandchildren. 

I was buying Kinder Joy eggs (plastic eggs with a toy in one half and a treat in the other) for my little brother. She asked me what they were. I explained and offered to help her choose some toys. She told  me she had three grandchildren. Then she bought five of the eggs! One each for her grandchildren and one each for my brother and me! 
 
I was thankful to her and she was thankful to me!

 

5146 Reads

The Gift Of New Shoes For A Wedding

I was at a wedding recently and we stayed with friends, who were also parents of the bride! 

I took two pairs of shoes with me as I couldn't decide which ones I should wear. I tried one pair on and decided that they were probably too high for me to dance comfortably in. 
 
A friend of the friend who was getting married told me how much she loved that first pair. I could easily have sold them as they were good quality leather. Instead, to brighten her day, I gave them to her.
 
She was so appreciative and couldn't thank me enough! I didn't have any smile cards on me - but we were both smiling and that's the main thing!

 

1368 Reads

Playing Smile Tag

I happened upon HelpOthers.org a couple of weeks ago and immediately fell in love with the idea of Smile cards. 

I had no ideas about how to implement this wonderful new game and then, one day last week, the opportunity came to me. I looked down after exiting from an appointment and saw someone's driver's license and bank card on the ground! 
 
I was immediately excited because my first chance to play Smile tag had appeared! 
 
I tried to find the young man's phone number with no luck, I messaged someone with the same name on Facebook but got no reply. Finally, a couple of days later, I visited a branch of the bank the card was from and they offered to contact their customer and return his property. 
 
I was grateful and my only request was that the Smile card be passed along too, so he can tag someone else with kindness. 
 
What fun! Looking forward to my next opportunity to share Smiles!

 

3855 Reads

Carmen's Laundry

I recently traveled to my hometown to visit friends. While I was there I visited to my elderly mother's friend, Carmen.  I found her in the back yard hanging clothes out. I noticed a washer and dryer in the garage and asked why she wasn't using the dryer instead because it looked like it might rain. She replied, "Oh, that old thing doesn't work anymore and the washer is on its last legs, too. They are both over 20 years old."   The next day, I invited her out to lunch at the mall. After lunch we strolled around for a while and ended up at Sear's. While she was busy buying clothes, I meandered over to the home appliance section. Before I had time to think about it I bought a washer and a dryer and requested that they be delivered to Carmen's home.    When she found out she was pleasantly surprised, profusely ... Read Full Story >>

2241 Reads

The Little Lost Lady

I seem to attract elderly women, well actually my husband says I will help anyone who I think is in trouble even a person looking lost in the street with a map.   I was heading home after a long day at work.  I'd just started part time work after being away on maternity leave for a year, so I was tired and looking forward to getting home to my toddler and my husband.  Coming down the stairs into the station, I happened upon an elderly lady at the base of the stairs. She was trying to talk to people who were all heading home.  As she was speaking another language, and it was evening rush hour, no one stopped for her. I could see she was near to tears.   I approached and said "Can I help you". She turned to me, looking rather frantic, and started speaking.  Besides English, all I ... Read Full Story >>

5186 Reads

Sew Wonderful!

A wonderful thing happened today! 

 
I have made over 50 dresses and sent them off for children around the world who have not owned a dress before. Today, when I was looking on the website and I saw pictures of some beautiful girls in Ghana wearing dresses that I made!
 
It really rocked my world! I immediately got my sewing machine out and started to make some more to send.

 

1611 Reads

My Best Smile Card Day Ever

For quite a while now, I have been looking for someone very special to give my very last smile card to. Well, today, I had to go into town for an art exhibition that I had entered a piece in. Since it is winter here, I have not ventured out of the house very much at all. So today I thought i would treat myself to lunch-- something I haven't done in ages! I walked around for a long time downtown, looking at all the glowing options like a child in a toy shop. It was really hard to decide what to eat! Finally, I settled on some Thai food, from a buffet-type place. When I sat down, I noticed a man walk by and sit down a few tables away from me. He had a small dish of yogurt, which he ate quickly, scraping the sides of the dish to ... Read Full Story >>

9840 Reads

Airport Security Go The Extra Mile

I keep a pocket knife in my handbag and it comes in handy for all sorts of things. I have always carried it with me since I discovered it on a boat we bought and lived on twenty years ago. It has been through many adventures with us. I recently took an internal flight and was pulled up at the departure gate when my bag went through the x-ray machine and my knife was discovered. I had forgotten it was in there and as I rarely fly it hadn't crossed my mind that it would be discovered and confiscated.    As we had gone through the gate and the plane was boarding there wasn't time for me to go back and post it to myself.   The security lady at the gate saw that I was distressed at losing one of my treasured possessions (they just throw away things that get confiscated) and she offered ... Read Full Story >>

2270 Reads
  • Posted by kerry.payne1
  • Dec 12, 2012
  • Comments (7)
  • Share Story

"You would hug me?"

I had just finished my monthly Free Hugs session in Union Square, NYC, and was walking back to Harlem where I lived.    I save subway fare by walking as often as possible. Being a storyteller I don't have much money.    That's when I saw a woman sitting on the pavement. The shopping cart to her was side piled high with her possessions. Her shoes were worn to nearly nothing. I got out my Free Hugs sign and approached her.    I smiled gently and asked if she would like a hug. She looked at me with disbelief and asked, "You would hug me?"    I opened my arms and walked closer to her. "If you want a hug," I sad. "Absolutely." She reached out for the hug and then told me she had not been touched in almost 20 years.    I hugged her tighter. I apologized to her that I had no money to give her that ... Read Full Story >>

8382 Reads

The License Plate Reminder

Recently, within the past couple of weeks, on my way to work in the morning I came up behind a "stalled" van in the left-turn lane. It was just short of the stoplight by several car lengths at least. By the looks of the van's condition the owner/driver likely was not in a high income bracket, so may have been a person of limited resources. I got out to offer my help and the woman driving the van explained she was out of gas so she would need either a hand pushing the van or pay for a tow. Since it was slightly uphill to the light at a fairly busy intersection I couldn't see pushing it by hand  as a very safe option so I elected to use the little Chevy S-10 work truck I was driving to push her through the intersection and around the corner a half-block to ... Read Full Story >>

1868 Reads




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