Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Moved by a Meaningful Act of Kindness

Our extended family had spent a beautiful vacation together last summer. I had rented a beach house from a woman and before we left, we all signed the guest book thanking her.   Well, it turned out to be the last time the whole family was together.  My father in law passed away this May rather suddenly.  One of my sisters-in-law asked me some time ago if I could write to the woman whose house we stayed in and ask if she could send us a photocopy of our "guestbook" comments.  She said she had never gotten to read what her father wrote. I wrote a letter to the woman and didn't think about it afterwards. You won't believe it - today a package arrived in the mail and not only did this angel make copies of our comments for all the siblings, she framed the original page with just my father ... Read Full Story >>

A Birthday Kindness Challenge

I had a ‘eureka’ moment today.  It was an idea for celebrating my birthday month :). I’ve decided to do 1 act of kindness for each year of life.  Oops, I’ve just assigned myself to a whopping .... number of  acts of kindness during this month! I started my mission to do my whooping number of acts of kindness today.    I visited an old friend (over 80 years old) and spent some time with her. I took her recycling (I also had some of my own in the car) to the recycling site where I had to wait more than half an hour. I noticed that one of the people working at the site went from car to car explaining the delay and also let us know when we could go and dump our stuff, and then at the end he said “thank you” to everyone. Of course I could not let this ... Read Full Story >>

Lillies And Baby Breath For A Stranger

Yesterday, after finding this site, I enrolled in HelpOthers!   Some really great stories got my own creative juices flowing. Living near a hospital, I decided to give flowers to one of the elderly people I often see there.     I hopped on my bicycle and did not let the hesitancy I felt overcome me. I was going to do this - period!     There she was, an elderly woman in a wheel chair with a man sitting beside her on the low stone wall around side of the hospital building. I zipped on over to a flower stall in the nearby market and bought a bunch of pink lilies and some baby breath. The kind lady wrapped  them up and off I went.     The elderly couple were still there when I got back. But they looked like they might be about to leave.    I approached them. The woman, with her gray hair cut ... Read Full Story >>

Smiles At The Walking Track

I like to exercise on the walking track near my house and I purposely walk into the "traffic." You see, people usually go in the same direction as everyone else. But not me!

A Random Act of Recycling

Last Saturday when I was in the car with my children, I realized that I hadn't made time to do out usual recycling, and our water bottles had been piling up (in our car actually!).  We were going to be driving past the recycling station at the corner grocery store and as we approached it, I took in the long line of people, bags in hand, waiting their turn to cash in for a few bucks and some change.  I thought about the times I've waited in that line, not always just for a little extra cash or purely to help the environment - but sometimes simply because I actually needed to buy milk or bread didn't have the money. I made a last minute decision and pulled into the parking lot.  I jumped out of the car and grabbed the few bags of plastic bottles that I had in the back of the car.  ... Read Full Story >>

12 Caring Women

One year ago twelve friends got together and formed a group. We call ourselves “12 Caring Women".   

I Matter - And So Do You!

As I was standing in line at the coffee shop I dropped something out of my purse without realizing it. The lady behind me bent down, picked it up, and handed it to me.

Two Lost Ladies

One day my kids and I left our apartment to do laundry. A white car with two little old ladies in it pulled up next to us. They asked how to get to I-79 and I started wondering how they had got so far from the Interstate.

Little Words Of Encouragement Go a Long Way

I love giving, and I often slip smile cards here and there, and I'm not usually on the receiving end, and even though this kind act was so little, it meant a lot to me.

I was on Facebook yesterday and one of my "friends" popped up on chat, saying that they love how they can always see God's love shining through me and I am beautiful inside and out.

I was speechless.

This little word of encouragement just made my day. It made me realize that I need to encourage others more, and I encourage YOU to do the same :)

His First Word Was, "Smile!"

So right now I'm in Argentina and I gave away a couple of Smile cards. Some people didn't know what 'smile' meant because they mostly speak Spanish here. 

Doing Good In The Garden

My mother in law was telling me about her neighbour. Doris is 79 years old and lives by herself since her husband passed away last year. 

A Kindness Connection in New Zealand

After my story "How I Like to Use My Smile Cards" was featured, I got a message from a lady in New Zealand! The only person ever to get in contact with me from New Zealand in relation to HelpOthers.org and the only person I have heard of using Smile Cards in New Zealand except for my sisters and I :) She has been part of helpothers.org for many years but never has come across anyone in New Zealand either! Thank you HelpOthers for featuring my story because she probably wouldn't have ever come across me and I come across her if it wasn't for that.. I rung her and she sounded sooo excited to hear from me and she said I made her day! Well Grace, you made mine too!! Wow! What an amazing conversation we had!! It was truly lovely talking to someone who does HelpOthers too in New Zealand! I'm going to send her ... Read Full Story >>

Celebrate Pay It Forward Day, April 26th

Pay It Forward Day is coming up on Thursday April 26th and we invite you to celebrate with us by doing an act of kindness!   Below are some kindness ideas, based on some of our favorite real-life HelpOthers' pay-it-forward stories.  And we invite you to share how you celebrated by leaving a comment on this story! 1.  The tried and tested - pay for the coffee for the person in the line behind you.   Andrew was a bit anxious when he tried to do this for the first time and wasn’t sure it would work - a week later, the coffee shop tags him with a free cup of coffee for being cheerful and friendly!  [more]   2.  Anonymously pay for someone’s meal at a restaurant.   A grandmother is sharing pancakes with her family when she decides to pay for the meal of a man eating alone, so she has the waitress deliver him ... Read Full Story >>

Stamps With A Smile!

Park and Smile

I was in town the other day, and paid for more parking than I needed.  When I was done, I took my ticket and put it back by the machine with a Smile Card for someone to find!

I hope it makes them smile :)

Kind Strangers in Her Story

I am in the habit of giving money to every beggar/homeless person I pass. My friends say it is not good to encourage begging and that all beggars have some measure of money to survive. It annoys them that I never listen :-). One day, my friend and I were walking to the bus stop when I passed a beggar lady. I had seen her several times before and had always given her a few cents. That day, I gave her 2 Euros. I was waiting for the bus and reading a book when I looked up to see that lady standing in front of me. She handed me a piece of paper covered in cling-film, to make it waterproof. It said she and her family had to leave their country because of floods, and she was struggling to support them. She had got a bit of money, but she needed 5 ... Read Full Story >>

Helping My Brother Not To Stumble

I told my brother, who has been struggling with illness that I would support him as long as he helps himself, and ever since, things have been looking up for the better. I must have awoken something in him I guess because since that day, he has really been taking care of himself: eating right, maintaining personal hygiene and having a positive outlook for himself. (I think a positive outlook on life helps to when working through all obstacles.) While my parents go to work, I stay and take care of my brother.  I’m already used to it now since my parents and I have been taking care of him for 5 years since he was diagnosed. I want to help him as much as I can so that our parents can take it easy. They rely on me to help even though I’m the little sister (I feel so honoured). This ... Read Full Story >>

A Smile for a Client

One of my clients lost her husband and sister in the same week. She has been very sad.

I called her the other day on some work related things and asked how she was doing. She sounded so sad. She told me that some days are really hard for her. She is 72 years old.

I asked her if there was anything she needed help with, and to please let me know. I asked her if maybe one day we could go out for tea. She was happy about that and thanked me. The next day I sent her a bouquet of flowers and I will definitely take her for tea one one day soon.

I hope it made her smile to receive the flowers.

The Feeling of Giving

Giving lunch to the homeless made me feel warm inside. I love giving!!!

A Cup of Tea With Lasting Power

One day, on the way to a class I stopped by a doughnut outlet to eat a doughnut to cheer me up. There was an old lady there who was asking the cashier for a tea but she only had a large bill and the cashier told her he could not make change for a bill that size. So, making use of this fine opportunity I bought the tea for her. And she was really, really grateful and she said she was so happy meet someone with such kindness. 

It was not just her that was happy.  This act made me get through many obstacles afterwords. Every time something bad happened to me I would think about this act and I felt much better. After this I did not stop, just kept on doing more and more. 

It was just a cup of tea, but it meant a lot to her and to me.