Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A Loving Surprise

I used my first smile card which I received in the mail today.   I decided to write my husband a note of gratitude for his extra love and support.  I posted the note to our front door with a Smile Card.  When he gets home from work a surprise note will be waiting for him at the front door!!

An Unexpected Thank You

There have been several snow storms in my area over the past couple of weeks and the crew of people who manage the parking garage near my office building have been working constantly to keep the garage clear of snow and ice. During my lunch break, I took a couple of minutes to walk over to the office were the parking garage people work and thanked them for keeping the garage clear of snow. At first they seem stunned then they all smiled and said you’re welcome. The surprise on all of their faces brought a simile to my face as well.

Conduct Your Blooming

"Conduct Your Blooming in the noise and whip of the whirlwind." Strange message in a stranger place.   I don’t know who said it, but this pronouncement suddenly appeared on a huge wall of the 59th St. subway tunnel connecting the Lexington Avenue trains to the N and R lines. For many months I’d passed the area, which was roped off and covered over with heavy paper - reconstruction in progress. What else is new in NYC! Then one fine day the plastic barrier was cut and the brown paper pulled down.  There, gleaming in vivid colors, was a giant mosaic mural with a great scroll of a message running through it in a waving line that ran up and down from ceiling to floor and back. You probably don’t think of the subway as a provider of uplifting impressions, but those of us who use it every day have got used to ... Read Full Story >>

A Few Bucks In NYC

My family and I were in the dining plaza of New York's Grand Central Station. We were sharing a happy chat, coffee and some ice-cream. Hardly subsistence level dining. Then my daughter drew my attention to something I hadn't noticed. A man in a suit had been enjoying a meal, perhaps before heading home, when another man, who looked liked he might have been a "rough sleeper" wandered by. He stopped by the table, looked down wistfully and eventually said, "That sure looks good." Then he walked away and found a seat . A few seconds later the man in the suit picked up his meal, walked over to the homeless guy and presented him with it. As he cleared the coffee cup and napkins from his table into a bin near us I said, "Excuse me, sir. That was a kind thing you did." He smiled, blushed and shrugged. "I didn't know what ... Read Full Story >>

Finding A Family A Home

 Working at a homeless shelter can be stressful but it can also be a source of uplifting stories! One part of my job is dealing with the initial homeless family housing calls. The very first call I had was a single mother. She was weeping. She told me she had gotten into a terrible car accident and wasn’t able to work for a while so she lost her job, had stacks of medical bills and fell behind on rent. Even though she had gotten another job just recently she was still being evicted from her apartment and she and her two children had nowhere to go.   After she finished explaining the situation she stopped and said, “I’m so sorry! Thank you for letting me tell my story. I’ve tried every shelter and church organization in the area and no one listens - or cares. I’m not a liar ... and I realize ... Read Full Story >>

Broken Eggs And Helping Hands

Being There

I work as a volunteer for a hospice agency. One of my longer-term patients has been slowly deterioriating in health and mental functions. He slept a lot during his last few weeks.

I would sit by his side while he slept, which was very ackward for me because I felt that I should be doing something actively to help this man. At times, I felt like sneaking away and letting him sleep, but I stayed.

During one of my visits he had been dozing off during our conversation and then finally went to sleep. I was just about ready to go and he woke, looking into my eyes with one of the biggest smiles I had ever seen from him. He said, "I really like it when you are here, it's so peaceful."

I have found, during my years of hospice volunteering, that just being there makes a world of difference for lonely people. We don't have to talk, we don't have to do something, we just have to be there for each other.

A Chain of Generosity

On Saturday I witnessed a wonderful thing. We had taken an older couple into town and after they had done what they needed to do they asked if we could stop at McDonalds to get something to eat. It was no problem and we suggested they could eat it in the restaurant rather than in the car or taking it home.   While we were there, we noticed a group of four boys aged 10-12, having lunch.  The boys stood well back from the counter and allowed other customers to go ahead and order while the boys discussed what they wanted. When they decided, they went to the counter to order telling the young girl serving they wanted the larger size, which they would share. The woman with them queried this and they told her it would be cheaper to do it that way rather than get individual orders. These boys were ... Read Full Story >>

Home Is Where The Heart Is - Even For The Homeless

About two weeks ago I saw a very sad, blue eyed, homeless man sitting outside my local coffee house. I said, "Hi. How are you doing today?"  He seemed shocked that I was talking to him. "Not very well," he replied. He proceeded to tell me how he had been hit by a car while riding his bike. He had been in the hospital for a month and a rest home for another month. During that time the person that paid for his SSI checks died of a heart attack and his wallet was stolen with all his IDs. He had several checks waiting for him but had no ID and therefore no access to his money.  I decided that if this was all true I'd like to help him get a copy of his birth certificate and social security card. I asked him to meet me at the Department of Vital ... Read Full Story >>

A Wonderful Way to Start the Day

Every morning when I wake up, I kid you not, the first thing I do is check my email for comments from you guys. What a wonderful way to start my days. So I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you to all of you guys and your kind words. They inspire me in ways unimaginable. The responses I get on my childhood stories are therapeutic. I have stopped keeping my journal; I write everything now on HO and I can tell you it’s a lot better than tucking my feelings away. Thank you and I will continue to make you guys proud with my pay-it-forward reports.

Smile Cards At Church

A Brother Like That

(I came across this in my Inbox, and there was no author attributed) A friend of mine named Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. "Is this your car, Mister?" he asked. Paul nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was astounded. "You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you nothing? Boy, I wish ..." He hesitated. Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paul all the way down to his heels. "I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that." Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added, "Would you ... Read Full Story >>

Setting up an Apartment for a Girl in Need

Several months ago, at the beginning of the school year, I heard from a friend about a young lady who had recently moved to our area. She was a student from another country with only her small stipend to make do and had just rented a small apartment. My friend told me that she had very little in the way of possessions. I got the young lady's telephone number and called her, explaining that I was a friend of a friend and I heard she might be able to use a few household items. She said, "Yes, thank you!" and mentioned that she had slept on the floor of the apartment the night before with only her coat to cover her and that it was a bit chilly. As every mother knows, when our children are away at school we constantly worry about their welfare, and, everyone's child is my child, ... Read Full Story >>

Seeing The Smile On Their Face

I am so glad I found this site and I can't wait to use my smile cards.  I went to the mall on my lunch hour from work, and  wrapped a smile card with a five dollar bill and left it on a pole in the middle of the mall.  I had some time so I wanted to sit back and watch who would take it. I couldn't believe how many people walked by and didn't see it!  I prayed that just the right person would find it, that really needed some encouragement today.  My lunch was almost over so I was almost out of time.  I really wanted to see the person's face who found it.  Then all of a sudden two ladies walked by and one of them took the money rather quickly, and then I saw her and her friend read the smile card and then turn it over ... Read Full Story >>

Really Really Free Markets Are A Really Really Great Idea!

  I started a Really Really Free Market in my town as a way to bring the community together.    A Really Really Free Market is like a cross between a farmer's market and a garage/yard sale, except everything is free! People show up with stuff to give away and take what they need from other people's abundance.   It took a little while to catch on but now it seems fairly busy and I am trying to make it bigger and more fun so that more people have access to the wonder that is giving without expectation of reward and receiving without being judged.   It runs once a month on a Saturday afternoon and there are clothes, books, plants, biscuits, pasta, fruit, furniture, ornaments - and lots of other stuff. The kids all play together (it's at a park) and sometimes one family brings playdough, beads and colouring-in pictures for the children to play with.   I ... Read Full Story >>

Chocolate Moments of the Day

Inspired by yesterday's wonderful auto driver, I decided to share a 5 star chocolate every day with at least one person who makes me feel awesome! So my Magical Moment of the day changed to chocolate moment of the day starting from today. The following were chocolate moments from today: 1. I am blessed with an awesome colleague named Eshwari who sends good morning mails and other interesting forwards, though many of us don't reply back or thank her. Her good morning mails give a great start to my day, every day! Today, I sent her a thank you mail and gifted her a 5 star chocolate for her awesome spirit of spreading happiness around. 2. Another wonderful colleague of mine, Sravani, introduced me to a new eatery. I tasted delicious pav bhaji after a looongggggggggg time without doing so. Yummmyyyyyyyyy! I could not resist expressing gratitude to the person who prepared ... Read Full Story >>

An Act of Kindness Every Day

 This whole week I have been doing acts of kindness every day.  The following are a few that I wanted to share.   Thursday I went to the post office and solicited for prayers for the prayer book I have started for a very ill boss of mine who is battling cancer.     Friday   I called my boss while he was receiving his chemotherapy and I told him that everything would be ok and he just needed to hang in there. I also offered to drop off the prayer book for him to read if he needed encouragement.   Saturday   I just moved into my current neighborhood and still getting to know my way around. When I first went to the car wash near my apartment, I met a lot of friendly people. When I went back for the second time, they washed my car for free.   This past Saturday my mother needed to borrow my car. I ... Read Full Story >>

A Flat Tire and an Unexpected Helper

Yesterday after work I went to get into my car and to my surprise, I had a flat tire. I have always been the type of person who remains calm no matter what situation I’m in. This time, I was perturbed; this was the second flat tire I have had in one week. As I struggled to get the spare out of my trunk, a car pulled up next to me. It was my boss Marvin. To give you a quick background, Marvin is seriously ill and receives chemotherapy three times a week which leaves him very tired and weak. He was in his car heading home to rest when he saw I was in need. He asked me for the tools and I almost said "no" because I did not think he was well enough for such a task. However, he wouldn’t take no for an answer so I handed ... Read Full Story >>

Anonymous Gifts at Work

At the welfare organization where I work at we decided to give back to the staff of social workers that give tirelessly of their time to others with little reward.

Each of us randomly chose a name of another staff member from a hat and for the next week anonymously did nice things for them, like making them tea or bringing them lunch!  

At the end of the week the secret fairy was revealed and eveyone felt so validated and grateful for the idea. It was great!  Try it at your office! 

Breakfast With a Tax Refund

When we got our tax refund my husband and I went out to a local restaurant for brunch.

I am a big fan of random acts of kindness and do them whenever I have the opportunity. So, I told my husband (who was fixing to go pay for our meal) to ask the cashier how much an elderly lady's ticket was and to pay it for her.  Then when she went to the register to pay, let her know that it had been paid for anonymously.

We left the restraunt before her so I really dont know what her reaction was, but I like to think I helped make someone smile that day!