Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Tagged With A Poncho

I regularly pass the same homeless man on a street corner and he is often soaked because it has been raining a lot here recently. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

So, I went into a nearby store and bought five waterproof ponchos for only $5.00 each.  I gave him one of them. Now, every time I see him out in the rain he is wearing his poncho. If he sees me he gives me a smile and a thumbs up!

I can't wait for the opportunity to give out the other four!

A Simple Gesture Really Made Our Day

I went into the Subway restaurant with my friends Stevie and Britni after a long day at the Del Mare Fair. Stevie bought her own sandwich, and I offered to share with Britni so we didn't have to pay as much. When I got to the counter, I hadn't realized how many things my friend had ordered on her side of the sandwich, and I didn't know whether I was going to have enough because I was planning on buying for both of us.

To my pleasant surprise, the guy who was working there pulled out his credit card and offered to pay for our sandwich. The simple gesture made me smile, and I didn't know how I could thank him. In the end, I found more money and paid for it myself, but right before we left, I ran back and gave him a seven dollar tip.  My friends also came back and tipped him as well.

I hope that he knows just the thought of doing something like that made my day. Thank you, and I won't ever forget it.

When A Stranger Asked For Help

“I expect to pass through life but once.  If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.”  ~ William Penn Little did I know that when I locked my car and headed for the front doors to a local store that my life perscpective would change so drastically.  I hadn’t even got a chance to enter the store before an African American woman in her mid-forties approached me and asked if I would help her return an item.  The item she had purchased was intended for her daughter as a baby shower gift, which her daughter had already received from another relative.  The lady who asked for my help simply wanted to exchange the item for something else in the store and was given ... Read Full Story >>

A Teacher's Help

A friend of mine, Paul, is training to be a teacher, and during one of his teaching practices, he came across a student who had been refused a place in the higher math course because the student had been ill and missed some of the work.  The tricky thing is that this student is profoundly deaf and 80% blind, so it's no wonder that he had difficulty getting into the higher math course.

Well, Paul, the teacher-in-training, went several times a week and gave this student private math lessons, free of charge.  Not only did this student reach the standard needed, but he is now 2nd in the whole class!

I think Paul did something beautiful, and I am writing to appreciate and tell people about his good deed.

My First 'Help Others' Day

I joined HelpOthers last night and, since then, have been trying to figure out how I could make someone smile today.

My opportunity came just before lunch when I left the office to pick up a pack of my favourite biscuits. On my way back into the building I saw the new security guard standing in a corner of the foyer.

Because he is new to the job he is still unsure of himself and not sure how to behave around the people who work there. That's when the idea came to me!

I walked over, introduced myself and offered him some of the biscuits from the packet. A smile replaced the nervousness on his face. He picked one with real care and appreciation. It was a sight to see!

So, now I know. That's how easy it is to help others. And I was left feeling blessed in return!

My Mother's Simple Lesson in Kindness

  It's easy to see how to help some people, but what about those whose needs are not so obvious? This story may have happened a while back - but it was a lesson which has stayed with me and helped me ever since.   It was Thanksgiving and I was volunteering with my parents at a shelter for the needy. We stood behind the counter dishing out hot food to whoever came in. Most of our diners looked like they had been having hard times, their clothes were threadbare, they were dirty. In short, they looked needy!   Then, a man came in, who looked anything but needy. He was well groomed, he wore an expensive suit. I wondered what he was doing there and my jaw dropped in amazement when he joined the line for food. The closer he came to my service station the more I muttered. What was this man doing, I wanted to ... Read Full Story >>

Sharing Happiness Through Singing

Had such a wonderful day today, I sang for about 3 hours today, with my sisters "The Short Sistars" bringing smiles to many people in  the community during this holiday time as the crowds of people sat and watched :)

It was so much fun to see the joy our music and our smiles brought to so many people. Also we sang quite a few original songs...one called "We're a Family" which talks about the community all joining together in harmony to create one! People working together not as many people all separately...but all together as one.

Wow! To see crowds sitting and listening, moving to the beat with such joy across there faces I love seeing so many happy people! :)

I think we made many people's day and all those people made our day too.

I hope you all have a wonderful day and amazing year 2011!

A Letter to My High School Teacher

  Jeff Rupp, beloved teacher at Fullerton High School, and his daughter Sarah Dear Mr. Rupp, The day I met you was the first day of high school. I walked into your class with a t-shirt that said, “supermodels suck,” and you were rocking a ponytail and had your Harley parked next to your desk. We liked each other immediately. You gave me a lot of advice over the next four years, like how I should get my ass to Berkeley where I belonged. I’m still there, by the way. I wish you were still around too. I remember your full-sleeve tattoos, which the school made you hide even in the blazing heat of summer. They were always there under your blue denim shirt and leather vest combo, and you were more than happy to tell us the story of each one, like constellations etched in ink instead of stars. I remember your laugh, which ... Read Full Story >>

Extra Care For A Teacher Going Through A Difficult Time

On Monday, my fiancee and I heard that our astronomy teacher's mother had died.  We were surprised that he was still teaching in school. My fiancee was telling me that as the teacher was teaching, he had felt such empathy for the man, because as he was lecturing, you can sense he was trying to be strong, in the midist of teaching. We came up with an idea. The teacher is such a passionate and warm hearted person, and we figured that, he could use a good dose of  love and cheer. That night after school, we meditated for our teacher as well as his beloved mother. We like to meditate using Metta and Tonglen, both very loving spiritual meditation practices ;) When we went back to school (yesterday), we gave him cheer up cards which we had take time to decorate with flowers, hearts and peace signs. As we had handed the cards to him, we both could see the ... Read Full Story >>

There's Magic in Even the Simplest Kind Act

The mat on the floor of the airport concourse had been folded back. People were walking around it or stepping over, it could have been a hazard for anyone in a wheelchair, a child or elderly person might have tripped over it. Surely, I thought, there was some employee in the airport whose job it was to take care of such things - but no one did! 

When Kindness Happens Just Where It's Supposed To

I wanted to use one of my Smile Cards today, so I went to the bank and withdrew $20. I went out on my lunch break, and walked around looking out for someone to give the money and the Smile Card to. I spotted a couple of people who I thought about giving it to but then I remembered that the Smile Card says to do it anonymously. So I decided to find a way to give away the $20 without the person knowing where it came from. I got in my car and drove to the mall and walked around praying for God to show me what to do. As I walked passed a dollar store I saw five pay phones by it. I took the $20 and neatly wrapped it around the Smile Card. I left if by the first pay phone and prayed that someone who really needed ... Read Full Story >>

Just A Little Smile

Birthday Smiles For My Daughter

Today is my daughter's 24th Birthday.  I won't see her until later in the day, so I went to her classroom  where she teaches late last night and set up helium balloons and left cookies for her to share with her students. 

I know it'll make her smile when she arrives this morning :)  ...and they say  ... how you act on your birthday will be how you'll be all year long... so I think I've got her off to a good start!

Overwhelmed by Unexpected Loving Kindness

The car went through the stop sign and into the intersection. With no where to go or time to get there, my taxi hit the car dead on. For the next three months I was out of work. I had no savings to speak of. No family to help me. I was in dire straights to be sure.  The lady who ran the stop sign had little insurance, barely enough to cover the medical expenses with little left over to pay my living expenses. Just after the accident Justin came to see me in the hospital. We had been co-drivers with the taxi company. We knew each other and worked well together. We were not what one might consider to be friends but we liked each other. He asked me what was going to happen and I told him I didn't know. I was in deep trouble financially until a settlement ... Read Full Story >>

Chosing Our Reactions

  As I was filling my SUV at the gas station a car pulled up alongside the next pump over. They obviously weren’t having a good day and I could hear the father shouting at the son over something or other. Even as the father slid his credit card into the card reader he was still yelling. His son just sat there in the car, staring fixedly ahead. I glanced at the father and our eyes made contact. He looked at me for a few seconds and in a low gravelly voice he said, “What’s your d*** problem?” Let me tell you, many thoughts and words went through my head at that point. Precious few of them were kind. But I didn’t want to go that way. I continued to make eye contact with him, then I smiled and said, “Did you hear gas prices are going up again this week?” He looked at ... Read Full Story >>

A Small Life Lesson

I don't have grandchildren, of my own, but there are two special little ones, aged four and six years old in my life  who are very special to me.

When they were younger, the four year old, then two years old, took a sentimental item from a shelf which my deceased son had given to me. He dropped it on the floor, which was tiled, and the item smashed. As he stood there shocked and wide eyed, his sister, knowing the significance of the item, began to cry, telling him what a naughty thing he had done.

Although I was upset, I reacted by reassuring them both that while the broken item WAS indeed precious, it wasn't as precious to me as they were.

I still have the broken piece, albeit without the glass top and I hope that my reaction said something to them about the importance of love and relationships over material possessions. 

Just Because It's The Right Thing

Hello.  In the past two days, I have had two very similar experiences in terms of returning money to people. The reactions surprised me so much that I had to share it with you all.  Two days ago, I struck up a nice conversation with this new business owner at a coffee shop in my town.  After I had walked about half a mile back towards the parking garage, I realized that I had left without paying.  I walked back to pay my $1.90, and the man was astounded that I had come back to pay instead of just continuing on my way.  Similarly, yesterday I was eating lunch at a local pizza place, and a family walked in.  They had a little girl in the family who was maybe 7 or 8, and a $10 bill fell out of her pocket next to our table.  I got up, picked it up, and ... Read Full Story >>

The Christmas Kindness Project

  I am a social worker and substance abuse counsellor. I wanted to tell everyone about my very dear friend and mentor who passed away a few months ago. I met him many years ago while doing my internship in the county correctional facility. He was directing a program he had designed to help inmates with their drug and alcohol problems. He was always coming up with novel ways to bring hope and help to these men and their families. One of his favorite events was the toy drive he would run every Christmas for the children of the inmates. He did this for twenty years until his sudden death. As last Christmas approached I decided that this tradition HAD to be carried on, for the children as well as the memory of my friend. But the file where he kept the names of the people who had helped him over the years had gone ... Read Full Story >>

Using My First Smile Card

I finally got my smile cards in the mail and I couldn't wait to use them.  Here's what I did with my first one.

We have inter-office mail at work, so I put a smile card in an envelope with five swiss chocolates, and sent it annonomously to a fellow worker.  I pray it brightened his day and made him smile and my prayer is that he will pay-it-forward and make someone else's day.

Recycle and Conserve Clothes and Help Others

My dad opened his first clothing store in 1970 and from 1990 till 2007 operated clothing exchanges until open-heart surgery with complications squashed his mojo.  A while ago I convinced him to try a free clothing exchange online so people could trade clothes they don’t wear for some they could for the cost of postage ($10).  The USPS medium flat rate box holds a mini-wardrobe (like 5 pair of pants) so we use it as a guide for how much is traded. I deposited clothes that Plato’s Closet (a local clothing reseller) wouldn’t buy from me – wrong brand, size, style or season.  We launched our site on Christmas Day and gifted 7 boxes of clothing to needy individuals and families responding to a brief Craigslist notice. We delivered them on Christmas Eve and have added a 'Needs' page to our site so anyone can 'Trade' their clothes or 'Gift' them ... Read Full Story >>