Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Kindness and Love Starts at Home

The greatest gift I can recall ever giving my children is the lesson of selfless love.  This is when the only reward from giving to others is that the love for them in your heart grows deeper and stronger. During the holidays we bake and bake and bake.  We then box up that love and secretly place it on the doorsteps of those we know and those we do not. We attach a card that simply states, "I thought of you today, and it made me smile."

The sheer joy the children received from giving this "secret" gift of selfless love lingers with them to this day.  My oldest is 24 and remembers those days. She recently returned from serving in Iraq and has decided to start her own Random Act of Kindness this year in Minnesota.  My second, a young man of 19, wants to know when I plan on doing it this year so he can make the two-hour car ride to join us.  The two children left at home are 18 and 3 and can't wait till we get baking.

In my experience, love does not have a price tag, and charity and love for one another start at home.

A Little Bit of Extra Warmth On A Rainy Night

One very cold and rainy night my husband and I were in fast food restaurant. Just as we were about to begin our meal, a man walked in. He was completely soaked from the rain and went straight into the men's room.  I watched him go by, then I said to my husband, "That man has had nothing to eat in a long time."   When the guy came out of the men's room he just found a seat, not going anywhere near the food counter. I guessed he didn't have any money for food and simply wanted to dry off for a while.   I just couldn't eat my food knowing that someone else was sitting hungry only a few tables away. So, I handed a $20.00 bill fom my food shopping money to my husband. "Please get him dinner," I said. "We can do with less this week."   My husband approached the man and ... Read Full Story >>

A Few Little Gifts Add Up To A Lot Of Love

I want to tell you about a true story that happened this week on Veteran's Day. I wrote earlier about how our school had a "family day of service," in which about 100 middle school students volunteered all around our community.  One of the sites was a veteran's hospital. Due to swine flu outbreaks, the Veteran's Association said that kids under 16 would not be allowed to visit, so a few adults in the group met with veterans individually to ask them what gift they would like to receive for Veteran's Day. One veteran said he'd like a disposable camera -- his daughter was traveling that evening from far away to visit him, bringing his 1-year-old granddaughter whom he had never met. He said he never imagined he would get to meet her since he had gone through so many surgeries.  The volunteers decided that this gift couldn't wait until Veteran's Day, ... Read Full Story >>

Inspired By A Christmas Kindness Idea

I read the email with the idea of the week where the woman wanted her kids to get involved with knowing what it is like to help others.

My 13 year old and I volunteer, and I have been a secret santa, but I LOVE the idea of buying some things and finding a homeless person and giving them to them..especially at this time of year!

Thank you for sharing your story and inspiring me to do more!

True Compassion in the Midst of Fear

Instead of being a day I would like to forget as soon as possible, somehow, today became a day where I experienced the most incredible gesture of compassion that I’m pretty sure I’m going to want to remember for a long time... I live in London and I was on my way to visit my cousins in Wales. I was driving on the motorway at around 70 mph when somehow (probably black ice on the road), I lost control of my car. I was involved in a scary collision with a delivery lorry and then a smaller car. The smaller car had a family in it with three young children.   Through some incredible good luck no one was hurt but the experience was very frightening. There was so much smoke that my first thought was to just get out of my car as fast as I could. I could hear the children from the car behind me screaming and ... Read Full Story >>

Spreading Smiles One Day at a Time

I have decided to test myself every day in a different way. Today's test: practice the art of listening. It is something so simple, yet so important to those that need a kind heart and a good listener. Sometimes, we all need someone to listen with no opinions or recriminations. We all just want to be heard. So I really made sure to LISTEN to the people that spoke to me throughout the  day, no matter how hectic things were. As I was sitting in the break room today, I started a conversation with a co-worker I don't speak to very much. She is such a happy, positve, and energetic lady. She seemed very troubled, so I sat down with my lunch and just listened. She told me of a husband that struggles with pain every day, of a daughter that's been faced with more trials and physical pain than any child ... Read Full Story >>

A Bus Stop Lesson in Appreciation

Two weeks ago, while waiting at the bus station, an older man with long dreadlocks (who seemed like he might be homeless) approached me. "Are you a student?" he asked. I was caught a little off guard. I hesitantly answered his questions, all the while waiting for him to ask me for money. But it never happened! The man was very intelligent and up-to-date on current affairs. In fact it was quite a pleasure talking to him once I got over my initial reservations.  As we talked I found out he went to the library every day and used the internet to read up on the news and current happenings. He said one of his biggest regrets was not being able to afford an education.   My bus arrived. I said goodbye and wished him good luck. Then a thought struck me. I turned around and said, "Google Open Source Learning. Many universites are offering ... Read Full Story >>

A Pay-it-Forward Gesture Makes My Year

I need my car for work, so when my engine "blew up" recently it was a real disaster for me. My insurance would not cover the repair. It looked like not only would I not have a car, but I might lose my job as well! 

A Game of Neighborhood Christmas Tag

This story follows my previous story: Last night, my daughter and I printed out Smile Cards and attached a note to each card saying 'Merry Christmas' and 'Have a Happy New Year'. We decided to turn the cards into part of the a neighborhood tag game. You must pass your card along to someone else in the neighborhood with a piece of paper wishing them Happy Holidays too.. We delivered the cards around our neighbourhood in the dark so no one would see us - it was so cold.. :) We gave out plenty of cards to our neighbors. I was curious when I saw my neighbor run up my driveway today after her child got on her bus with a paper in her hand... It was one of our Smile Cards - we got one back!  This afternoon when I was checking my mailbox, our eldest neighbour, maybe around 80 years old, stopped at my mailbox with her friend.  She ... Read Full Story >>

A Christmas Present for Santa

I've been writing about Christmas with my autistic daughter, you can read my previous two stories here and here. I decided to make ornamental cookies with smiley faces on them with my daughter tonight. We printed out different coloured small round faces with different smiles on them. We goofed up the first few times, but, it finally worked. They look cute. We also made little Gingerbread men. We put holes in each one at the top and strung yarn through them. (We didn’t have any ribbon and yarn works J )  We then put some of our Smile Cards with a saying that when you hang me at Christmas, do not forget to make someone smile the rest of the year. We are going to go to every elderly person’s door in this one development and leave one on their doorstep. That will be about 20 homes. We’ve made a few extra to give ... Read Full Story >>

Christmas Smiles During Tough Times

Times are tough for my little girl and me right now. She knows that Christmas may not be so good for her this year, but we have decided to do all the crazy stuff like dancing to Christmas music around our living room and acting nutty ;). Then we plan on going to eat our dinner, make some instant cookies, and have milk while watching Miracle on 34th Street once again (her favourite movie). Anyhow, after that, we decided that we will use our scrap booking art and make some Christmas Smile Cards tonight. We are going to send some out via email. The others, we are going to stick on our neighbors' doors and wish them a Merry Christmas, along with the Smile Cards. Shhh... they won't know it was us. We are even going to leave one with a plate of cookies in the mailbox for the mailman. We are also going ... Read Full Story >>

Today You, Tomorrow Me

During this past year I’ve had three instances of car trouble: a blowout on a freeway, a bunch of blown fuses and an out-of-gas situation. They all happened while I was driving other people’s cars, which for some reason makes it worse on an emotional level. And on a practical level as well, what with the fact that I carry things like a jack and extra fuses in my own car, and know enough not to park on a steep incline with less than a gallon of fuel. Each time, when these things happened, I was disgusted with the way people didn’t bother to help. I was stuck on the side of the freeway hoping my friend’s roadside service would show, just watching tow trucks cruise past me. The people at the gas stations where I asked for a gas can told me that they couldn’t lend them out "for safety ... Read Full Story >>

Persevering With My Kindness Mission

I find that gifting food to others can sometimes be a challenging deed to accomplish.  Last night, I encountered two Asian women collecting bottles from recycling bins in the road, so I asked whether they were hungry and wanted some food.  They hardly responded, and one merely looked at me with a puzzled look on her face.  I assume that they either did not understand English or simply had no desire to receive food. A similar interaction happened this past weekend when I was seeking to give away some pears that I received as gifts (which of course I washed before giving away).  As I rode my bike under a highway overpass, I noticed a homeless woman sitting in the dark, empty space below the highway.  I turned my bike around and rode up beside her.  She appeared to be dirty, had a bin likely filled with possessions, and was fidgeting ... Read Full Story >>

Re-Energised By A Small Act of Kindness

We had gone to another town for a wedding. It had been a long drive, and before going to the wedding hall, we decided to stop at a relative's home to freshen up. On the way to the stairs, I noticed a very old cobbler repairing some shoes.  He gave a heart smile and warm greetings to everyone who passed by him. I returned his greetings and walked up the stairs trying to think whether there was anything to eat in the car that I could offer him on the way back.

While coming down the stairs after freshening up, I decided that I would stop and talk to him and give him some cash instead. That way, he could purchase what he would like for himself and/or his family. So while the others went ahead, I stopped by where he sat, chatted with him for some minutes, and enjoyed his huge grin. I then gave him 500 rupees, saying it was a small token of appreciation from the world to him to use as he sees fit. He immediately burst into another huge smile, and blessed all :).

It made me forget my tiredness from the long journey and gave me a new lease of energy to attend the wedding and endure the long drive back home.

A Tale of Two Tags

Some months ago, my husband and I had tried tagging some military personnel and it had not materialized. Imagine our surprise when we landed at the same airport last month and noticed that there were military personnel waiting around in order to be shipped to some frontier. We literally rubbed our hands with glee and decided to tag them - and hopefully manage to complete it. Here is the story of the two tags - and both the tags (irrespective of the end result) left a great impact on us. Tag 1 (6  months ago): It was the end of our vacation and while we were waiting at the airport for our flight home, we noticed that there were a lot of military personnel waiting to be shipped out.  We had a thought - why don't we tag them with all with a beverage of their choice before they boarded their special flight. So we ... Read Full Story >>

A Big Difference From A Child's Unknowing Kindness

This past Monday, I was talking to one of the children, Emily's, mom for some time.  We shared the normal stories of potty training, school, etc. and then she mentioned one of the things she had been struggling with- Emily's delayed speech. She was almost 4 years old and still speaking in only two-word sentences. I was able to relate since my son had also been a late talker and like many new parents, anything out of the norm, will cause some level of concern. I understood her concern because Emily, unable to always communicate with words, would resort to hitting others when frustrated - a very common response mechanism with speech delay.  That night after talking the issue through with her for a while, I told her I would put her in touch with my friend who was a speech therapist and I let her know that if needed, I wanted to at least lend her ... Read Full Story >>

Spontaneous Act of Giving

We were shopping at Target (a big shope) and on our way out, when we were in the parking lot, I saw a young woman with a child, asking for money for food. I have no idea what her situation was, but I gave her some money and carried on to my car.

As I got in, I suddenly realized that I had just been given a $5.00 Target coupon by the cashier because of some purchase I had made, so I ran back to the lady and gave her the card so that hopefully, she could buy something in the store with the coupon.

I have no idea what happened later, but I hope it helped her in some way.

An Extra Dose of Compassion at the Hospital

Today I met an old lady when I was in hospital. I was done with my check-up and I was standing in medicine counter of the hospital to get my medicinal receipt and medicines.  I saw that the old lady was sitting in a nearby chair and waiting for something. She seemed a little distraught so I asked her if she was okay.

She told me that she was waiting for her son who was tied up with some personal work and he had told her that he could come back in a few hours. She said that she was feeling faint and tired. I rushed to the nearby hospital cafeteria and bought her some breakfast. I then got her prescription for her and paid for her medication along with mine. 

She had the breakfast and she was happy now. She also had the tablet and thanked me.

I was happier for showing kindness to her.

Even Small Kindness Is Never Forgotten

I came across HelpOthers few days ago and I can`t stop reading the stories. I want to thank you all for sharing joy around the world and writing about it. Ever since I was a kid I've believed that a smile is a cure and that kindness spreads around like a (wonderful) virus. I`m glad to see how many stories of miraculous acts you all have written. I shared some of my favorite to my mom an hour ago. She was a bit down and I wanted to put a smile on her beautiful face and remind her that people can surprise you in a very pleasant way. After hearing some of the stories from HelpOthers she told me one herself that happened 30 years ago. She was just a teenager on a vacation on the Adriatic coast with her two best friends (they are still her best friends).  They were having coffee ... Read Full Story >>

A Little Help On The Way Back Home

I don't normally make a habit of handing money to people in parking lots holding signs. Sometimes, I do pull into the fast food drive thru and got a couple of burgers and some fries and handed them to people.  But this night was different. Late one night, as I was driving out of our local Walmart parking lot, standing under a tree, barely visible, was a young man. As I glanced at the hooded figure, we made eye contact. I can't explain the feeling I felt to my very core.

As I drove past, the image on his face was almost haunting to me. As I pulled out of the parking lot, a voice came into my head, "If you don't help him, who will?" So I rounded the corner and pulled back into the parking lot, rolled down the window and handed him some cash. He was tearful as he thanked me and said, "I'm just trying to get home." I said, "I hope this will help."

As I drove away, I had the thought, aren't we all "just trying to make it home?"  Maybe, we are placed in others' paths to help them get home too!