Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A Chocolate Impulse

I had just sat down on the train and opened a bar of chocolate when a really old looking man (probably around 80) sat down opposite with his huge bags. I nodded hello and smiled at him, and then I suddenly thought, why not offer him a piece of chocolate. So I did, and he was quite surprised but accepted the offer and thanked me in many words.  He said that people wouldn't usually do this and offer something to a stranger - at least that was what I understood, because he was speaking a really difficult dialect, and the train was loud. Then he opened one of his bags and handed me a handful of freshly picked cherries, explaining that he had just picked them in his garden. I learned that he had four trees and had already given away 100kg of cherries this season! His cherries were really lovely, better than ... Read Full Story >>

An Unforgettable Birthday Bracelet

Well, well, well, it's that time of the year again....ITS MY BIRTHDAY! Just like last year something extraordinary happened this year. Last year, I helped a homeless man in Fordham. This year I started going to a  nursing home to visit different people and I came upon a new comer. Usually when a new person arrives at a nursing home, they feel like all hope is gone and they are ready to die.  I try to convince them to keep going. This new comer was a lady... a strong and nice lady. She was very cheerful, and when her daughter brought her to the nursing home she became very unhappy. Everytime I would see her, she would frown at me and say, "Don't even waste your time on me, for I will die pretty soon." That scared and devasted me, but I never gave up on her. She finally got tired of me pushing her to talk to me, and started ... Read Full Story >>

The Smile Card Exchange

About a month ago, while in the drive through at Starbucks, I noticed a woman in a car behind me who appeared to be having a bad day. There were two kids in the back who looked to have too much energy at 8am on a Sunday morning.  The line moved slowly and at one point while pulling forward, the woman behind me bumped my car. I could tell this worried and concerned her. The entire time that I waited in line for my coffee this woman didn't smile. Looking back at her I could tell she was looking at the side view mirror wondering "Why me? Why today?" When I pulled up and paid for my coffee I requested that the Starbucks barista give the woman behind me a Smile Card and paid for her muffin and latte. Just 30 mins ago I was again waiting in line at the Starbucks. I heard a car door ... Read Full Story >>

Unexpected Roses During Challenging Times

I live in a small friendly town. Due to the current challenging times the number of charity shops is almost the same as the number of  " normal" shops.

I am a regular costumer at the local charity shops, lately looking for teddy bears. There are people that I see working there on a regular basis and I think how lovely it is that they always have volunteers to run the shops.

Today I decided to visit each of the charity shops and leave a rose, a 29gifts and a smile card to each of the volunteers working there. Most of them were surprised, one asked if I was selling the roses ( meaning, I hope, they looked good enough to be sold ) and a lady commented that it was a lovely idea.

My next project is to do the same on the villages around my town. One village at a time.

Kindness Rewarded With a Book

I've been handing out smile cards for quite a while now with the singular objective of seeing the person smile and today because of that I won a contest which was very cool!

My daily newspaper ran an article about 'spreading joy', and had a contest at the end of an article asking how people spread joy.  I entered and told them all about 'HelpOthers.org' so people could check it out.  In today's newspaper I saw my name in print, I was one of 4 winners.  I won a book about Joy and Happiness!!

How about that??

A Special Blessing That Lasted A Lifetime

Most of us have a few experiences each day that make us laugh or grin for a short period of time. If we are lucky, we may cross paths with something that makes us grin for a day or two. If we are truly blessed, somewhere on our path we are able to be part of something that will make us grin for the rest of our lives. I need to share such an event with you, with the hope that you would consider a similar project in your community. I am a building contractor from Lynchburg, Virginia. I have been volunteering with Greater Lynchburg Habitat For Humanity since our affiliate started in the late 1980’s. In the past 20 years, I have tried to give more to Habitat than I have received, but it is something I have not been able to accomplish. I have always said that if you look around, ... Read Full Story >>

Giving Away Flowers is Addictive

I love to surprise people. I like to start things with a "bang" and finish them with another "bang" usually related with acts of kindness.

This year on my last meeting as a chair of the PTA, I offered each member of the team a rose and a card.

Though they know me by now I guess I can still surprise them with unusual surprises from time to time.

The other day I gave a chocolate and a smile card to a charity worker, who seemed quite puzzled ...

Today I gave a rose and a card to a lady that I know who has been working very hard.

Giving flowers is lovely, the only danger is that it is highly addictive.

;-)

Moving Creates An Opportunity To Start Giving

Moving away gave me a chance to reflect on my good fortune and it was a wonderful opportunity to give away some of my things.   I’m not rich, but I decided to make sure that what I have an excess off (thanks to the kindness of wonderful friends and family) is passed on to those who really need it.   Once you start, its amazing how much you can do...   1.     I donated some clothes which were still in pretty good condition, which used to belong to my roomate or me (partly inspired by the story of Goonj posted by 'Anju73').  I spent a good deal of time laundering and ironing them I also added some lavender scents :).   I searched for the right place to give them to.  I could have given it to Habitat which is round the corner, but I checked out a great homeless shelter that I had heard about and gave it to them instead.   I popped ... Read Full Story >>

Smile Card Adventures on the Road... in New Zealand!

Last weekend, my sisters, Rebecca and Louisa, and I sing as "The Short Sistars."  We had gone to Hamilton, which is about one and a half hours from my home, for vocal coaching and to record a couple of songs at our cousin's recording studio. On our way Dad stopped at the petrol station and, as all petrol stations are pre-paid now, he went in and paid for our tank of petrol. He took the petrol cap off, we all got distracted and drove off. Ten minutes down the road Dad realized he didn't fill up the entire tank and the petrol cap was probably on the roof of the car when we drove off. So, we needed petrol and had to drive back.  When we got to the station, another car was just leaving after filling up from the same pump that we were at. We thought maybe we would ... Read Full Story >>

The Karma of Giving a Lift and Getting One

About two months ago, I was visiting my hometown and was taking a drive with a friend. We had decided to drive around for no particular reason when suddenly it began to rain. And rain. And rain. We happened across a young man walking down the road and asked if he wanted a ride. He quickly agreed. He stated that he lived about a mile away and was on his way home from work, which he had to walk to since his car had broken down. When we dropped him off, he thanked us generously and stated that it was great to find good people since he had recently moved here from out of state. Fast-forward a month. I was back in the town that I live in and was walking to the campus library about a mile away. It was a particularly hot day and I really didn't feel like walking, ... Read Full Story >>

Community Events For Low-income Kids

I live in a small mobile-home community . The people here have very low incomes. The children have nowhere to go and nothing to do. 

With the help of others in the community, I put on events for the kids and their families throughout the year. In the summer we have "Kids Safety Day ," where we have food, games and prizes and the local police & fire teams join us to talk to the kids. Everyone has a good day!

At Halloween we do a Haunted Forest. I think the adults organizing it probably have more fun then the kids and families here. At Christmas , we get presents for the kids to give to their parents. We pay for all of this by selling candy, having yard sales and taking donations of items from people to raise the money for these events. And that's not all, we do so many other events too!

The best thing about all of this, is to see the happy faces of the kids and their families. We ask for nothing in return except to have fun.

Just Doing The Right Thing

I was on a walk with a friend yesterday when I found a BlackBerry cell phone in a puddle of melted snow.  I picked it up and it still worked!  I started scrolling through the contact list and calling numbers to see if I could figure out whose phone it was.  Unfortunately, only one person answered and she didn't recognize the number that I was calling from.  She made a comment of "It is just so nice that you are trying to find out whose phone it is."  Since that lady didn't know whose phone it was, my friend suggested that we go back to the street and the house that we found the BlackBerry in front of.  I knocked on the door and two college-age people answered.  They hadn't lost their phones, but as I told them the story and mentioned some names on the contact list, the young man said that he had those names ... Read Full Story >>

The Simple Joy of Blowing Bubbles

Earlier,  Aurelia posted a wonderful little piece entitled "Bubbles" and since I myself LOVE,  bubbles I had to read it. She gave the most wonderful suggestion of giving bubbles to children.  I loved the idea.  I went to the store on my lunch break and bought an eight pack.  I gave one to the cashier there to give to any child she chose, as suggested in Aurelia's post, which made her smile.  I also have been giving them out to small children who come in the bank.  They are thrilled to receive them.   It gives me joy to see how happy it makes them to receive such a small gift.  One little boy did a dance right there.  I asked him if that was his happy dance.  He told me it was.  I told him I would dance too if someone gave me bubbles.  It was a wonderful exchange. Children have ... Read Full Story >>

An Old Way To Bring About New Smiles

I recently got a new version of an old camera that I used to adore... Polaroid instant film! This one is a Fuji, which takes credit card sized instant photos. I named my camera "J5", (after Johnny #5 the Robot, from the '80's films "Short Circuit", mainly because it looks like him :)  In J5's short career (this past month), he has blasted off about 80 photographs, and 60+ have been given away to complete strangers. Each photograph is unique, simple, imperfect and beautiful, as those captured within the photos had a story to tell. So far, one story stands out above them all. Last Wednesday, I was in the play area of the Harrisburg Mall. I sat next to a woman who was there with her son. She was very classy, seemed to have it all together. I would have assumed that she had a sweet, upper-middle class life. As it turned ... Read Full Story >>

Setting The Tone With My New Boss, My Way

I work with people across the world via e mail. Recently I was getting to know a new editor in Illinois when he retired (not because of me :D)

When I got in touch with the new guy I got a polite but short reply. Okay. Then I sent in some work and he told me briefly he would get to it some time. Later I sent in some more work and got an even shorter reply.

Okay, I wondered, this is verging on rude. Should I just forget about this guy? Was I going to let this set the tone of our working relationship?

No. I e mailed back again. I said I understood the pressures he must be under. He was filling some big shoes and it would take time to establish his own ways of doing things. I mentioned his predecessor had had huge faith in him and I was sure he would be a good man for the job.

Well! The reply I got back was his shortest yet. It was a big, shiny, smiley face!

Now, I'm quite happy to let that set the tone of our relationship!

A Ripple Effect On The Train Home

Yesterday was a long, but rewarding day. I got to volunteer in the San Francisco Pride Parade. That meant hours on my feet, under the hot sun and with very little water.

By the time I made it on the train to go home, all of the seats were taken and my feet were killing me! I must have been displaying the pain in some way because a very nice gentleman, much older & tired than myself, offered me his seat. I told him I was fine, but he insisted I sit.

While I was feeling guilty for enjoying being off my feet, a young man, who had watched all this, offered the seat he was sitting in to the older gentleman who had offered me his seat. I could not help but smile. One act of kindness led to another. The perfect closure to my day.

How Will You Fill Your Flower Vase?

Last night after reading some inspirational posts on HelpOthers I decided it was getting a little late so I decided to go to bed. As I was lying there I was thinking about the stories I had just read. For some reason my mind flashed back to my first day at College (High School). The head girl was standing up on the stage giving us a speech about your life and your life journey being a vase full of flowers. Now that may seem a strange context but that speech has stayed with me for many years. I would like to share it with you all!  It went something along the lines of… Imagine a big vase of flowers being your life. Each person has a vase of flowers but it is their opportunity to fill it in the way they decide. You could fill your vase with a few flowers ... Read Full Story >>

Carrying a Suitcase and Making a New Friend in Greece

I just spent a wonderful holiday on a little Greek island together with my family. One day, my husband and I left the kids with his parents (who were with us), rented two motorbikes for the day and went to the other side of the island to visit a very old and well-known monastery. There we happened to see a French lady who was walking by herself with a cane and obviously had difficulties with the 300 steps that led up to the monastery. When I noticed she had a French accent I started speaking French with her, and she appreciated that, saying that her English wasn't very good. While we were talking it turned out that the next day she was going to travel to the village we were staying at and I was already looking forward to seeing her again there and talking to her again, because I ... Read Full Story >>

Where Does Kindness Start? With Us...

Recently at the gas station...I was walking in to Pre-Pay before being able to pump gas into my car. As I approached the door to go in to pay, there was a woman coming out.   I was about 15 feet away and she stood there, waiting and holding the door for me to enter. Usually people are in such a hurry that they dash out and sometimes even to the point of being rude and mowing me down.  I smiled and said "Thank You, you didn't have to do that"  and her reply was "No problem, take your time." Next we are both at our vehicles filling gas and she finished first. She hopped in her van and was getting ready to leave. I noticed her gas compartment was still open and the cap was dangling down.  I quickly scooted to her van and tapped  on it as she was starting ... Read Full Story >>

The Power of 'Thank You'

 I am moving out of my university and city, which has led me to look over the last few years, wrapping up my stuff and thanking people. One such is Mr. Rob Holland. He is the graduate housing coordinator.  At any time of the week, day or night, you can expect an email from him saying that an apartment has become vacant, typically at least twice or thrice a week. I needed him to remove my name from the mailing list, but I thought it could become a fun kindness exercise. I sent him a little note, thanking him for such an efficient way of keeping us updated. I looked at his blog profile out of curiosity and got my hunch confirmed that he was just like any of us.  He loved his dog, wife, etc and likes to paint, sing, and so on. So, I decided to spice up my business-like, one-line email with ... Read Full Story >>