Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A Prayer For Ella

Ella is my best friend and adopted sister. She was, at one time, a vibrant and active person. She taught school for a time, worked in local politics to change environmental policies in her area, and volunteering in many other places. I remember a time when Ella pulled out her wallet and wrote a check for a woman who had no rent money and was in danger of getting kicked out of her home. She never even stopped to think about it. Nor did she know the woman. When I was going through my most painful times, Ella was right there beside me. She was always on my side and on the side of "right". A while back, Ella had an accident that resulted in major brain injury. She lost her career, and most of her abilities to care for even herself. Between her sister, husband, some terrific public nurses and homemakers, ... Read Full Story >>

Placemats, Free Of Charge

Yesterday my sister had curtains installed in her new home. They were supposed to be delivered the day after our mom passed away. When they called to install, she said she was too sad to have anyone over because her mom had died the day before, so they rescheduled for Nov. 6th. 

To my sister's amazement, not only did one person arrive to install, but three people came! They had flowers and even made FREE of charge placemats and napkins to match the dinning room curtains she ordered!!!!  They said they were so sorry about her mom's death and they hoped these little things would cheer her up a bit!

My sister cried tears of happiness to think that people she didn't really know got together to do this kind act for her.

All In A Weekend's Work

With Friday afternoon a thing of the past ... I had the weekend to look forward too! Here are some simple, quick and satisfying Acts of Kindness I did this weekend: Sacked up our unused cat food cans for the Humane Society (keep trying different kinds to get my sick cat to eat) Bought 3 chenille blanket throws for our Blanket Drive at work (we're up to 42 after 2 wks & too much to do to make more by hand so for now purchased a few on sale) Purchased and donated a child's book for a XMas Book Drive at Barnes & Noble Let cars in while out shopping  (boy are some men in a big hurry!) and let 2 elderly ladies into the stores. I also spoke to some elderly people and explained about papaya and how to pick ... Read Full Story >>

Smile Cards Take Australia By A Storm

On Sunday 30th of September 2007 over 70 beautiful people in my life (family and friends) staged a Random Act of Kindness Project in our local community. We distributed over 600 SMILE cards on the day and the project is now set to be an annual event!   The day was perfect and we had plenty of volunteers. Over 30 businesses and individuals sponsored and donated and supported in one way or another. The day started off with a brief welcome from me, followed by a poem written by my 9 year old son about Random Acts of Kindness. He read this out aloud for all volunteers to hear which surely got everyone into the spirit of things! My gorgeous fiancé Steven took the reigns and lead the day.   We surprised our community with a free car and window wash, coffee, balloons, sweets, biscuits, gift vouchers, BBQ and lawn mowing. We also fed the homeless, visited local rest homes ... Read Full Story >>

How A Bookstore Can Change Your Life

[by Jeremy Mercer, Ode, Nov 2007] One of the more romantic literary notions is that a book can change a person’s life. Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Ford, for instance, claims Walker Percy’s novel The Moviegoer made Ford the author he is today. Or a book can have more immediate consequences for people, such as my grade-school friend who read My Side of the Mountain and promptly ran away from home with nothing but a penknife and a ball of twine. If a book can change your life, a bookstore can utterly transform it. In my case, I found one, or perhaps it found me, at a critical juncture when I was turning my back on everything I had known. It was a damp January day in 2000 when I discovered the Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris. I had left my home in Canada a month earlier, having burned out in ... Read Full Story >>

Found-Money In My Coat Pocket

Yesterday while I was out shopping, I was approached in the parking lot by a young man. He kindly asked for money for gas to put in his car. I wasn't sure whether he spoke the truth, but I reached in my pocket where I knew I had 3 bucks and handed it over to him. He smiled and said, "God Bless You, kind lady."  My husband looked at me and said, "Why did you do that? You don't even know what he's going to do with that money." I  told him this:  "Today was the first cold day in NY and I had to wear my winter coat.  When I put it on and put my hands in the pockets, I felt something ... it was the money/change from a purchase last March.  I was over-joyed that I just "found money".  I thought to myself as I headed to the store, I'm ... Read Full Story >>

Honeymoon at Applebee's

One night, while at dinner with a friend, we found ourselves  uncomfortably close with another table.  We were so close I could smell their food. 

Upon commenting about how great their food smelled, the young gentleman offered us a bite and we began to chat.  The young couple had just been married that afternoon and were on the way to their honeymoon. 

During dinner, they shared with us their love story and I felt as if we were having dinner with close friends. I was so impressed at their friendliness and share of food that I thought it would be a nice gesture to leave them money toward their dinner. 

The bride's dinner ended up being on the house, and my small gift covered the rest.  I didn't have a smile card to leave but it felt good to see two young people so happy.

Providing Clean Water in Kenya

Last year, my mother passed away and in her name my brother, father, and I decided to collect funds from different people in order to build a borehole and pump in Machakos, a small town in Kenya.  This September, we collected enough funds and the three of us went out to Machakos to start our project.  When we arrived, we received such an amazing response and a welcome from the locals.  They were truly happy to receive this kind of gift. Seeing the quality of water the locals had to drink brought tears to our eyes.  They hardly had any water around the area, especially due to droughts, and the water that they did have was infected by disease. The water which came through the borehole was so clean and truly much sweeter than the water which we get in our taps at home. It was a truly wonderful sight to see ... Read Full Story >>

Living on the 4th Floor

My Dad's company provided rental accommodations for its employees, usually in multi-level buildings.  We were on level 4. For two years, my Dad had been pursuing his application for a ground level house to make the climb easier for my mom who had suffered complications after her second delivery. She was advised bed rest and climbing the stairs everyday was difficult for her. As luck had it, just at that time, my Dad's ground level application was granted and Mum and Dad were thrilled to move in to the ground level accommodation in a separate building that was closer to my Dad's office.  Without wasting time, they did the big move the following Saturday and mum was very relieved & excited. The following Monday, when my Dad returned from work and was about to enter the house, he saw an old lady and her old husband struggling to bring a wheelchair down the stairs. He was shocked ... Read Full Story >>

Experiencing Holy Ground

As a young person it was difficult to imagine death; dying.  Although suicide was a large part of my thought process,  in my heart I did not want to die.  Most of my life consisted of pain.  Not physical pain but  mental pain.  Eventually I settled down.  It was at this point that my life would be shaped by the people who faced death. My father was diagnosed with lung cancer.  He had been a chronic alcoholic most of his life and when he was told he had six months to live, he asked the doctor for at least a year.  One day, my father was taken to the hospital.  The pain had reached the "crisis" point.  Two of my sisters and a local pastor sat with him while I tried to patch the walls of his room, which was in ruins.  I sewed curtains and cleaned.  About 10:00 p.m. the ... Read Full Story >>

A Death In The Sky

My husband was on a flight and as they were nearing their destination,  the Captain's voice came through the speaker bearing bad news -- "There has been a death on the plane." Shock and disbelief were the first reactions of the passengers. When everyone looked back,  they saw the dead man's son grieving silently.  He looked so alone with his Dad's body lying at the end of the plane. My husband, having lost both parents over the past year, overcame his initial shock and geared into action. He asked the flight attendant  for an empty container and he went to each passenger and asked for any expression of love.   Most people gave money.  Another gentleman got up with another empty container and helped him to go around since the first container was getting full.  The outpouring of help was touching.  Whatever was collected, my husband and the other gentleman went straight to deceased father and ... Read Full Story >>

"Blessings" In A Brown Envelope

I was working in Bangladesh a month or two ago and I ended up staying for much longer than anticipated. By the time I left, everyone at the hotel knew who I was because I had handed out at least 50 business cards. I told many of the staff about my plans of providing electricity and clean purified water to rural villages who were located too far from accessing these basic necessities.  The morning before I left there was a small brown envelope that had been slid under my door. I opened it and inside I found one of my business cards. On the back was written "blessings" and there were 4 one dollar bills and a few hundred "Taka" which added up to around a total of $12. I can imagine that it was a poor hotel staffer that was happy about my willingness to help the less fortunate in ... Read Full Story >>

Putting Scraps of Wool to Good Use

I stopped smoking a few years ago and as a result, I found myself unable to sit still for any amount of time. I took up needlework as a hobby to work on as I watched a movie or TV show with my other half. Recently, my pastor's wife told me of a missionary friend of hers who happens to be home on furlow. This woman spoke of how in the country she was posted, there was a real shortage of blankets. She asked some of the ladies from her church to knit or crochet blankets out of scraps of wool that she could take back with her. It seems that although she is posted in a warm country, the sea brings in quite a breeze at night and the weather becomes quite chilly. My pastor's wife mentioned that she had been given a large box of wool and was working on ... Read Full Story >>

Grandfather's Wooden Bowl

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must do something about father," said the son. "I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor." So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When ... Read Full Story >>

A Free Christmas Tree

I lost my son in a car accident in June of 2001. 

My son was only 21 at the time and had been so full of life and hope.  Christmas was especially hard for me that year and I had not gotten around to buying a tree. 

Finally, on Christmas Eve, my other son urged me to try to find a tree.  I drove around town but all the Christmas tree lots were dark and empty. On a whim, I went to the place where my late son had worked as a teenager selling Christmas trees. It too was closed but a young woman getting into her car asked if I was looking for a tree.

We started to talk and when I told her about my plight she said the store had left the last few trees out back for anyone who needed one, for free!  She may never know it but she made my Christmas so much brighter that year.  I still get emotional when I think of it.

The kindness of a stranger (and I like to think maybe a sign of my son from heaven) gave me back the joy and spirit of Christmas!

Thank you, whoever you are!

Listening With Deaf Ears

I am hearing impaired and I wear a hearing aid.  A few weeks ago, I was in a store and a small child child saw me and yelled out, "Mama, look at the deaf lady!"  I did not know what to say and his mother was very angry.  She looked at him and said "Wait until your father gets home." Her words were the exact words that my mother used to say to me and the boys when we upset her.  Memories of my strict father came flooding back to me, and I thought to myself, "What should I do?"  The little boy started to cry and I felt his pain.  I tapped him on then shoulder and I asked him to hold his hand out.  I placed my hearing aid in his hand, and he asked "Why are you deaf?"  I told him that I was in a terrible accident ... Read Full Story >>

Running In The Rain

A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Target. We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day.  After a few minutes, a sweet little voice broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught and said, "Mom, let's run through the rain!" "What?" Mom asked. "Let's run through the rain!" She repeated. "No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied. This young child waited about another minute and repeated, "Mom, let's run through the rain." ... Read Full Story >>

Three Rubber Band Balls

Recently, especially at college, I've noticed that if one person is having a bad day the mood can spread like a cold. But much like the ripples of the water, all you need is a little drop to get the ripples going the other way. On this particular day, I was sitting in the commons of the college amongst a crowd of students. Something was off that day, everyone was quiet, solemn, and they really seemed alone. This crowd who normally would have no problem talking and enjoying one another, felt very alone. The feeling was contagious and I found my mood changing to the atmosphere surrounding me.  So I decided to try and do something about it, and reached into my bag and pulled out three rubber-band balls that I had made a week earlier. I asked my friend if he wanted to play catch; he looked at me ... Read Full Story >>

Four Lunch Time Friends

My 14 year old son was sitting at the lunch table alone on his first day in a new school, having come in after the year started and into a completely new system where he knew no one.

As he was sitting there, 4 girls walked up to him and asked if it were his first day there, to which he replied "Yes". They then invited him to sit with them and share his lunchtime with them. That one small act of kindness touched my heart as only a mother can understand for her child. These four girls opened up their hearts and their lunchtime to take in my son and made him feel as though he belonged.

The next day I suggested he take them a Tootsie Roll pop and a Smile Card to let them know how much their kindness had meant to him. His older sister laughed at the gesture saying it wasn't cool.  Later that day, my son came home with all four girls phone numbers!  Since that day he and the girls have become regular lunchtime buddies.

A Song For the Whole World

I was listening to some soothing tunes on the radio last night. To be exact, it was 98.1, easy R&B listening. Usually when listeners call in, you know, they request a song and dedicate it to their sweetheart, or best friend, or a parent, or a soldier overseas.  It's a natural thing, to share love for those around us. But as I listening in, a man called in with a very unusual dedication.  "Hey brother, I'd like to make a song request," he said. "Sure thing.  Who would you like to dedicate to it?" the DJ asked. "I want to dedicate this song to the whole world." "Whole world?  That's not possible," the DJ replied in a somewhat joking manner.  "We only reach a few milion people." That brief conversation really hit home for me, though.   Yes, a song on a radio can only reach those listeners within the local geographic region that covers that frequency.  ... Read Full Story >>