Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Secret Santa of Kansas City

In 1971 a young man who grew up very poor was traveling across the country, trying to make a new start for himself. Along the way he had completely run out of money and was forced to spend the night in his car. This continued until one morning, after a week of sleeping in his car, he walked nervously into a diner and ordered a big breakfast. After eating his first good meal in weeks, he found himself lying to the waiter, telling him he had ’lost his wallet.‘ The waiter, who was also the owner, walked behind the stool where the young man had been sitting. He bent down, and came up with a $20 bill that looked as if it had fallen on the floor. ’Son, you must have dropped this,‘ the owner said. The young man couldn’t believe his luck! He quickly paid for the breakfast, left a tip, ... Read Full Story >>

My Conscience of December, 1979

It is funny how at the end of the day, just before we fall asleep, a torrent of thoughts that had not been addressed by my mind during the day come rushing my way. I was looking forward to relaxing in slumber on my soft pillows but my mind seemed to win over my exhaustion as my thoughts scattered and triggered memories of the past. I was lying there with my eyes wide open staring blankly at the darkness that engulfed me and an episode from the past came to mind that I thought I would share. It wasn't anything profound, but at that time, it had meant a lot to me. This incident took place in December of 1979. I had started a new job down at the City Market Deli in New York City. I didn't really care for the job, which included wearing white gloves, slicing bread, cold cuts, and shelfing cartons of juice, milk, and soda. Moreover, I  was miserable ... Read Full Story >>

Tis' the Season of Smiling

In the spirit of embracing the season of giving, I was going through all of the books my children had and was getting ready to donate them to our local library. Since I use the facilities and books at the library all the time, I thought that the least I could do was keep the circle of giving going by donating more childrens' literature back to the public institution. As I rummaged through the piles of books and organized them into stacks, I could not help but peek through some of my most cherished childrens' poetry books, and share a short and sweet poem with all of you, before I gave it away:

"Smiling is infectious,
You can catch it like the flu.
Someone smiled at me today,
And I started smiling too."
-Author Unknown

It's the Season to Smile!

A Friendship I Treasure

My best friend, Marcie, is an amazing person who I treasure. From the first day we met we have been the best of friends. It all began when I was sitting alone at a new job and didn't know anyone -- it was lunch time and she asked if I wanted to have lunch with her.  That was in September of 1999. Marcie is filled with kindness and somehow touches someone with it everyday. She is the first to help others and has never let me face anything alone from common childhood illnesses with my children, to emergency room visits, financial crises (and we have many!), helping me with my grandparents' scrapbook and helping me and my family through the recent death of my father, including helping me to find and pay for his urn to hold his ashes. She even helped with the lilttlest ones by getting them ready ... Read Full Story >>

Tell Someone You Love Them

I just had quite a moving experience here at work. A long time customer came in and was sad.  I asked what was wrong and he said, "I have to attend my wife's funeral visitation this evening."  He continued, "She passed away from pancreatic cancer on Sunday." He said they had been in Florida having the time of their lives 7 months ago.  They had been married 25 years and spent a month there having a fun vacation.  When they got back home his wife noticed a sore-muscle-type pain in her side and it just kept nagging her.  She later found out that she had pancreatic cancer and it had spread into her liver. There were no warning signs other than that nagging pain and 7 months later she passed away.  He looked at me and said, "Honey, when you go home tonight make sure you tell your husband and other loved ones that you love them more ... Read Full Story >>

A Donut Completes the Circle

   Did you ever wonder if your goodness would have been unleashed and passed on to others if you hadn't started visiting this site? Many times I do things and thoughts of stories I've read come to my mind and I think "thank goodness" for Helpothers and the inspiration it is to me.    Yesterday, I received a $10 gift card to Dunkin Donuts for a job well done at work.  I was so happy to get it. Then later during the day a kind lady came in to register her children for religious ed classes and wrote me two checks, one for her children and another for a child whose family she wanted to help out. I thought that was the sweetest act of kindness! I  hugged her and told  her what a wonderful friend she was to that family.    Today as I was reading some stories on this ... Read Full Story >>

This I Believe, Robert Heinlein

This article has been taken offline by the request of Trustee of the Heinlein Prize Trust regarding infringement of a copyright.

An Impulse to Help Succeeds

   My son and I were on our way to his piano lesson (which is above a pizza shop) when we saw and heard the rantings of a homeless man across the street who was asking for money to get something to eat.  He then entered into a smoke shop and I walked my son up to his lesson.    I ran back downstairs to see if the man was wandering around outside and saw that he was back on the street corner across the way, looking for change.  I quickly ran up to the counter of the pizza shop and asked for a slice of pizza to take out.  Meanwhile I kept looking around outside to see where the homeless man was in his wanderings.  I was a bit impatient waiting for the pizza to get ready because I didn't want to miss him.  I saw him start walking away ... Read Full Story >>

A Single Smiling Mother

Maybe it is because it is the season of joy, where one year closes and another one opens up to new possibilities. Maybe it is just that I am finally heading toward a direction in my life that points to a positive place out of the negative one in which I was rooted.  This past year I have struggled with my own sense of low self-worth, with post partum depression due to the arrival of my newborn, and the challenges of being a single parent. I do not have anything deeply profound to impart. I just wanted to send a small note to share with all of you that things seem to be moving well for me now, and just maybe during this time of giving I can give strength to any other struggling single mothers out there who are doing what they can for the babies in their world.   Here is a glimpse of what one mom went through: I am a procrastinator and very indecisive. I would make a decision, ... Read Full Story >>

A Lesson in Dignity

Everyday as I drove through town, I saw a one-legged man going through ash cans for cigerette butts and trash cans outside of fast food restaurants looking for food.  It was only a month before Christmas, starting to get cold (I lived in a town that was over 6,000 ft. altitude) and I could not quit thinking about him.  It was a year where we didn't have enough money to really have much in the way of presents but I figured what was too little for us would be a lot for someone who had nothing. So I bought a brush, toothbrush, toothpaste, pack of cigerettes, cans of tuna, just little things that didn't cost much and then I added a blanket and sweatshirts.  I made a box up like a present and went in search of this man.  I saw him hobble away from the dumpster next to McDonalds.  I ... Read Full Story >>

Together We Can Make a Difference

"A SMILE IS THE SOUL'S KISSES"

I have only been a member of this wonderful group for about a week. I am so glad that I found the website and group. I have spent my whole life doing for others and even at age 39 I feel like I have so many more years to keep doing. Logging in every day I have found that there are so many special people out there like all of us. There are also so many special people that need something little done for them. A simple handshake, a simple smile, a simple hug, a little post it note left on someones desk, a little "thinking of you note". There are so many things we all can do.

I find that I am constantly thinking of ways to help people and thinking of fun things to surprise someone with. 

Together we all can make a difference!!!!!!

Did You Forget How to Laugh?

Yesterday, I went over to my sister's home to provide some  emotional support for her, as she was in need. She needed help in overseeing the work of the plumber who had come to unblock the troubled sewage system in the home. Wanting to reassure her through this event,  I showed up at her doorstep 15 minutes before the plumber did and when I walked in, her pained look and frown suddenly lifted as her desperation came to a halt.   I knew from her face that it wasn't just the plumbing problem that was upsetting her, but rather she faced a deeper challenge that extended beyond any practical issue relating to household management.  My sister embraced me closely, made me coffee, and while waiting for our upcoming plumber, we clinked our coffee mugs together, and I began recounting some rather slapstick moments of my life to see if I could sustain a smile on her face.   Although we did not explicity discuss the main issue that plagued my sister daily,  I knew that she had been enduring quite ... Read Full Story >>

A Cup of Kindness

   They have introduced a coupon system in my workplace for coffee where we have to produce a coupon to get coffee. And we must collect the coupon booklet from admin people on the first of every month.    Yesterday i went to collect the coupon from our cafeteria on the 9th floor and then went to 2nd floor where the coffee machine is to grab a quick cup of coffee before starting my day at work. As i was waiting for the lift after getting the coffee I saw a senior person about the age of 50 being informed by the attendant that he could not have coffee without the coupon. And he had to go to the 9th floor to get the coupon and then come down again for coffee. But then it would be late for him to start his work since we have strict reporting time in our ... Read Full Story >>

For the Man Who Hated Christmas

[ Note: This story below was written by Nancy Gavin and originally published in the December 14, 1982 issue of Woman's Day magazine. You can watch a video of this story here.] It’s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past ten years or so.   It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas--oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it--overspending... the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma---the gifts given in desperation because you couldn’t think of anything else.   Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an ... Read Full Story >>

My Motto: Keep Smiling

I was hurt as a child, mentally and physically and I suffer from it today.  When I was in the UK  I was a the chairman (after 2 years of volunteering) of a charity that helps people cope.  My life motto is "keep smilin."  I have my down days, more so than up days.  But I keep smilin and I get by.  Never, never, never give up!  I always let the paper boys keep the change when I buy a paper from them when they sit outside all day.  I was a paper boy once.  And I appreciated all the change I could get. I always buy the big issue, then hand it back to them to resell.  I can't save the world. I don't want to either. But I can raise a smile. I love to smile. I only wish I could from the inside.

thanks for the cards ;)

Open Your Eyes to See Yourself

Eyes are two gifts to you. It is your choice what to see with them.
Your Voice is a gift to you. It is your choice what to say with it.
Thinking is a gift to you. It is your choice what thoughts to carry with you.

Life is a gift to you. It is your choice how to live.

The power of our gifts lies in our ability to give them

You have a gift that is waiting to be unwrapped inside you. If you begin to just open it, maybe somebody will one day find that they are alive because you shared with them the gift you found within you.

A Nursing Home "Gardener"

My daughter reminded me yesterday of a story that happened several years ago. I worked in a nursing home for several years and had kind of adopted one wing, where the residents had few guests/visitors, and stayed manily in their rooms or in the hallway outside there rooms. I went down on my breaks just to check in, to see if anyone needed or wanted a bit of extra TLC.  I gave them "flower" nicknames so I could share some of there stories with my kids without revealing there identities. The residents all knew I had nicknames for them. I called them my own private garden. One day I happened to overhear one of them say,  "I wonder if dandelion is coming today?"  "Of course, she always comes answered another."  I admit I wondered why they named me after a weed.  A few months after overhearing this one of my special ... Read Full Story >>

Email "Thanks" are Rare and Appreciated

   I have this great uncle who is up in his years and has been married to my aunt for over 60 years. These are two of my favorite people in the whole world!  My uncle is as bad as me when it comes to being on the computer. All day I get funny, not-so-funny, and interesting e-mails that I make sure I pass along to him. For each and every one, I know he is going to respond with a ''thank you.'' And each ''thank you'' says the same thing. He just wants to make sure that I know he appreciates the mail.  I think that's awesome because I don't always do that  mainly because I don't always feel it is necessary, but in his case, he does. I know he wont be around forever and someday I will miss his replies like I  miss the ones my dad use to send me.  Because of that, I have learned to cherish each  and every ''thank you'' from my  favorite uncle, taking nothing for granted!   :}

A Birthday Cake to Remember

   This story is not about something that I've done for someone else, but about something really nice that someone did for me. 

  On Monday, I had a monumental birthday, you know the kind where you look in the mirror and realize that you've gone over the hill and you are starting to walk a slow walk down the other side.  Well, anyway, I was sitting at my desk on Monday, when I heard the door of the office open and there stood everyone from the office with a big cake and singing happy birthday.  The best part is, that a very special person made the cake.  Knowing that I'm a big fan of peppermint patties, she made a chocolate cake with peppermint ice cream in the center and decorated it with more peppermint patties.  It was the best cake that I've every had!  It really meant a lot to me that someone would do something so nice.

    I'm very blessed to have the opportunity to work with such a wonderful group of people.  I will never forget this birthday.  It's amazing how good something like that can make you feel. 

Unexpectedly, Helping Prisoners

   A friend of mine is a priest of a church in the United Kingdom.  We exchange emails regularly and chat whenever possible. I am learning a lot from him about spirituality and life.
   He feels i am compassionate and caring. He visits prisoners regularly and a month ago hit upon an idea of me writing to these prisoners to make them feel better about life and their situations. would email my friend and he would read it to them. Today he has taken my  first letter with him.
   Well,  I would like to thank all of you because I have used some of your words and stories.  I will be writing about one topic for each visit. So please feel free to give me suggestions. 

Cheers  :-)