Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Will That Lady Be On The News?

When I was about four or five, I was walking down the street with my Mum one day.  Ahead of us, an elderly lady was walking slowly when suddenly she tripped and fell off the curb and couldn't get up. My Mum made a call to an ambulance to come help her and we waited with the old lady until they arrived. She thanked my Mum and we continued walking. I turned to my mother and asked, "Will that lady be on the news? Will you be on the news for helping her?" My Mum explained to me that people fell down a lot and that it wasn't the sort of thing that appears on the news. She also explained that no one from the news was there to see it. She asked me if I understood, and I said yes, but I didn't! That night I remeber watching the news and all I saw was a man-in-a-suit talking.  I asked my Mum,"Is this man more ... Read Full Story >>

A Helping Hand, And Sore Shins!

Two years ago we took the kids to see a pantomime (Christmas show) at a local theatre. It's only a little place and the balconies are piled high on top of each other so that you are practically hanging over the stage. Great fun! Anyway, there is an elevator but it stops short of the highest two balconies and the stairs are tight and steep. Once the show was over we all headed out. Of course everyone else was also trying to get out so it was really crowded. At the top of the stairs stood a mother with a teenage boy in a wheelchair. She seemed upset, insisting the theatre staff had assured her they would have someone there to help her and her son down to the elevator level. I offered to help and picked her son up in my arms while she followed with the folded down wheelchair. All the ... Read Full Story >>

Only a Phone Call Away

Serving as a Moderator for an online IH (intracranial hypertension) support group has allowed me to share my knowledge and experience of living with IH with others. The group is predominantly American, and I have to say, the most caring and friendly people I've ever spoken to and one day hope to meet.

Recently some British members have joined the group, many of whom have recently been diagnosed and are finding it hard to get to grips with their IH. I've been lucky enough to get to know these members and have empathised entirely with their situations and feelings. So much so that I gave them both my home number and mobile number, in case they should ever need a shoulder, or just a friend to listen.

We often text now too and I would like to think I've taken some of their feeling of being isolated away from them -- they now know that I'm merely a phone call away. How fantastic are these technologies, when they give you the opportunity to be able to connect with people, and know that you are not only helping them in some way, but you are also helping yourself too by becoming a better person.

Offering the Gift of My Skills

I am a professor at a local community college.  Many of the professors here have been around for a long time--20+ years or more.  Currently the latest venue for college classes is the hybrid and online course.  Although I am 43, I am very technology savvy.  I learned the software for online courses very easily, but that wasn't the case for my counterparts.  Yesterday, on my day off, I had invited one of my colleagues to come to my house and worked with her to place her course online.  Well, since then, word has gotten out, and now I have others coming to my house for help rather than going to the "classes" set up for faculty by the college!  I am thrilled that what comes easily to me can help someone else.  That is the joy of teaching!

Signal to Help a New Mom

While shopping at my local Walmart  I noticed a young girl ahead of me.  She had with her what looked like a newborn infant in the cart along with diapers, formula, and other food items.  This young mother wasn't the average mom shopping at Walmart.  The pierced nose and tongue might have discouraged others from helping her.   The cashier rung up her items and the girl gave the cashier her credit card.  The credit card was declined and the girl looked at the cashier embarassed and horrified.  The cashier gave the girl the option of keeping her items in the cart while  the girl went to get the necessary money.  I wasn't sure if this was the person I was supposed to help, after all there seemed to be a lot of stuff in her cart, and I am a single parent myself.  The girl left, supposedly to go get ... Read Full Story >>

Turning My Giving Up a Notch

This week I decided to up the smile-card notch a bit.  I usually affix a $1 dollar bill to a smile card prior to tagging the recipient, but this week, I felt moved to increase the monetary value and see if that increased the value of good feelings that arose within me when I give! On my way home from work, I cruised up the onramp to 880 South and looked for the homeless man who stands alongside the cars right before the traffic signal.  There he was.  I rolled down my window, connected with the eyes of this middle-aged latino man, and handed him a $5 dollar bill.  Then, in the middle of the week during lunchtime, as I was leaving Le Boulangerie Cafe in downtown San Jose, I headed back to my car to go back to the office.  However, when I saw anti-war sentiments smacked onto a neighbhoring car in the form of two bumper stickers, I felt compelled to express my resonance with this driver's thoughts through a tag.  Making sure the coast was clear and the driver was nowhere in sight, I took ... Read Full Story >>

Need A Jump?

Not sure if its the cold weather or what but there have been quite a few cars and trucks that have had dead batteries lately including my hubby and his truck.

While leaving the parking lot the other day, I noticed a gentleman who could not start his car.  I have jumper cables in the trunk so I stopeped and asked, "Need a Jump?"

'Definitely!", he replied.  "OK", I said as I pulled up next to his car and popped open the trunk.  Then I told him, "You will have to help me to set up and charge. I carry the jumper cables just in case, but I'm not comfortable hooking them up to the battery."

It feels so good to be able to help someone out in their moment of need.

A Sure Hand on Slippery Stairs

   This is a very small act of kindness that I wanted to share.    We went to a Bach concert on Saturday night and a bus full of elderly people were entering the building the same time as we were. The building was an old church and it was a cold, rainy night, so the steps to the door were slippery. One of the elderly men was clearly having trouble and we waited patiently as he tried to navigate the steps, with no success. He appeared to be a proud man, not wanting help, and determined to find his own way. There was a lot of confusion and the line behind us was increasing.    My first thought was to try to go around him just to get out of his way. Just as I was next to him, he reached his hand out to try to find the ... Read Full Story >>

A Glass of Water, Just When I Needed It

Today we hear of so many people who are NOT kind-- let me tell you how I was a recipient  of genuine kindness!  I was in Sam's Club, a wholesale store, doing my shopping.  Each weekend this store has carts in the aisles with food samples and an attendent at each cart.  While shopping, I stopped to sample some food, said thank you, and then began hiccupping!  I said "excuse me" and continued down the next aisle to shop, hiccupping as I went along.   About 5 minutes later, the cart attendent came up to me and gave me a glass of water after hunting me down in the store!  I was taken by complete surprise!  I thanked the lady profusely and have never forgotten her unexpected kindness!

A Call to Open our Hearts to those Near and Far

I sent this out in an email a few days ago and thought it would be nice to spread the blessings on this site as well because just one small shift in our thinking each day can make a worldly difference in our daily lives and the lives of others...    Heavenly Father, help us to remember that the rude lady who cut us off in traffic today is a single mother who just worked nine hours and is rushing home to cook dinner, do the laundry, help her children with homework, and spend a few precious moments with them before she tucks them in at night. Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year- old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester. Remind us, that the scary -looking bum, begging for money in the ... Read Full Story >>

Losing My Fear of Having Enough

I was moved after reading a story on this site about Adam's day in New York. I commented how it's so easy for me to spend $1.50 on soda every day (or more!), but when I walk by homeless people, somehow I fear that if I start to give them money, I won't have enough. Well today, somehow that fear was lifted. This was not planned, but I had put $3 in my pocket this morning for sodas (it's Friday after all :-) and never got to the place where I buy them. Then, as I was walking to the train, I saw a homeless man ahead and remembered that I had money I could give. So, I took out one of the dollar bills and gave it to him. I continued walking and came across another one of the regulars who hangs around at the same time and gave him ... Read Full Story >>

Giving a Jacket, Receiving One

   Some years ago, a guy in the subway was begging so I asked him if he needed clothes and he said yes. He told me to meet him the following week in exactly the same spot with my donation. I did, and I gave him a jacket which I happened to like but knew I could replace, and some pants. He thanked me and I was on my way.

   Within less than a week, I walked past someone I knew and he asked me if I wanted a jacket he was getting rid of. It turned out to be better for me than the one I gave away, and it was exactly my size. I accepted it. This is one of many similar situations in my life where an act of selflessness generated an unexpected return of the same type of object I had given away. The most important lesson I've learned from these experiences would be that giving when I'm actually feeling generous produces some sort of "pat on the back" from a spirit or whatever, whereas giving with a feeling of being obligated really never seemed to have the same effect.

A Trunk Full of Baby Stuff

At work we are collecting Baby Clothing for a month to donate these items to an organization that supports women in poverty.  They also teach these women how to dress and prepare for interviews so that they can get jobs to support themselves and their babies.  They collect women's clothing also (suits, business clothes) so they can dress appropriately for the interviews.

So far we have delivered a trunk full of baby items and the baskets are getting filled again.  People are so generous with the cutest baby items ever! The nice thing about this collection is that people can donate anything big or small from beautiful clothing and receiving blankets to a pacifier or bib.  Everyone can participate because they can spend what they can afford.

It's really makes me feel good to see all of the nice items that these moms will be able to have for their little ones, which they would never have otherwise been able to afford.

On the Way to a Job Interview

[A letter to Abby, in her column last week.] Dear Abby: Please let the world know that kind people still exist. I was on my way to two job interviews. Not surprisingly, I was nervous, so before I got off my train, I took my phone out to check the directions to the first one. A short walk later, I reached the subway, but when I went into my purse for my wallet to buy a MetroCard, lo and behold, my wallet and new glasses were missing. I retraced my steps and ran to the courtesy counter to ask if anyone had turned in my wallet and glass case. The woman in the booth told me the train was still in the station and to hurry there immediately to check for my things. Long story short, no luck. Heartbroken, I returned to the courtesy desk. Not only would I miss ... Read Full Story >>

Mel's Going Away Gift

Several years ago, I was promoted to supervisor.  I was so excited  about being promoted, but little did I know, more importantly, how many valuable life lessons I would learn while in this position.  Early on, I was short-handed and needed another staff member.  Management  and my senior staff joined me in interviewing the candidates and after much deliberation and voting, we hired a guy called Melvin -- or Mel as he liked to be called.  He was a character of sorts -- a retired cop, thick skinned, street smart, tough and rough around the edges.  Mel had much experience in the real world, but I wasn't sure he would be a good fit for the group or the company.  When Mel first joined our team, he teased us relentlessly, cussed up a storm and was loud and aggressive, but after some time we all got used to him and realized that he actually added ... Read Full Story >>

Being Cool and Caring

   My friend Alison has a two year old daughter. One day she decided to take her daughter to the local park, but when she got there she discovered it was already occupied by a group of teenagers all dressed in Goth style. Alison felt a little on edge and she kept her little one closer to her than she might otherwise have.    The boys, in their big boots, chains and black t-shirts started acting up, trying to impress the girls.        One lad, the youngest of the bunch, slipped and fell off the roundabout, badly gashing his arm. Alison started up to help, but immediately the boy put on a tough act for his mates. He laughed, even though his face had turned ashen.    A girl, a couple of years older than the boy, sauntered over. She was vamping it up big style and gorgeous in a dramatic sort of way.    Alison waited ... Read Full Story >>

The Karma Bus

A few weeks ago I missed my bus (actually the driver wasn't paying attention and drove past me!).  It was really cold that day, so I went to this little diner a block from my bus stop while I waited for the next one.  There was only one slight problem: besides my bus money I had a whole 35 cents on me and they didn't take credit cards.  The waitress was super-nice and offered to buy me a cup of coffee, and we chatted a little while I was waiting.

A week later I missed the bus again, but this time I had money so when I went to the diner and ordered some breakfast.  I was able to leave that same waitress a 100% tip.

I figured that was that.  However, after I got onto the bus, this couple got on.  They wanted 2 day passes, but were short fifteen cents and while the woman was digging for more change that she didn't have, the machine spit out only one ride pass.  They sat down behind me and were lamenting on how one of them would get home that night, so I gave them the money they would need.

I'm really glad I missed my bus that day.

A Routine Filled With Good Deeds

Last week I was so busy helping others! I have worked on organizing two speakers for public programs, a program in a nursing home, a fundraising dinner/silent auction to benefit the restoration of a Civil War monument, an annual conference for an organization I belong to, and a Valentine Contest for a kids group to which I belong. Wow! It's been a non-stop week. I have saved soup labels for one person, boxtops for education for another person (mailed her about 150 boxtops this week), and saved used postage stamps for somebody who gives them to the DAR for the VA hospital. These are the mundane things that are done routinely and sometimes we overlook the good deeds that are "common place" but nevertheless, these are important to the people we help out! Oh, yes, I almost forgot, I did list some items on FreeCycle for others to have and even contacted ... Read Full Story >>

The Prague Gypsy

My wife and I visited Prague in the Czech Republic a while back. What a beautiful and atmospheric city! New tower blocks stand next to buildings which still bear bullet marks from the Nazi occupation and they stand next to medieval cathedrals. The place just oozes history! I would go back in a heartbeat! The Czech Republic has a big problem with the Roma people (Gypsys), or perhaps the Roma have a problem with the Czech Republic. They are the poorest of the poor and live in the worst parts of town. Julie and I had been out all day and were wandering through some cobbled backstreets on our way back to the hotel when I saw a dirty, ragged Roma man playing a penny whistle (badly). Coming closer I saw a woman, who must have been his wife, sitting on the pavement with a baby in a shawl and a boy, ... Read Full Story >>

From the Bottom of My Heart...

I'm so glad I found this website.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm sure. You people have brought so much joy to my life, it's hard to describe it.  I'm  sure you ALL feel the same way. From Christmas, to brownies, puppies, kitties, ancestry,  quarters, coffee, thank you cards, "oranges", dollar bills, grief, sorrow, prison stories, war stories, charity, church, help on the road, RAK's, third world countries, gratitude, attitude, bubbling happiness, jokes of the day and just plain old hilaroius stories, from here to there, we have seen so much go on in our little world here on Help Others and in the big wide world around us. For all your stories, short, sweet, serious, profound, funny, sad, long and much needed, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I have learned that I have so very much for which to be thankful.  A roof over my head ... Read Full Story >>