Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Being There for My Bosses

Today when I got to work  I was met by both of my bosses in my office. I thought, oh oh, something is up.

Well  it wasn't what I thought at all. They both wanted me to know that they weren't feeling well. One had a back ache and the other was running a fever. They said they were here because they had to be, but tomorrow they would probably stay home sick.  They were both supposed to work tonight from 6:30-9pm because of religious education classes going on in the school.  I said, "Why don't you let me come back tonight and cover the office for you." They said, "You wouldn't mind?" I said, "I would love to do this for you and this way you can get to bed early and really feel better by Thursday. "

So that's where I will be tonight, covering the office for my bosses!  I feel great to be able to do this for them and hope they are feeling better soon. Smile and be there for someone in need!  They may be there for you some day.

Measuring Success with a Smile

  While traveling for my documentary project, HEAR US, I pulled up to a busy Phoenix intersection and stopped at a red light. An obviously homeless man began crossing in front of our paused vehicles. I was first in line and was completely preoccupied with the reality that I couldn't find my 1:00 appointment at the nearby (or so I thought) shelter. He turned toward me, pointing to the corners of his mouth, made a universally understood motion to indicate "SMILE" and stood and stared at me.  With a snicker of someone who had been caught being overly pensive, I flashed a smile, which he recognized as sufficient to trust I'd hold that thought, and he moved on to the vehicle next to me, repeating his motions. They needed a little help, so our Mr. Smiley pointed up to the sky, circling his finger in a "divine" gesture, then stretched out his arms ... Read Full Story >>

A Wait, A Line, A Gesture

I received a nice random act of kindness yesterday.  I went across the street to get myself a drink and some dessert for lunch.  There was an older man standing in line waiting to buy some lottery tickets and some other things.  He saw me and how I was dressed and said to the cashier, "Why don't you help this nice young lady first, she looks like she needs to go to work."  I thought it was so sweet and I gave him the biggest smile and told him how much I appreciated it.  It really is the small things in life.  And because of that I want to pass it on even more. 

Anonymous Sodas for Co-workers

 I received my first delivery of smile cards in the mail yesterday and today I used my first one. At work, there's just a refrigerator full of sodas and a cash box for people to pay 40 cents per can (we don't have a vending machine). So I taped 40 cents to the smile card and put the card on top of the cash box, so the next person to put his or her money in will find it.

A Bank That Pays-It-Forward

You think everyone would have something they dislike about their job - with the notable exception of the people at State Bank and Trust in Fargo, N.D., CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman reports. "What do you hate about this company?" Hartman asked some workers. One said: "I haven't found anything yet." Another: "No, this is a good place to work? "What do I hate about management? They're just too nice!" One worker said. Another worker said, "They care about their employees." The conclusion: Take this job and love it! Another worker's reaction to Hartman's question, what do you hate about working here, was: "I have to go home." State Bank chief operating officer Michael Solberg said, "That's our mission statement: happy employees, happy customer." What, is this McDonalds? To accomplish the company's mission, Solberg says the bank gives a year-end bonus of about 5 percent of salary. They contribute 15 percent of salary to the 401-K, and do a full ... Read Full Story >>

From a Village to Google, on a WheelChair!

Naga Naresh Karutura has just passed out of IIT Madras in Computer Science and has joined Google in Bangalore. You may ask, what’s so special about this 21-year-old when there are hundreds of students passing out from various IITs and joining big companies like Google? Naresh is special. His parents are illiterate. He has no legs and moves around in his powered wheel chair. (In fact, when I could not locate his lab, he told me over the mobile phone, ‘I will come and pick you up’. And in no time, he was there to guide me) Ever smiling, optimistic and full of spirit; that is Naresh. He says, “God has always been planning things for me. That is why I feel I am lucky.” Read why Naresh feels he is lucky. Childhood in a village I spent the first seven years of my life in Teeparru, a small village in Andhra Pradesh, on the banks ... Read Full Story >>

Save the Environment while Grocery Shopping!

I am a big conservationist and believe it is our responsibility, as stewards of this earth, to cut down on pollution, excess consumption, ravaging of natural resources, etc. I  try to do my part every day and one way is by refusing to use plastic bags at stores, especially grocery ones. I have my own recycled ones I bring and if not enough, then I ask for paper bags and use them as garbage bags.

When I was out at Whole Foods buying some organic items, I decided to buy several recycled bags and have the cashier or bagger gift them to others in line along with a smile card. At first, the cashier did not understand when I told her what I was doing, why and that I was a member of HelpOthers.  However, the bagger was very receptive, smiling and said, "How cool- sure we'll pick out some people and give them the bag and the card."

I was pleased as it will be DOUBLE RAOK's -- one for the environment and one for the recipient of the recycled bags who can re-use them every time they go shopping like me!

Delivering Newspapers and Smiling in the Rain

On my way to mail 20 envelopes of smile cards (what a great way to start the day :-)  I saw that many of our neighbors' newspapers were wrapped in blue plastic because of the rain and were left at the end of their driveways near the street.  I always bring in our paper for my husband so when I went out that morning I thought it would be nice for them if they didn't have to walk outside in the beastly rain to get the paper.   I went around and put each of my neighbors' papers on their front doorsteps! 

A small thing, but they will never know that it was me! :-)
I left for work with a big smile on my face!

My Daughter's 19th Birthday With a Twist

For my daughter's 19th birthday in December, we bought her tickets to go and see Linkin Park, as they were playing in our city in the UK.  We didn't really have the money but we knew how much this band meant to her, and she'd seen them years earlier with her Dad. The night before she was like a kid at Christmas, all pink cheeked, shiny eyed and giddy with aniticipation. Every so often she got up and came to sit with us, because she couldn't sleep.  On the night  of the concert it was good to see her so happy and excited, as she and her boyfriend set off. Needless to say when they returned after midnight , with t-shirts, a programme and lots of video and pictures of the band, listening to her gushing about how fantastic they had been, we knew that the money had been well spent. This will ... Read Full Story >>

A Child, a Bicycle and a Stray Dog

In South Africa we daily learn  how to trust other racial groups. This is an amazing experience in itself, to understand the one-ness despite the different colours. Leaving my mom's home on Sunday I saw some kids standing in the street, looking intently to the direction I was coming from. Something seemed wrong. Not sure what was happening, I stopped and wound down the window. A teenage girl peeped in and said: "My brother was riding his bicycle and was chased by that stray dog. He is dead scared of dogs, and just climbed over someone's wall to get away." I looked back and saw the dog. A big, brown creature clearly belonging somewhere else, but not in a street where kids play and drive their bicycles. "Get in," I said, "and show me where your brother is".   In hopped three kids and we drove up the street to where a young boy ... Read Full Story >>

Smiley Balloons

While I was out shopping for some cool birthday candles for a friend I came across some SMILEY BALLOONS! 

Big, bright, yellow smiley faces that I can blow up into gigantic balloons and share with others.  I am making my plans, pulling out smile quotes, deciding who will be my kindness recipients.

I am also going to go to the Hobby store and buy some small rocks and add a smile face (an idea from this site!).  It seems with the cold, gray skies, a new year beginning, etc that many people are in a slump, have the blues or are depressed. My plan is to bring cheer, smiles, upliftment, and surprise with gifted smiley baloons, smile quotes and more!

Can you believe I found the smiley balloons in the cooking section at Safeway?  SMILING, ALL THE MORE! 

My Inspiration To Give

I went to a Catholic Mission Hospital in Ghana one day, to visit a friend who was a Priest, and medical doctor but was off duty then. On reaching at the hospital gate, there was this woman who seemed to have traveled from the far away village to send her sick girl to the hospital. And the girl was actually dying, so pile, with bulged eyes, and flies were all over her body. Also, the mother of this girl who looked so shabbily and tattered could not do anything but to see her poor girl dying on her own laps, since the nurses on duty would not offer her the necessary help, perhaps due to her poverty. From the hospital gate, the shouts for help from this poor woman drew my attention, so I approached her, took the sick girl from her laps and sent her straight to the consulting room to see ... Read Full Story >>

From My Home To Their Lunch Hour

I am lucky enough to live close enough to my office that I can go home for lunch. My two girlfriends at work can't leave their desks during the lunch hour and usually bring their lunches to work each day.

When I return back to work after lunch, I usually bring a little treat for them from home.  Whether it is an orange, pretzels, or cookies and sometimes even warm tea!  They never expect me to do this, but have really big smiles on their faces when I bring exactly what they're craving!

I love to make them smile and to share what yummies I have at home.

The Battle For Change

I am a New Yorker, born, raised and residing.  We know how much money beggers make a day.  One begger can get about a dollar per 20 people who pass, either in the form of a dollar or in change from several people.  In New York, you can easily get a minimum of 500 people within a 2 hour period passing you.  That is basically 40 dollars every 2 hours.  The number rises if you're in front of a restaurant , a really busy street, or in the subway. Do the math and you can see beggers make more money begging in a day than some people with jobs. I never give money to people -- never.  But last night around 3 am,  I stopped at a Mc Donalds in Harlem to use the bathroom.  I saw him in the door waiting for me to head over to him so he could open the door ... Read Full Story >>

Children Teaching Kindness in School

We have only just started our Kind Act Campaign and we already are figuring out ways to expand it. The student council wants everyone in the school in on it. They wanted to keep track of the good deeds too, and maybe hang them up.  Recently Children for Children Inc sent students in the NYC schools  seeds to plant so they can grow them and use them in a volunteering act in the spring. At their site I found pay it forward cards. Well now the students are going classroom to classroom teaching the students how to use them. They want to collect them and decorate the main floor with them. Card holder does a kind act and gives card to person, that person does one and gives it their person, it goes on until card is filled(5 altogether). The last person gives the card back to the beginning person. They can ... Read Full Story >>

A Cookie and a "Pearl" in the Hair Salon

I get my haircut about twice a year, so scheduling an appointment is a big deal for me. The woman who cuts my hair is a real sweetie and is more like a therapist for everyone who walks in the door!.  It always amazes me that even though I see her infrequently, she remembers everything about me.  I had called to make an appointment and found that everything was booked. Well, to my great surprise a few evenings later she called me at home to tell me that someone had cancelled and I could come in.  Sp. I made a mental note to bring something special for her when I went for my haircut. The day of the appointment there was a tremendous storm.  As I was leaving work, I picked up a hot chocolate and an extra large chocolate cookie to give my hairstylist. I thought it would be a perfect pick-me-up ... Read Full Story >>

You Changed My Life

My husband and I are lucky to have landed together in a new country just a month ago. We were sort of afraid about what's in store for us. When we landed at the airport, a tall man with smiling eyes greeted us. The days and months were somehow made easy for us by this kind man. He greeted us everyday with his smiling face. He accompanied us in going to the bank, in buying our groceries, in telling us where to buy paint, where the coffee shop is, where to have key duplication, where to buy almost everything. He told us he is our big brother. Twice, we watched the match in a coffee shop. During the first get together, we saw how his eyes beamed in happiness. He told us that we're lucky - my husband and I are together in this foreign land.  He said he has been ... Read Full Story >>

A Knitting Kit for Someone Who Lost Everything

A few of my friends and I belong to a knitting and crochet group.  Recently one of the older members had a fire in her house and lost everything. I went home and dug out an extra knitting bag filled it with needles and notions and passed it on to her through another member of our group. 

After a month of not seeing her,  Marcia came back to our group and gave me the biggest hug.  She said she couldn't believe that I had given her the bag and needles.  At the meeting she stocked up on yarn and was happy  to be getting  back to making things again.   I  know she has lost so much, but it  was nice to see her happy about something that she loves and enjoys doing. 

Sharing A Batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love baking. I also love being healthy. So, I obviously can't eat everything I bake! Well, with this cold snap, I thought it would be worth it to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

What did I decide to do with them?  Mail them to friends and relatives who could use the cheer, of course!

I heard of a friend in a custody battle for his son. A box of cookies on the way to him. My snowbound aunt and uncle? Box of cookies for them! A girl at church who just broke up with her boyfriend? Who deserves cookies more? When I ran out of people to send them to, I piled the rest on a plate and took them to the apartment clubhouse office.

A couple of the brown paper packages have already arrived and some have called me crying, saying how much it meant to them.   My first batch of smile cards is on the way, so next time, I'll have a little something extra to add to those packages!

Purple Bag Full of Cheer

I received a call from my landlord about 2 weeks ago asking if I would talk to her friend.  Her friend had just undergone a masectomy and was feeling low and overwhelmed.  Since I have cancer also, she thought I could cheer her up.

I got a bright cheery purple bag with flowers and a bear on it.  I put inspirational books from Dave Drevecky's website in the bag (he is amazing!), some lotion (nothing makes you feel better than a backrub!) and some places to help her out during this time.  I talked to her and told her some days will be great, some days you  just want to hide.  Its great because she is now my friend too!