Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Unforgettable Hug at Orange County Jail

I volunteer for Orange County Jail's "Lights On" project on Saturday nights -- in a RV, from 11PM to 4AM, we provide a safe space for released prisoners until they find a ride home.  Of the many interesting stories I've heard, a particular story of 50 year old prisoner really touched me. After his last stay in jail, this 50 years old guy was homeless. He did have a family member and a friend that would let him sleep over sometimes, but on this particular night, he decided to come back and hang out with us in the RV. He told us how he has "anger issues".  He'd got into fights over "petty things", he'd been a small-time burglar, he'd been arrested for being under the influence while driving or being in public places. .  He'd been a small time burglar and had been in and out of incarceration for a lot ... Read Full Story >>

Hand in Hand on a Stormy Night

The train was not working that night as I was heading home.  I had to catch a bus and 2 hours later was dropped off in the middle of the town I was staying in.  The ice storm froze the ground and it was very difficult to walk.  I asked three people for directions, but they were too hurried to help.

Then I saw an old lady holding onto the corner post with her packages, afraid to move.  I asked her where she was going and it was at least 3  miles away.  I tried to find a cab or police car but I was told they do not stop in this neighborhood.

So, we proceeded to walk along, holding onto each other for dear life.  The roads were layered with a sheet of ice.  Then and there I decided that I could not leave this old lady alone like this.  So, I decided to walk her home, hand in hand, for a good 2 hours.  Later that evening, I finally reached my destination  wet and exhausted but filled with joy and love for life.

The Perfect Cup of Tea

It's the small things in life that count in this world - really!  Those small gestures of love that let people know we care.  I am a waitress for a semi-fine dining restaurant.  One day, I was serving a Christmas party and some of the people were fairly well-off financially and a bit "hoity-toity" (official term).  When taking the coffee and tea order BEFORE the desserts came out, one woman said to me, "I like my tea WITH my dessert - not after or before."  I told her that I would do my best!  What she didn't seem to take into consideration was that I had to walk the whole length of the restaurant, up a flight of stairs and then the distance to her from the stairs with 16 desserts.  I was getting the coffee and tea ready beforehand so that it wasn't delayed.  It was not going to ... Read Full Story >>

Looking Out for Each Other

I want to share an incident that happened to me today and want to post this story as a "Thank You" token to the gentleman who helped me. I am a mother of two small kids, working full time and on top of trying to manage our retail business. In short, I am always running around trying to keep our life organized and get everything done on time. Today my son had a luncheon program at school and I had to take beverages from home for the event. As usual, I was running late and went to the nearest Kroger to pick up some juice.  I was running around in such a hurry that I forgot my purse in the shopping basket as I was leaving the store. My purse had everything you can imagine inside including my cell phone, camera, kids' social security cards, driving license, etc and I had ... Read Full Story >>

Helping a Friend in Need

I have a friend who owns a coffee shop.  She has until Dec. 31 to pay some kind of tax to our city totalling $1,400 dollars. 

I felt so bad for her.  Owning her own coffee shop has always been Kim's dream.  In fact I still vividly remember the day she opened up her shop 3 years ago.  Nobody could have wiped the smile off her face!

I am an artist and have a card rack in her shop.  I told her to put a large sign on top of the rack saying, "Buy cards, all proceeds go to help Barefoot Annie's Coffee Shop."

Helping someone is the best feeling!

The Mystery Gardener

Sometime back our lawn mower broke down beyond repair. We got someone to mow the lawn for us from time to time but that was getting a little costly.  Then a young boy used to come down to our house every so often to do some odd jobs to save up for a bike, so we gave him the job of mowing the lawn with his mum's permission & lawn mower!  But, being young, the boy had more interesting things to do, especially after he saved up enough money to buy himself a new bike!  

As the days went on, our lawn was getting longer & longer, even with the drought. The other day I went out to the front garden & I couldn't believe my eyes -- the lawn had been mowed!  I reckoned it was our kindly neighbour, but when my hubby went to thank him, he said it wasn't me.  So, it remains a mystery who was behind this anonymous act of kindness. I truly love those kinds of mysteries...

To all of you mystery helpers around the globe, bless you with love, joy, peace & everything else.

Late Night Encounter in a Dark Alleyway

I don`t know whether I'm brave or stupid, but I always catch myself in spontaneous wild tales and last night didn`t skip a beat. On Wednesday, I was out watching a great movie which finished at 1am. I wandered home by foot because I took a taxi to the theatre and buses don't ruin nightly in this part of the world.  I live in a secure neighbourhood but there's a long dark dark dark desolate cobbled road going towards the neighbourhood. As I was toodling through, I noticed something in the bushes ahead of me.  I instinctly grabbed my pen (weapon..haha how ironic!)  BAM!  I got tossled over by a tipsy ole` feller who had one-too-many to drink and was asking for my money and clothes.  I started to laugh as he had my foot pinned to the dirty bumpy gravelled road. He got up and was yelling a bunch ... Read Full Story >>

The Joy of Giving

On the way to college this morning, I was very disturbed by something that nearly stopped me from going to school.  As I stood by the road side to take my car to college, I met two young boys who were crying. I drew near to them to ask them what was wrong.

One of them told me that as they left the house for school, they realised that the money their parents had given to them for transportation and food had gone missing.  This made them cry because their parents would not be able to give them more money for the day.

I must confess, I was really touched by their story.  I gave them money for their food and also for their trasportation to school.  To my amazement, after doing this act of kindness, I experienced great peace and joy in my soul that helped me to release the stress I was experiencing that day.

Just a Phone Call Away

We were out shopping and as we were entering the store there was a young mother with a crying baby looking out over the parking lot.  I smiled and said, "Did you forget where you parked?"  "No," she replied, "My husband went to get a diaper and I need a bottle as well."  

It was pouring down rain and we asked if he had a cell phone with him.  "Yeah!" she said.   We handed her our cell phone and she called her husband and asked him to please bring the baby a bottle when he came back.  Later on, we happened to see them in the store with the baby drinking his bottle and Mom happily telling Dad that's the couple that helped us with a phone.

Struggling to Make Ends Meet

While I was shopping at the Family Dollar Store I noticed a young mother with her daughter struggling to pick out items she needed because she counting money in her hand.  She got behind me at the check-out counter.  As I began to pay for my items, she began to put a few items back after realising she did not have enough money left in her hand.  She had shampoo and I saw her put the conditioner back.  The lady looked like she hadn't bathed in weeks and her child was also really dirty.  

My heart really went out for this poor lady and her child.  I paid for my items and then I passed the clerk a $10.00  bill and a smile card.  I told her to wait until I left the store and then to give the money and the smile card to the girl behind me.  I hope I made a difference in a small way.

Goodies for the Children

Lately it seems I never have enough time to get everything done. I recently found out however that a lot of local children get three meals a day but but nothing more because their parents cannot afford treats, such as cookies. So, I decided to hold a baking workshop. This workshop was for children ages four to 16. - sixteen. I offered it free of charge of course and got them to make LOTS of different cookies and desserts, complete with icing and sprinkles and cherries of course!) We spent all day baking. A lot of their mother's also helped out. When we were finished each child -- there were 14 in all -- got to fill an ice cream bucket with goodies. All the left overs were donated to a local church bake sales. We all had a blast and I have promised to do this again next year. I can't wait, it was soooo much fun!

The Gift Of Listening

Last week, as usual, a friend of mine was having trouble with one of her children. I listen each week to her woes and try to support her anyway I can.  Many have turned away from her saying she is like a broken record with most conversations centered around this child and the new drama caused.

Though I do not have children myself, I put myself in her shoes knowing that if I had a wayward adult child who was so unreliable, always needed assistance and getting into trouble, I would want at least a few true friends to comfort, advise and just plain offer "ears" to listen....

I heard somewhere that even sharing or talking about your burden with a loved one or friend, lessens it..  That is what I hope I am doing. What comes around, goes around and a sympathetic listener is a great act of kindness to share.

An Unexpected Tip from an Unlikely Customer

This happened to me years ago when I was a waitress, but I still remember this specific incident so vividly. As the end of the night was approaching, fifteen minutes before our restaurant closed, a gentleman came in.  I was the unfortunate waitress who got to stay after closing to take his order and serve him his food. The customer was impeccably difficult was quite openly upset with how his food was prepared, slightly overdone, perhaps a medium rare when he had requested rare. He sent his order back twice. When it eventually arrived to his liking, he needed a pot of coffee brewed fresh. Meanwhile, my managers and our cooks were breathing down my neck, as they wanted the last customer of the day to finally leave so that we could close up shop and go home.   At this point I was frustrated and tired. I had stayed 45 ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness is Contagious

Today my mom called and said how sad it was when people seem to avoid or ignore people in wheelchairs. While at the grocery store she saw a young gentleman in a electric wheelchair looking around trying to make eye contact with somebody. My mother said many ignored the man and didn't seem to want to look at him.
She walked over to him and asked if she could help him with anything and apparently he couldn't reach something down on the very bottom shelf. My mom asked what had happened to him and he said a car accident had left him paralyzed from the waist down. After a little bit of chatting, mom continued her own shopping.
At the checkout counter she saw the man pushing his cart from the wheel chair to the line. A women who had witnessed my mom and what she had done continued the kindness and put all his groceries on the conveyor and another person saw that and put everything in a bag for him. How cool is that.

The Long Life of a Short Friendship

My son's day care provider experienced a tragic sudden death of a friend. She had just met this fellow and had sensed a deep connection before dropping him off at his car. He had a car accident that night, and was killed. Deeply moved by the sadness that my friend was experiencing, I was compelled to write her some comforting words about being able to see the positives of how her friend had influenced her life and suggested that he possibly came to her as an angel of change for her life. This trajedy, impacted her deeply and encouraged her to reevaluate her life, as tragedy often does. I encouraged her to look past the normal conditionings that would have us concentrate on the drama of a trajedy and suggested she instead reflect on the positive message this friend's life gave her and the people around her. This approach would ... Read Full Story >>

Withdrawing Kindness

Whenever I withdraw cash from any ATM machine, I put a smile card along with a gift certificate to a local restaurant or a coupon in the slot.  I watch the driver of the next car pull up through my rear view mirror and you should see their faces light up!

Teaching My Child a Lesson in Giving

We were at my son's elementary school helping out at their annual fundraising event. In the course of the evening, somehow my family ended up winning not one, not two, but THREE separate raffles! We were so surprised! Since I had given the raffle ticket money to my son in order to purchase the raffle tickets, I decided that this would be an excellent opportunity for him to learn the joy of doing a kind act and handing out a smile card to someone. The family at the table next to ours had been there all evening.  They had purchased many more raffle tickets than we had, and, of course, they hadn't won any of the raffles. So, I let my son pick one of the prizes that we had won -- all were gift cards for restaurants that he liked, by the way. After deliberating a long time (he's an only ... Read Full Story >>

Crossing a Path with a Purpose

I was having one of those days where I felt like I was just going through the motions... tired, a bit bored, nothing on the agenda but work to be done.  I was in my car returning home from picking up lunch, and saw a woman standing with a sign at the intersection.  I could only make out two parts of the sign: the top said "Happy Holidays" and the bottom said "Help". At first, I just felt my spirits sink further, which was the last thing I wanted to feel. I watched her walk slowly by each of the cars. I realized that I had an extra piece of bread in the meal I had just purchased. I waited for her to approach my car, wondering if the light would stay red long enough for me to offer her my bread. The woman in the car in front of ... Read Full Story >>

Low on Money but ...

Well when I first came to this website, I didn't grasp why people were telling about their random acts of kindness. As I got to know some of you better I realized this is a group of very lovely people. Anyway I dont frequent drive-thrus very often, since my husband is away money is very tight. But this morning after putting $30 dollars worth of gas in my truck on my way to work, I had $13 left and decided I would treat myself to coffee and a sandwich at Dunkin Donuts. When going through the drive-thru all you lovelies came into my head and I decided to pay for the lady behind me. I could see her. I had no idea what she had ordered but I had plenty of gas for the week and ... Read Full Story >>

Biker Dude At The Grocery Store

The other day I was shopping with my four-year-old son, Jacob.   We had been in the store quite a while, so his patience was already wearing thin when I mentioned that I had forgotten to get soup.  As I turned the cart around and headed down the soup aisle we saw the biggest, baldest, most bewildered looking biker dude staring at the cans.  I thought he might be threatening them to jump into his basket!  Like most children his age, Jacob is still learning to not shout out his observations about people in public.  As we approached the man, Jacob yelled, "He rides a motorcycle, I bet!  Do you think he looks mean?" I was mortified, but the biker smiled and won Jacob over with a high five.  The biker sheepishly asked if I could help him out.  There was a single mom with small children who lived next door ... Read Full Story >>