Stories of Kindness from Around the World

The True Meaning of Christmas

I recently donated my baby son's clothes, formula, etc. to a stranger who was expecting a baby. I even gave brand new outfits that I really loved- a little baby gown with a duck on it. The woman who is young (maybe 19 years old) has a partner who can't afford the $250 to fly into town to see his baby delivered.  Although I've never met this woman, it was really humbling to think about how many material things I have and how many things I take for granted in my life. Never fully appreciating my circumstances and the plenty in our lives - food, shelter, family, friends, etc. I saw how greedy I had become and how I needed to be grateful for what I have on this earth. The young woman did deliver her baby and I heard that the baby went home with the duck gown as his first baby ... Read Full Story >>

Lighting Up the World

Someone sent me a verse that really stood out for me as something that could lighten up my life as well as other's lives. I have a cleaning business. On this particular day, I was doing my volunteer cleaning for an organization that finds mentors for children who are between homes. I love to sing while I clean, so I put it to music and sang variations of this for about 5 hours straight with the intention of releasing everyone in the world and especially everyone associated with the place I was cleaning from any doubts or fears they may be holding on to. I sang quietly because there were still a couple of people working there even though it was evening. The volunteer coordinator said, "Oh good! You're singing!" So since I'd been singing quietly, I told her what the words were. She seem quite moved, so I was able ... Read Full Story >>

Supplies for the Troops

I am a middle school counselor. Earlier this week, I had a very caring, compassionate student tell me about a project she has undertaken.  She said she has started  a collection for supplies for the troops to make their holiday's more joyful.  I asked her what organization she was doing this through and she was confused by my question.  Finally, she said, "No, see my sister who is in 5th grade and I are doing this on our own!"  I was amazed that they had thought this up on their own.  I asked their mother about it and she said that they had come to her to tell her about it.

I was happy to help her.  I told her to put a box in the main office with a sign and a list of supplies (which she had already typed up!).  She brought the box in the next day and students have already begun to add to it.

What a beautiful thing these kids are doing.  I am so proud of them!

A Gift for My Neighbour

I met my neighbour last week at a home improvement store and he shared stories about the remodeling going on in his kitchen.
 
This week, as I was sorting through the mail, I noticed a $10 gift card from the same store. I dropped the rest of the mail,  bundled up the gift card with a smile card, walked over and put it in his mail slot.
 
The whole thing took me only 2 minutes but it was immensely satisfying to do this spontaneously. With all the big purchases my neighbour has to make, I hope this small break brings him a smile.

Choices

We were downtown, our tiny downtown, running errands and doing some shopping when we were approached by a homeless man who asked for spare change. I will almost always help if I am able by giving something but today thought I'd try something so I asked what it was he needed the most.

He looked rather puzzled and then said I'm not gonna lie to ya, I need a drink. I gave him the money he needed and asked the Lord to watch over him. It brought back memories of years ago when I was homeless and some Christians asked me what I needed and I replied cigarettes. They bought me a pack and I've always remembered their non-judgemental help. Sometimes we can't see past the moment to see what our true needs are.

Keeping a child entertained, even if it's for a short while

I was in my local library when I sat down at a computer.  Behind me was a young woman with a little boy about 4 years old.  I noticed he was starting to get bored as his mommy worked on the computer.  I usually keep small sample items in my purse and give things to kids, sometimes it's in waiting rooms at doctor's offices, or  train stations, airports, etc.  (My children are grown so I remember how it was).   So I  reached in my purse and pulled out an extra child's sticker book with stickers.  I asked the mom if I could give it to him she glady said "yes" and how happy it made this young child! 

Thanks for letting me share my small story!   

A Little Gift

About a year ago, I  was at a festival for Christmas. It was a very cold night and I looked down to see a $20 dollar bill. I picked it up and asked the people around me if they had lost it. After they said no, I couldn't just let it lay there on the ground so I picked up up and brought it home with me.

I went to the grocery store and bought some toothpaste, dental floss, toothbrush, chips, and a soda. When I walked out the door, there was a old, poor man playing the guitar for money. I frequently saw people throwing money in the guitar case so I walked up, gave him everything I bought and a few extra dollars. I talked to him for about 10 minutes, gave him a hug, said have a good nights sleep and walked away.

I was walking down the road and going through my purse and saw a smile card so I ran back and gave him the card. Then he said "thank you very much. You shouldn't have. Have a good day."  I couldn't forget what I did - I felt so awesome!

City bills

Today I went to the city, having a bunch of appointments all over town. In my front coat pocket, I put 20 single dolar bills, a $20, a $10 & a $5, all folded separately and mixed up. Everytime anyone asked me for help, money, a donation to their cause,  I would reach in my pocket and hand them whatever bill I touched first, not even looking myself.

New York is a big, needy city, and by the end of the day as I headed to the train I felt in my pocket that there was only one bill left. I had to look and sure enough, it was the twenty. One block from the station, a woman was standing on a corner asking: "does anyone have anything to eat? Does anyone have any leftover food I could have?" Without hesitation, I gave her the last bill and rushed off to my train, but not before I heard her stunned words "Oh My God! Thank you, thank you, thank you...."

It's not just a book

Over the 3 years that I have been at Drake High School, one of my most favorite places to go is the school libary. I love to read but it's not just because I have read 80% of all the books in libary. It's because it's place that I feel safe. By the second week of school freshman year, Ms. B not only knew my first name, she knew my favorite books. She is someone that I know I can go to if I am having a bad day or just need a place to cry for awhile. So one of my favorite auothers, Meg Cabot, was coming to speak and sign books at Book Passage. Being in 12th grade, I really wanted to do something good for Ms. B and the  school libary.  So I got a signed copy of How To Be Popular for the libary. I put a smile card in there and handed ... Read Full Story >>

What Made My Day

My mom and I were in Walmart store one day and I really wanted fingernail polish. A lady walked by and looked at my nails and then looked at the fingernail polish. All of a sudden she dug into her pocket and pulled out a Walmart gift card, and taped to the back was a smile card.

By the time I looked up and before I even had time to say "thank you very much" she was gone. I looked up and down each aisle and still couldn't find her. When we walked up to the cash register, I asked the lady how much money was on that card and to my suprise was $75.00!

I am thinking of giving the card to someone else like the lady did to me.

Your way, right away

The other day, I bought a homeless man lunch at Burger King and sat down and spoke with him while we ate our lunches.  It seemed like he was almost as happy to chat with me as he was to have a free meal.

My Daily Walk

During my daily walk I noticed, when passing other people,  the first normal reaction I get is a look down or a turn - rarely I noticed others addressing the awareness of each other. Even, if we passed each other everyday at the same time at the same place for the entire week.    So I decided to be the change. I started to aknowledge other folks when passing them by during my daily walk route. Either with a simple smile, or eye contact, or a good morning! This was a major learning curve for me seeing as I am generally  pretty shy.  It was hit or miss in the start, yet with time, I grew more confident and now it has become natural to smile without making the effort. Now when I go for my walk, it’s a bit of an adventure to see the reactions of other people. Most of ... Read Full Story >>

Walking

An 85-year young widow neighbor, who lives independently, resumed her daily walks after a recent hip replacement surgery but expressed fear about being too far from home  "What if I fall or something?" 

Three of us on the block are taking turns (Mon-Wed-Fri) to go with her on on her slow trips around the block.  (I've also been able to drive her to a few medical appointments).  

She's a wealth of interesting information and I've learnt a great deal from her.    What a blessing, what a great opportunity to learn and stay in touch with neighbors. 

It is so easy to be kind!

It doesn't take a lot of time or energy to be kind to others.  I happen to be a big coupon fan, and I find myself constantly looking for coupons and savings, not just for myself, but also for others. 

Sometimes we see coupon deals that are really great, but not necessarily something we need.  If you take but a second, maybe someone else you know (or even don't know) can use that coupon for that item on sale.  I just leave the coupon I don't need on the product on the shelf and someone walks along and can use it when they purchase the product!   It is something so little, but can really make a person's day, especially since so many people go without a lot of stuff.   

I have even been in a restaurant before and had an extra coupon and walked up to strangers and asked them if they wanted my extra coupon!  Even if it wasn't a meal they were planning on ordering, they either change their mind and use the coupon, or are thrilled that someone was so thoughtful.   Being thoughtful is so easy!  And, it makes the person who is being thoughtful feel awesome too!

Neighbor in Need

I knew my neighbor and her husband had recently separated and she was struggling. She hadn't shared with me her struggles, but I just knew it couldn't be easy money wise as they had 4 children, one being blind, and they were struggling financially before the separation.   She had not been working before they separated as her youngest child was blind and not yet in school. It was summer time and school was about to start. As I was shopping for items for my granddaughters, I began thinking about her children and how she would be able to get them items they needed that year. I went to the store and bought a gift card and sent it anonymously to her address. When I checked my mail a couple of days later, I saw her down the street as she checked hers and opened the envelope. I couldn't tell her reaction because of the distance between our ... Read Full Story >>

Wherever You Go...

We'd stopped to get coffee at a faraway lights-and-laughter filled cafe somewhere over the bridge. Behind the counter was a young woman with a ready-steady kind of warmth that spilled over into the orders she took. When she looked up over a chocolate croissant at us, her smile deepened, " You two are so cute together!" she exclaimed happily, at which point my husband, who has his own unique brand of ready-steady warmth volunteered the information that it just-so-happened-to-be our first anniversary. She wanted to give us something then,  "I wish you'd told me earlier -- I wouldn't have charged you! Can I offer you a piece of cake on the house?" We declined the offer, saying that the interaction in and of itself was gift enough. At which point she said impulsively, "I wish my boyfriend were so thoughtful. I don't know if he'll ever get around to asking ... Read Full Story >>

And Now, The Rest of the Story: Phone cards from the DAR

If you have read my previous post about my DAR Chapter in Bremerton sending phone cards to be used by the wounded soldiers at Landstuhl, here is another email I got today with a side story about the purchase of those cards at the local base: I requested phone cards be collected and held for me at the customer service section of the Navy Exchange. I knew that I was requiring 70 of them and I had the thought that it might be logistically difficult to place my hands on that number, as they were scattered at the registers throughout the store. The young lady who rang up the phone cards from the Navy Exchange told me that she personally gathered all the phone cards and was hoping to be the one who would make the final sale. (The phone cards had to be activated after purchase and it took over 30 minutes in total to activate ... Read Full Story >>

1,000 Crisp Mohandases

It was late one night when I got an email from the states. It was my friend John who, as usual, had an idea. This one was about the power of connectedness. John was taken with the notion that he could, by sitting at his computer, with only a few small movements of his fingers, could affect change on the other side of the world. “In ten seconds,” he wrote, “I sent an email to my friend in Boston, asking him to go down to the street and give a watermelon to the first person he saw. And he did.” John, of course, wanted to illustrate the power of connectivity with a more compassionate experiment. “Please go find a needy person and give them $20 [1,000 Indian rupees, at the time]. If you can, try to see how it changes their life and let me know.” On our last afternoon in Ahmedabad, ... Read Full Story >>

The School That Cares

I am currently teaching in an International School in Bogota. And although I have taught in many countries where they will devote one or two events/activities to charity, this one tops it all.

Although we are the smallest of the international schools here, we managed to collect the second highest amount of money for Poppy Day (next to the British Embassy)!

We also organise many social work trips to the various insitiutions of Bogota to brighten up the lives of people who need it. Our students would talk to the elderly in a home or bring along toys and books to children who need it.

Our monthly charitable act would be to bring in 1-litre cartons of milk which will be sent to Cazuca, the poorest district in Bogota.

Recently, "charity begins at home" is the focus. All staff were encouraged to bring in 10 packets/cans or food stuff, sign the type of food stuff onto a list and then the school will make a gigantic food hamper for all the maintanence staff of the school.

I really love my school for its sense of charity.

A teacher from this international school in Bogoto, Colombia.

$100.00 gifts!

After services one Sunday at our local church, my husband and I went into the nursery to pick up our baby daughter.  A woman was standing at the door of the nursery handing out small envelopes.  I assumed it was some kind of an invitation to a birthday party or baby shower so I didn't open it until we were at our car.  Inside the card was a $100.00 bill and a little note, but no hint of who gave the money.  After I thought about it for a while, I realized that those who had received the money were parents with young children.  To this day I have no idea who did this act of kindness.