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Ripples In The 5th Grade

Today, after having my 5th grade students share stories about what makes them smile, I shared the 21-day kindness challenge with them. They were super excited! 

I had them write down kindness ideas in their journal. 

As soon as school ended students were coming back into the class to secretly slip mechanical pencils and other small gifts into other students' desks! 

One student came up to me and gave me a hug and said, "This is just the beginning!" The kindness ripples have begun!

2530 Reads

A Goal of Kindness, Smiles, and a Slurpee.

Last week I decided I would choose one thing to be kind about and really focus on achieving that goal. That goal was to allow anyone who wished to, go ahead of me -- putting others' needs first before my own, no matter what. And let me tell you, this was not easy. Especially driving :) But true to my word I let others go before myself.  Drivers who needed to merge were, with a smile and a wave, allowed in front of me (much to the distress of the people behind me  -- so I guess I didn't really make their day). In the supermarket I smiled genuinely as I asked the women behind me if they would like to go ahead, getting looks that ranged from sheer astonishment to harried gratitude to those that made me feel they were thinking I was a few sandwiches short of a picnic! But ... Read Full Story >>

5860 Reads

One Last Visit To The Beach, On Her Doorstep

I need to share a powerful and strangely wonderful event in my life that involves death and cancer.  I am certain you are struggling with the fact that  I am using the words wonderful, cancer and death in the same sentence.  I think that after you hear this story you will agree that in this case it is an appropriate combination of words. A dear friend of mine was dying of cancer.  Shortly before she died she shared with me that she was very sad that she would never get to go to the beach again.  She grew up near the ocean and it was a special place for her.  The cancer had made her too weak to travel the 4-5 hours from her home to the ocean.  I shared this with several of her friends and we decided we had to do something about it. On a Saturday afternoon in June, while her family kept her distracted ... Read Full Story >>

6892 Reads

The Smile Card Exchange

About a month ago, while in the drive through at Starbucks, I noticed a woman in a car behind me who appeared to be having a bad day. There were two kids in the back who looked to have too much energy at 8am on a Sunday morning.  The line moved slowly and at one point while pulling forward, the woman behind me bumped my car. I could tell this worried and concerned her. The entire time that I waited in line for my coffee this woman didn't smile. Looking back at her I could tell she was looking at the side view mirror wondering "Why me? Why today?" When I pulled up and paid for my coffee I requested that the Starbucks barista give the woman behind me a Smile Card and paid for her muffin and latte. Just 30 mins ago I was again waiting in line at the Starbucks. I heard a car door ... Read Full Story >>

10.2K Reads
  • Posted by ClemDubois
  • Mar 16, 2010
  • 25 Comments
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Pay-It-Forward Massage Therapist

Since I joined this website last week, I was mulling about how to incorporate acts of kindness into my life as a regular practice. I was truly inspired! I am a massage therapist and have my own practice. What I decided to do is to no longer keep my tips; instead, I would use that money towards giving someone a free massage. For instance, I charge $75/hour. When there is $75 worth of tips given, I will offer someone in need -- who cannot afford the massage otherwise -- a free one. Well, no sooner had I hatched this plan that a client called me and said she had to cancel based on financial difficulties. Guess who got the freebee?!? The beautiful thing is that this woman just lost her father and is in a ... Read Full Story >>

4387 Reads

Groceries Bought And Left Behind

The other day I was in the grocery store. I was hurrying to get a few things I needed in between soccer games. In the line behind me was the sweetest lady who was quietly searching through her wallet to find the money she needed to purchase the seven or eight items she had in her cart. I imagined she probably lived on a limited income and might benefit, even just a little, from having her groceries paid for her.   I turned to the cashier and said, "Go ahead. Run her items through. I'd like to pay for her groceries."    My children, aged twelve, seven and three, quietly watched what was going on.   "I can't let you do that," the lady said.    "But I just did," I replied. "Have a great day!" And then, smiling, I walked with my children out the doors.   As I walked away, I heard her ask the cashier, "Did he just ... Read Full Story >>

6427 Reads
  • Posted by PiTeacher
  • May 30, 2012
  • 25 Comments
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Before My Head Gets In Front Of My Heart

I do a lot of kind things on an impulse, mostly because I know that if I think about them I will probably will let my head get in front of my heart and then regret not having acted.

Today I woke up with the clear idea that I had to send a certain amount of cash to someone I know who is indirectly related to me. The amount  was exactly half of what I had in my already very slim bank account. 

As you can imagine all sorts of thoughts went through my head but - I can't explain - I just knew I have to do it and do it anonymously. 

All I know is that this person has three children around the same age as my daughter and her husband is an alcoholic with an autistic personality, which makes her life very difficult.

Why I had to do this now and not another time I might never know. But I feel it was the right thing to do.

3387 Reads

A Box of Smiles With A Letter

A few months ago I posted a story about a woman struggling with alcoholism who reached out to me. I sent her a care pack full of smiles, encouraging words and some treats to help her out, along with a special letter I wrote to her. It has been almost 3 months and she is still doing great. She sends me updates and I send her encouraging notes. But, as I have said before, you never know how much something you say or do means to someone else. What happened next reminds me of how true that is. She read a story that another woman posted about being an alcoholic and how she needed to stop drinking, if only for her children. I read it too but she was quick to act. She e-mailed me and asked if I would put a "box of smiles" together for this woman and send ... Read Full Story >>

5117 Reads

The Abundance of a Sacred Fund

Last year, I received a satchel of money on the front steps at my home. When that money arrived, I actually was out of town but my family called me and said that there was a lot of money left at the front door with a note.  When, I returned home I was touched most by the note, which read, "Thank you for all you do for the world." As I have shared on helpothers.org, I immediately placed all of this money into my sacred fund which keeps coming back to me again and again. All of the work I do which bring gifts of monetary value immediately goes into a fund in my home. This has enabled me to grow the initial gift from the universe of $1000 and I have attracted and given back at least two to three times this. The abundance just keeps going out to ... Read Full Story >>

5045 Reads
  • Posted by omtaratutare
  • Mar 29, 2009
  • 24 Comments
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57 Cents That Made History

A young girl, Hattie, stood outside a small church from which she had been turned away because 'it was too crowded'. "I can't go to Sunday School," she said to the pastor as he walked by. The pastor carried the child inside and found a place for her to sit in the back. The next time the pastor met her he said "Hattie, we are going to have a larger Sunday school room soon. When we get the money with which to erect a school building we are going to construct one large enough to get all the little children in, and we are going to begin very soon to raise the money for it."   The pastor did not see Hattie again, until  he heard from her parents some two years later.  Hattie had sadly died her parents called for the kind-hearted pastor, who had befriended their daughter, to handle the ... Read Full Story >>

21.9K Reads

Gift for the Cashier

My friends and I recently returned from our annual week at the beach.  While we were there, a couple of us needed to pick up a few items at the grocery store. As we were checking out, the cashier complimented me on my necklace.  I thanked her, and she asked where I bought it.  I had gotten it at the department store just down the street, and told her that it was on sale for 40% off.  My friend suggested that she should walk over and purchase one during her break. But the cashier said she couldn't afford it right now.   As we left the grocery store, I told my friend I was tempted to buy one for her. She agreed, and offered to pay for half.  So we went back to the department store and picked out a matching necklace for the cashier. As we paid for it, the sales ... Read Full Story >>

7453 Reads
  • Posted by bjames3061
  • Sep 11, 2012
  • 24 Comments
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A Traveling Truck of Sweetness

I was on my school's campus the other day and there was an ice cream truck parked right in front of one of the main common areas of the school. Since I had primarily seen ice cream men drive their musical trucks around neighborhoods for elementary school kids, I never thought an ice cream man would circle our campus and come for us, overgrown kids, such as myself.  I was intrigued and was prompted to investigate further. I was quite surprised when the sweet and rather chubby man in the truck called out, "free ice cream!". I questioned him just to confirm his words saying, "I'm sorry, what did you say?" "Free ice cream, you have your choice of these four frozen treats: the rocket pop, the chocolate eclair, the strawberry shortcake, or the drumstick ." After I got the confirmation that this guy is just giving away free ice cream, I talked with the man for a while. He told me that his dream had always ... Read Full Story >>

7385 Reads

A 'Grave' Situation

On my way into the city of Orillia today, the sun was shining bright.  It was a very hot, gorgeous day.  For me, it wasn't a very easy morning, but everything was falling into place and I felt good. Just then, I noticed some peculiar activity in a small graveyard just off the road.  As I got closer, I noticed that an elderly man was attempting to pick something up.  With a car parked on the small laneway in the graveyard, he was crouching beside one of the gravestones.  Upon closer inspection, it was clear that he was sobbing. After all that had gone on so far in my day, it was time to give something back.  I pulled into the small graveyard behind the lone car that was parked.  As I approached the fellow, I called out to ask if everything was ok. I noticed then what the fellow was trying to ... Read Full Story >>

5147 Reads

Customer's Gift To An Employee

My husband and I have always been friendly with the clerks at the local convenience store where we often get gasoline. I don't think people appreciate what a difficult job these folks have sometimes. They work for a little over minimum wage and I often wonder how they make ends meet. One of the clerks, "Charlie," was missing her glasses one day. I commented on it and she said they'd been broken and that she couldn't afford a new pair. It was obvious that she was having a difficult time. We wondered how we could help, so turned to our own eye doctor for assistance with a plan. We had his secretary contact her, asking her to come in for an eye exam free of charge.  We told the doctor to let her order whatever glasses she wanted and that we would pay for them. Although Charlie questioned what was going on, ... Read Full Story >>

5139 Reads
  • Posted by jaybird
  • Jul 26, 2011
  • 24 Comments
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A Child's Response to Life's Unexpected Gusts

Last spring I was walking in a park. A short distance ahead of me was a Mom and her three-year-old daughter. The little girl was holding onto a string that was attached to a helium balloon. All of a sudden, a sharp gust of wind took the balloon from the little girl. I braced myself for some screaming and crying. But, no! As the little girl turned to watch her balloon go skyward, she gleefully shouted out, "Wow!" I didn’t realize it at that moment, but that little girl taught me something. Later that day, I received a phone call from a person with news of an unexpected problem. I felt like responding with, "Oh no, what should we do?"  But, remembering that little girl, I found myself saying, "Wow, that’s interesting! How can I help you?" One thing’s for sure - life’s always going to keep us off balance with its unexpected problems. That’s a ... Read Full Story >>

9381 Reads

A Little Girl In Need

I was shopping at our little local shopping center the other day and I was just coming back to the underground car park with my bags when I heard a little girl shouting, "Mama, Mama!" I looked around and saw a 4 year-old's head stuck out of an SUV's open backseat window. I went over to ask her what was the matter and calm her down saying her mom would surely soon be back. But she said she needed to go to the bathroom urgently. With no mom in sight, I told her to get out and I would take her to the bathroom (the entrance of which was 20 meters from the car.)  She was very glad and ran with me to the bathroom explaining that she was not allowed to get out of the car by herself. Afterwards she washed her hands and I took her back to the car. Still, ... Read Full Story >>

4086 Reads

The Missing Cheese Bun Feeds Two Souls

Any passenger on the subway who caught a glimpse of me may have already thought that I was strange as I was smiling while reading Dostoyevsky’s Notes from Underground. In particular this one gentleman sitting diagonal from me was staring at me, at the cheese bun on the floor in front of me, and then back at me. “Next stop, St. Patrick Station” – my stop was quickly coming up.  I had minutes to either take the cheese bun, which nobody else was claiming (as a passenger probably dropped it by mistake and got off at a previous stop), or leave it there and hope that it didn’t go to waste. In those few minutes I felt my pride getting in the way. “What would other people on this subway think of me if I took the cheese bun? Would they think that I wanted it for myself? Would they think ... Read Full Story >>

5342 Reads
  • Posted by BigBearHugs
  • Nov 10, 2011
  • 24 Comments
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Kindness Returned After 35 Years

My grandfather was the head of his village for nearly 20 years until we moved to a different city. About a month back, my grandfather was out for his usual evening walk to a nearby garden and didn't return. We were worried and searched for him everywhere but we could not find him. Later in the morning, we got a call from a hospital from an unknown person who had remembered my grandfather.  All he remembered was his childhood nickname. We rushed to hospital to find that my grandfather had been hit by a vehicle and it was this person from 35 years ago who helped my grandfather reach the hospital.  This good samaritan had stayed with him the whole night and paid  for all his hospital bills (you can't get treatment unless you pay the bills first). All this, and he only knew my grandfather with his childhood nickname.  My grandfather was not even able to recognize that person.  We thanked him deeply, and offered him the money he ... Read Full Story >>

8078 Reads
  • Posted by sweetpulp2004
  • Jan 11, 2011
  • 24 Comments
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Rewarding One Good Deed With Another

We were having a mini heat wave yesterday and I was in the supermarket, stocking up on juice and ice-cream.  Now, I'm not much of a fan of the hot weather and I was enjoying the fact that it was cooler inside than outside, but the lady behind the checkout was suffering. I asked if she was looking forward to getting out in the sun after her shift was finished and she replied that she might not last that long. She was melting! She explained that she shouldn't have been working that day, but she had agreed to cover someone else's shift. Now she wished she hadn't. She felt like she might die! I paid for the shopping and headed for the exit. Half way there I remembered something I had wanted to get for Julie, so I went back in. On the way to where I wanted to go, I passed a rack of ... Read Full Story >>

8328 Reads

We All Have A Story

Last weekend I volunteered at our local shelter to serve meals to the hungry. I convinced a classmate of mine, a woman who is older like myself to come along for the experience. Her life consists of school, playing golf as a semi-pro, and generally living a very comfortable and protected lifestyle. I assume everyone has seen the hungry, the needy, the homeless, the less fortuanate in our society but the assortment of folks at the shelter seemed to trouble my friend. She was aprehensive about getting physically too  close when she was serving meals and she was also full of questions. She made observations such as, "They look like they do drugs", "I assume a lot of them have alcohol problems", "Some of them seem like they are retarded." Once everyone is fed, staff/volunteer's can also eat from the leftovers.  We were told there was enough and that we should ... Read Full Story >>

5569 Reads




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