Stories Matching 'Random Acts Of Kindness' Tag (410 matches)

A Heart-Tug At Christmas

I had seen my old friend working at our local Wal-Mart for several months. She always stopped to say hi, then hurried off saying she had to get back to work.   Through our brief conversations I discovered she had been down a pretty rough road but somehow had maintained her positive and cheerful outlook on life. One day she told me she was living in an apartment building that well known for alcohol and drug problems, but was all she could afford.  A few weeks later there was a fire at the apartment complex and all residents had to move to a hotel until they could clean it all up. As she would tell me these things she would always point out that it could be worse and ended with a positive point about her situation.    I felt a pull in my heart to do something to help, because I had ... Read Full Story >>

A Stranger Becomes A Friend

Today was my first day using Smile cards! 

Top 10 Kindness Stories of 2013, Story #1 - When I Hugged a Homeless Person

I spent most of my early adult life looking through them.  I was busy. I was working. I was raising a family and running errands. I had things to do.  If you didn't look at them they weren't there, right?  You know, those bedraggled looking people on the corner with a sign in their hand.  I only wanted the light to turn green fast enough so that I wouldn't have to keep pretending not to see them.  They were mostly invisible to me. I refused to see them, and that's how I wanted it. Because I just didn't have the time.  Then, one day, as I was holding the hand of my best friend who was way too young to be dying of breast cancer, she told me that she made every moment count by slowing down-- by being in the moment, and by seeing everything.  I held her hand for five years ... Read Full Story >>

A Lesson In Kindness From My Mom

When I was about twelve, I was headed to a restaurant for dinner with my family. It was winter, and on that particular night, the wind was really blowing. As my mom and I headed towards the restaurant from our car, a girl about my age and her mother came up to us. They asked if we had any spare change. My mom immediately asked where they kept their things. They pointed to an old car in a parking lot across the street. The girl said there were six of them living in that car, which was the same size as my own family. My mom said she had something to do, and after handing the people a few dollars, we said good-bye. Then, my mother sent me inside the restaurant with my dad and my three siblings. But she didn't come. Later, I found out that she had gone home and practically emptied ... Read Full Story >>

A Special Delivery to the Post Office

Though I am a little late in posting this, I would not want to miss sharing it. For my final day of World Kindness Week I wanted to do something in honor of all of the wonderful volunteers here at HelpOthers who ship Smile Cards. Their hard work and dedication help spread smiles and enable others to do the same. How could I best do that? I had a few things to send out so I needed to go to the post office. They know me there as the "Smile Card guy" because of some of the things I send out. They know about Smile Cards as they have asked me in the past. I decided to bring them a dozen donuts. The clerk did not notice the box as I set it down while she stamped my packages being sent. As she rang me up, I slid the box of ... Read Full Story >>

Lost License And A Bonus

When I arrived at work this morning I had an e-mail from a co-worker saying he had found someone's driver's license.  I stopped by his office and picked it up. I didn't recognize the face on the license so I e-mailed the manager of our housekeeping staff to see if it was one of our 3rd shift staff that I hadn't met.     As luck would have it, it was indeed one of his employees! So I told the manager that I would leave it in an envelope at the front desk. I would put the gentleman's name on the envelope and he could pick it up when he came to work later that night.   I quickly printed out an anonymous note thanking him for all his hard work and then stuffed $10 and a smile card - along with his license - into the envelope.     Who knows ... maybe he will treated ... Read Full Story >>

A Frustration Pinata

Someone I know was going through a tough time and feeling pretty depressed.

Helping Out At Toys For Tots

Yesterday, a group of us from work volunteered at the USMC Toys for Tots warehouse. For anyone not familiar with what they do, they collect toys for children who may not otherwise get anything for Christmas. We went to the facility to help out for a day. It was an amazing experience. I learned the history of how it all started. The marines there were so very nice to everyone. We stocked the shelves full of toys that had been donated or purchased. Families would come in and were allowed to pick one toy, a book and two stocking stuffers for each of their children. There was a daycare area for anyone who brought their kids, so that they would not see their parents getting toys. The large bag that we put their items in was not see-through, so they could sneak their gifts home without the kids knowing. I decided before ... Read Full Story >>

How to Lighten Up a Laundromat

I recently needed some quarters, so I went to the laundromat to exchange my $10 bill for change. The environment there seemed a little tense-- no one was smiling and everyone kept to themselves. I didn't need to do laundry, and I could feel people looking at me as I waited for my quarters to come out, clinking one at a time.

I quietly placed my quarters in my wallet, and started to walk toward the door. Then I stopped for a moment.

I opened my wallet back up, and looked at the washier unit in front of me. It read: $2.00 per load.

I could feel eyes watching me cautiously, curious of what I was doing. 

I took $2 in quarters out of my wallet and placed them neatly on one of the washers. Then I smiled, walked out, and drove away.

I hope that someone who needs it will pick it up and use it. :) 

And for the people who saw what I did, may they see that it was just a gesture of kindness to someone I will never see or meet or know. It was simply to show that we can leave an act of kindness wherever we may go. As small and simple that act may be.

The Hobbling Homeless Man

I was shopping in town when I saw a man aged about 30 hobbling down the road. He didn't have any possessions with him but I guessed he was homeless and that he seemed to have pain in his leg.  I watched him for a few minutes but was unable to help that day.   All that evening I thought about him and wondered about his life and his story. Going to bed I decided that if our paths crossed again I would help him.   I saw him the very next day! He stopped and asked a young woman in front of me for some cash. She looked surprised and not very happy to be stopped. She gave him a few coins.   I carried on walking behind and saw him drop the money into a charity box.   I quickly went to the cash machine to get some money whilst trying to watch where he went.   With cash ... Read Full Story >>

Suckered? I Don't Think So!

One morning a week I volunteer as cashier at a Habitat for Humanity Restore. 

Meals To Go For Two Strangers

I was traveling through Nebraska on business and stopped off for something to eat.

As I was enjoying my meal a bus pulled in. The passengers disembarked to eat and use the rest-rooms, all except one women and a young boy. They just waited outside and I guessed they didn't have enough money for a meal. 

Can I Have Kindness For My Birthday?

This year, instead of birthday presents, dinners, etc, my husband and I decided to pool our resources and request acts of kindness, compassion and generosity be done on our behalf. 

Re-gifting Can Be Great

Every year the company my husband works for gives us a twenty dollar gift card to a local grocery store for the holidays. Every year we use this card to buy a portion of our holiday meal. A couple years back I was managing a department for Home Depot where I had a man named Thom working part-time. He would drive fifty miles to work for us and he also had a full time job.   Thom was fun to watch in action as he would walk the customer though everything they needed for their project, and then take them to the cashier.   On one occasion were discussing Christmas and what we do for our main meal. Thom said that he worked two jobs because of medical debt and money was tight for his family. There would be very little extra cash available for Christmas.  He said that throughout the year they focused on saving a few dollars here and ... Read Full Story >>

A Lottery Ticket On The Train

My friend introduced me to random acts of kindness and encouraged me to share my stories. So here goes!

Top 10 Kindness Stories of 2012, Story #2 - Saving The Planet, One Drop At a Time

"Aabid Surti is an odd character. A few years ago, the angular, bearded author was invited to meet the President of India to receive a national award for literature at a ceremony in the capital, New Delhi. He politely declined. Absorbed in writing the first draft of his new novel, he cited the reason that he did not have time. But what he has made time for every Sunday for seven years now, is going door-to-door in Mira Road, a non-descript suburb of Mumbai, with a plumber in tow, asking residents if they need their tap fixed for free!   As a distinguished Indian painter and author, Aabid has written around 80 books but no story so moved him as the truth about water scarcity on the planet. “I read an interview of the former UN chief Boutros Boutros Ghali,” he recalls, “who said that by 2025 more than 40 countries are expected to experience ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Ripples

Yesterday, I took my brother's puppy to the pet store to spread some kindness. My mom and sister have been watching him while my brother is at work and when I went to pick him up to go to the store my mom gave me money in case I saw something cute to buy him. As we walked around the store, I looked at various options but started to feel uncomfortable. Here was a whole store devoted to pets with everything you could imagine, while some humans struggle to survive and others die for lack of basic necessities.  The puppy and my family's other dogs already have plenty of toys and everything else they'd ever need.   I decided not to buy anything. When I told my mom, she said to save the money for myself. She won't take "no" for an answer so I graciously accepted and decided to use the money ... Read Full Story >>

Biscuits On A Cold February Night

I was sitting on the front steps of a small bakery near where I live and eating some noodles. I was enjoying my meal in peace with no one around. There is a burned out house right opposite the bakery and I know a group of people live there. The house has no electricity and has very poor ventilation.    I happened to glance up from my noodles and I saw a group of women gathered outside the house. They were sitting on the ground sharing a meal of some sort.    Seeing them there, a thought occurred to me. I am grateful for the food I receive every day but there are also folks who may be getting one square meal a day, or less. I felt that I needed to go visit with the women who were sitting there.   I bought a large packet of biscuits from the bakery and went over. The women looked slightly ... Read Full Story >>

From Suicidal To Motivational

A very wonderful thing happened on my radio show! A young man who had called the show a week before was sitting across from me in the studio telling listeners not to give up!    This was particularly moving since he had call me on air to say he was about to kill himself.   The very day he called my wife and I went to see him after he had promised me on air not to commit suicide. We invited him into the car and offered him some donuts which he took with trembling hands. He was hungry, penniless, frustrated and hurt. Just last November his mother had been gunned down in a drive-by shooting. He had just finished talking with her on the phone when it happened.   On the day he called the show he had turned the radio down so it would not distract him from cutting his wrists. As he was about ... Read Full Story >>

Quiet Dignity at a Truck Stop

A few years ago, I had a long commute to get home from work. One morning I was on my way home and was very tired after working a 12 hour night shift. I stopped at a local restaurant to have breakfast. It was really a truck stop and I was the only customer. Right after I placed my order I saw a man come in. He was carrying a small backpack and looked like he had seen better times. He reached in his pocket and pulled out some change. He asked the waitress if 38 cents was enough to buy a cup of coffee. She looked at his hand and said, "Of course. Have a seat." (Coffee was 50 cents a cup at the time.) It really struck me how she had tried to preserve his pride and how he had not asked for any charity. Shortly before my food came. I ... Read Full Story >>

Kids Are Kind

  I decided to add some positive energy into my workspace by having the students contribute to a "question of the month."  I posted a question on the wall outside my office at my elementary school and waited.  Eventually, I started seeing some amazing ideas and answers to the questions.  Here are some of the responses throughout the year.  It was heart-warming and yet sad to me how some of the expressions are things many of us take for granted... If you had a million dollars what would you do with it and why? - I would give back to my city. So I could fix it up - I would buy food for my family and a car - I would give to foster children, homeless and everybody who needs it...yah, my family - I would give it to the school: books, pencils, better food - I would give back to the community, give some to ... Read Full Story >>

Thank You, Co-conspirator In Kindness

One of my favorite parts of using smile cards is when other people agree to be my accomplice in our little kindness conspiracy. Some folks look at you weird when you ask for such an unusual favor, you know? :) Like once I asked a toll booth operator if I could pay for the car behind me, and I got a blank stare. After a brief explanation, he hesitantly agreed, but then said it was too complicated when I presented a smile card with the double payment. Okay, next time. So, it's nice when folks "get it" :) and even feel like they're receiving a favor in agreeing to do me a favor.  At a barbershop recently, after getting my haircut, I went to the counter to pay. My barber said, "That'll be twenty dollars please." I saw in my wallet I had exactly forty-two dollars. "Okay, tell me if you think this ... Read Full Story >>

The Cupcake Connection.

My mother makes these amazing pudding-filled cupcakes with homemade icing that we all clamor over each other to eat. We are a caring bunch by nature but when it comes to Mom's cupcakes all bets are off!   This morning I stopped in at Mom's and, lo and behold, she had made a fresh batch! After much convincing (my step-dad has a hard time letting them go) I managed to score four of the delectable morsels, one for each of my boys (her grandsons) and one each for myself and my love.   I stopped at my boys' respective work places to deliver some love from grandma - which brought smiles to their faces as well as mine, watching their faces light up in the middle of a mundane workday.    Down to two now! I was already making excuses in my head as to why I should get both, after all my other half did ... Read Full Story >>

"You Raised A Wonderful Child, Mom."

I feel like I am always either at school, sports practice or a game, so I have to find different ways to do little acts of kindness.     My good friend and co-worker has a mom dealing with cancer who is living with her during treatment. I decided to send this mom - whom I've never met - a card thanking her for raising such a wonderful person. I told how her daughter was such being a good listener, someone who I can share my troubles with, and someone who makes me laugh.   I was a little uneasy about it afterwards and wondered if my friend would think it strange.     Tonight while sitting at basketball practice I received a text from my friend. She wanted to tell me that the card I sent her mom was one of the most beautiful things she had ever read and how lucky she was to ... Read Full Story >>

A Different Kind of Pep Rally

A group of us decided to start a Kindness Pep Rally, where we hold signs with messages like, "Honk if you love someone," "You Are Awesome," "Kindness is Good for the Heart," and "Dont Give Up, Ok?" We are well into the third week of it, and still going strong! Our "Pep Squad" began two weeks ago with two friends, and today something amazing happened! An hour into our "Pep Rally," a total stranger stopped by to chat. During the conversation, the stranger revealed that her name was Amanda and that she had just moved to the area. She said that she was touched by what we were trying to accomplish.  "This may sound strange, but I believe that meeting you and seeing the amazing thing that you both are doing is a sign that I belong here in this city. I want to become part of this."  We shared that our next event would be holding signs that ... Read Full Story >>

Top 10 Kindness Stories of 2012, Story #6 - "I feel good doing this!"

"But I feel good doing this!" The little boy´s answer rang in my ears as I walked into the mall. He stood right outside the entrance, in the bitter spring wind, collecting donations for cancer research. Nose red, hat deep over his ears, he warmed one hand in his pocket and held a list with his other hand. I noticed he had no gloves. I checked my purse, but had no coins. It is a principle of mine to always give money to cancer research - I have lost dear friends and family members to the disease, and want to do my little part to help find a cure. "I´ll bring you some money when I come back," I promised the young boy.  "Thank you!" he smiled and sneezed into a big tissue. A very worn tissue, I might add. I looked at him. If you have ever seen little children who refuse to come out of ... Read Full Story >>

Top Ten Kindness Stories of 2012, Story #10 - 8 Things To Do Every Day That Will Make You Happier

1) Thank someone First thing in the morning, send an email thanking or praising someone. Research shows this can brighten your day.   2) Spend money — on someone else Harvard professor Michael Norton, author of Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, explains how spending money on other people can generate more happiness than spending on yourself: 3) Give 5 hugs People assigned to give or receive hugs 5 times a day ended up happier than the control group. From Sonja Lyubomirsky’s very interesting book, The How of Happiness: In a one-of-a-kind study, students at Pennsylvania State University were assigned to two groups. The first group was instructed to give or receive a minimum of five hugs per day over the course of four weeks and to record the details. The hugs had to be front-to-front (nonsexual) hugs, using both arms of both participants; however, the length and strength of hug, as well as the placement of hands, were left ... Read Full Story >>

Spreading Smiles On a Father-Daughter Date Night!

At least once a month one of my little kindness kids Rachel and I try to have a father/daughter date night. Last night we were out for dinner together after doing some fun things. We talked about some of her kindness activities she did at school for their 100 Acts of Kindness challenge her class had. It was great to listen to the little things she and her classmates did to spread kindness. Many times on our date nights we try to do an act of kindness of our own, as she is often my sidekick on our kindness adventures. My latest Smile Deck card is one about anonymously buying a stranger's meal so I asked Rachel if we should find someone in the restaurant and buy their dinner. She loved the idea so we chose an older couple sitting behind us. I had a few Smile Cards on me (as always!) ... Read Full Story >>

Feeding Stomach and Soul

Over this past weekend, I walked to the local gas station to pick up a couple of things. On my walk home, an older gentleman came up to me and asked if I had any money for him to get something to eat. I told him that I don't carry cash, but if he wanted to follow me, I can get him some food. We walked to my apartment and talked the whole way. He was a veteran from the Vietnam War and recently lost his banking job that he held for over 20 years in banking. He had recently become homeless, and he shared that he has no living relatives left in the area. He felt all alone, with no idea where he was going to sleep tonight. Struck by our conversation, I took a chance and invited him to my apartment.  I introduced him to my roommate and set about ... Read Full Story >>

46 Not-So-Random Acts of Kindness

 Today, March 6th, is my birthday.  Two days ago, I got the idea to do 46 acts of kindness in honor of my 46th birthday.  I’ve read many posts on the internet about people doing this.  I had planned to do all 46 acts on my birthday, but the forecasters began early predictions of a foot of snow for today.  So Monday night, I started planning – typed up the acts of kindness I wanted to do and started writing out some of the Thank You cards, Thinking of You cards and Get Well cards. When I woke up Tuesday, the weathermen were certain the big storm was coming. I thought it would be hard to do my acts of kindness stuck inside all day, so I decided to do as much as I could on Tuesday and spread it out over a few days.  Tuesday night is my daughters’ softball ... Read Full Story >>