Stories Matching 'Small Acts Of Kindness' Tag (363 matches)



A Turkish Meal In Germany

 It was a Thursday in Germany. My friend and I were taking an autumn walk through the fields.  As we neared the more populated area again, a little bit off the street, I saw a handbag lying on the ground. It looked like it might have belonged to a middle-aged lady - there was no one around.   Thinking it had been stolen and thrown aside, I picked it up. Maybe there were some papers left that the owner still needed. But when I opened it the contents seemed intact and undisturbed.   The papers showed it to belong not to a middle-aged German as I first thought but to a young woman of Turkish origin. (Let's call her Lale.) She appeared to live on the other side of town.   I took the bag home, and tried to contact Lale. However, she wasn't listed in the phone book. Now what?   A prescription inside showed her doctor's address. ... Read Full Story >>

7226 Reads

Lesson from the Check-Out Line

A little part of me thought about going to another checkout line. This one had the shortest queue, there was only one guy in it, but he was in a wheelchair and there seemed to be some complications going on. Well, I stamped on that little part, and we stepped in behind him. At first, he seemed to be having difficulty getting his groceries onto the conveyor belt. But after a while, I realized that what he was actually doing was separating it into two lots. Still, getting the stuff up there was no easy task in itself. I offered to help, but he and the checkout lady had it under control. He asked Julie if she would mind putting his empty basket away. Then he reached for his wallet which was in a pouch on one side of his chair. The way he was positioned and the fact he only had ... Read Full Story >>

16.6K Reads

It Only Takes A Minute

My neighbor of thirty years is stressed out waiting for the results of a biopsy.

I put a wonderful CD of soothing music on her doorstep, along with a note inviting her to visit. When she did visit we looked at photos, I gave her a massage and we had a lot of laughs together! We both enjoyed the time and she seemed much less stressed. It was a small investment of time and effort for some wonderful results.
 
Thanks to the messages on this web-site I appreciate small acts of kindness more. I feel better about myself as well, realizing that my daily small acts of kindness actually matter.
 
Blessings to all!
 

 

 

 

4486 Reads

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 >>

4200 Reads
  • Posted by Zgirl1650
  • Feb 10, 2013
  • 8 Comments
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Top 10 Kindness Stories of 2012, Story #9 - Never Too Late

Nearly thirty years ago, I was a high school student. I was also an alcoholic. I was using alcohol to self-medicate pain from a childhood abuser, and it wasn't working. Instead, it made me angry, obnoxious, and rude. Needless to say, I don't like the person I was back then. (I didn't like myself back then, either.) But with a lot of therapy and a lot of love, I have moved on and though I am financially poor, I find myself rich with the blessings and love of family and friends. I try each day to be the kindest person that I can, and to help wherever and whenever I can.  Recently, I helped a young friend with a bake sale and raffle to benefit a middle school student who is battling brain cancer. I didn't do it for the recognition, but because it just felt like the right thing to do. ... Read Full Story >>

12.9K Reads

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 >>

34.1K Reads

A Powerful Tool

One of my next-door neighbors is a sweet and frail-looking grandmotherly 92-year-old Polish lady who lives with three cats. She is a Holocaust survivor (and with due respect does not talk about that traumatic time), and has a daughter and grand-daughter who visit her every week.  She oftentimes brings us cherry tomatoes, comes over for chai, loves mangoes, and is in general a very sweet person. A few months ago, my friend and I drove down to LA to attend a dear friend's wedding, and came back home to the Bay Area the next evening.  As I was unpacking my clothes in my room, I heard a persistent, frantic knock on the door.  It was 10:30pm, and I wasn't sure who it could be.  I went downstairs and looked through the peephole, and saw that it was our sweet next-door neighbor. I quickly opened the door, and she seemed really distressed and kept ... Read Full Story >>

5045 Reads

The Art of Waving

It began a year ago, around Christmas.   While driving around the corner of our townhouse complex, I always notice an old man sitting by his front yard. He is usually smoking or drinking and looks rather grumpy.   One day, while I was driving past him with my daughter, I decided to wave at him with a lot of excitement. Initially, when he noticed me waving at him, he looked a bit shocked. Then, I saw his hand go up and he waved back.   "Why did you wave at him?" my daughter asked.   I told her that it's just an act of kindness that doesn't cost anything, and it gives both him and me a sense of joy. She responded by saying that she was a bit embarrassed to wave to a stranger, but next time she would try it as well.   Lucky for us, we live close to the old man, so we saw him ... Read Full Story >>

7130 Reads
  • Posted by yweling
  • Feb 18, 2013
  • 20 Comments
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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 >>

7132 Reads

160 Dresses

We are five women who wanted to make a difference in the life of our local girls. 

There are many needy families in our area and the winter formal dances were coming up soon. Lots of families would struggle to afford a nice fancy dress for their girl to go to the dance in. So, we reached out to our community and asked for donations of formal dresses in all sizes for this worthy cause. 
 
Little did I expect 160 dresses! 
 
Tomorrow we make them available so the girls can come by and pick one out. We also have high heels, purses, and jewelry that were donated! 
 
If it goes well we plan to do the same again next year!
 
160 dresses will equal much more than 160 smiles!

 

3355 Reads

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 >>

3283 Reads

Yogurt Shop Angel

I was stopped at the traffic light and a homeless man was pacing up and down along the divider. It was a scorching hot day.   'This will make him smile,' I thought, and I turned my car towards a frozen yogurt shop. I grabbed a cup and filled it with couple of flavors and came to the counter to weigh it.   I wanted to add some toppings but my change was not enough for that, so I asked the lady if she would take a $100 bill.   She said she wasn't allowed to accept a bill that large. Alright, I thought and paid for the yogurt.    As I was about to leave, she said, “Ma'am, don’t disappoint your child. Please add their favorite topping.”   I turned to her and said, “Thanks for your offer but this is not for my child. It's for the homeless man across the street.”   She smiled  with surprise and said, “Oh! ... Read Full Story >>

1723 Reads

Suckered? I Don't Think So!

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

Last week a young mother with a toddler was excited and happy about a light fixture she was buying. She rummaged through her bag for a while before announcing she had left her wallet at home. 
 
I suggested she pop on home real quick and come back but she said she lived a distance away. 
 
My heart responded to her disappointment and I took out my wallet and paid for her items. She was so surprised that anyone would offer to do that and took my name and address. 
 
My husband thought I'd been suckered but two days later, after I received a check from the woman, it was his turn to be surprised by the goodness in the world!

 

2939 Reads

Lost But Now Found

Saturday evening, my husband and I went to dinner at a local restaurant. As we sat there eating and sharing conversation, I watched an elderly woman stop at the opening into our area and gaze around the room. I wondered if she might be looking for the ladies room when suddenly she turned and walked in that direction.  A few moments later she walked past the same area heading to the far side of the restaurant. I thought, she must have found the restroom and now be headed back to join her party. After a couple more minutes, she appeared in the same spot… but this time, she turned and walked past our table.  I looked over at my husband and said, “She must be lost." I got up and caught up with her as she entered the bar area and touched her lightly on the shoulder.  “Ma’am, are you having trouble finding who you are dining ... Read Full Story >>

1612 Reads

Aaron The Door Opener

We were visiting my sister in Alabama and decided to go out for dinner to a restaurant she liked.     My son Aaron was 8 years old at the time. He had finished eating his dinner and asked if he could walk around and stretch his legs. I saw no harm in it and said yes.   The next thing I knew he was standing at the door opening it up for every person coming and going out of the restaurant. The waiter's door was also by the entrance so he was multi-tasking by opening the door for the waiters coming and going in and out of the kitchen with their food trays.     All I could do was smile. I was so proud of him that he took the initiative to do something kind for others without even being told.   When we left so many of the customers and waiters told me what a ... Read Full Story >>

2050 Reads
  • Posted by suzyque5
  • Sep 22, 2013
  • 17 Comments
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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!

Today on my way to work I left a card with a lottery ticket in it on a seat in the train. I sat couple of seats away and waited.
 
The train was getting cleaned and I saw the cleaner pick the card up and chuckle, so I guess he had read the words, "For you! Yes, you! Open me!" He picked it up and walked past me and then turned around and looked at me. I was pretending to text someone, with a great big smile on my face, trying to be anonymous!
 
He went out through the doors and I'm guessing he will have opened it by now.
 
I also put a card with a lottery ticket through the letter-box of a neighbor I don't know that well but is always very polite and waves when ever I see him.
 
This is so much fun and I can't stop smiling. What great joy a random act of kindness is!

 

3374 Reads

Minty Smiles

It's great fun showing people that they are important through random acts of kindness. In addition to Smile cards we found some smiley face butter-mints at our local Dollar Tree. We attach them to the Smile cards with a decorative paper clip.   Our youngest daughter handed a Smile card with mint attached to an elderly lady waiting at the doctor's office. It brought tears to her eyes. The lady stood up and said, "That deserves a hug!"    Our daughter passed out five more "minty" Smile cards at the doctors office that day.   Our oldest daughter made some whoopie pies and bagged them up with Smile cards attached for her aunt and her aunt's 90 year young neighbor. They both were over-flowing with excitement!   We gave a Smile card to a lady we saw at Wal-Mart and she said that she really needed the Smile card after a rough day at work.   Our family went to Pizza ... Read Full Story >>

4393 Reads
  • Posted by pelican
  • Apr 9, 2013
  • 8 Comments
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Buying Some Soggy Cops Brunch

We were out for Sunday brunch on a spring day with six other couples when we saw three very wet motorcycle cops come in.

They had been caught in a sudden, heavy, shower and had no time to get covered. 

I decided to quietly treat them, and the waitress brought me their bills. Somehow they learned who had paid for them and came to our table to express their sincere gratitude.
 
Just three weeks ago, in the same restaurant with the same friends, a group of about eight soldiers had come in.  In no time at all their bills were taken care of by some of the other couples in our group.
 
It's great to be able to help such deserving causes!
 

903 Reads
  • Posted by wallyndiana
  • Sep 23, 2013
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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 >>

14.3K Reads
  • Posted by aalif
  • Dec 31, 2013
  • 2 Comments
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Top 10 Kindness Stories of 2012, Story #8 - An Anonymous Gift I'll Always Remember

 I sold a tech company for a small exit in 2010. Everyone was extremely proud of me, but no one knew the exact amount I made, but everyone assumed I did really well. In actuality, I only made just over a hundred thousand dollars. I purposefully hid the amount because I wanted to use all the money to buy my parents a house, and I knew that my parents would never accept me buying them a house with the money from my sale. So with no one knowing, I drained my account (after paying taxes) and bought my parents a 1-story house in Texas (where I grew up). I did this because they had been living in a small two-story house that, in recent years, could no longer accommodate my sick and increasingly wheel-chair-bound dad. Everyone assumed I had made a large amount of money and that this was one of many ... Read Full Story >>

11.1K Reads

Something Priceless At The Dollar Store

I stopped at the local dollar store the other day after a fitness class to buy a candy bar.  So I get the candy and get in line behind a woman who looked about twenty years old. She had two small children with her and quite a lot of items in her shopping cart.     She handed her credit card to the clerk but the clerk told her it had been declined. The young woman insisted she had paid it off the day before. The clerk replied, "Maybe it hasn't got through the system yet. Do you want to call someone?"     The young girl got out her cell phone and was looking through it. Meanwhile, they open another counter to check me out.      I was walking out to my car when I thought, "Okay! You're always wishing you could help someone. Time for you to do it!"     I got back out of ... Read Full Story >>

7585 Reads

Something To Sit On

We have five fantastic children.  As they've grown older, from high school to college and so on, we found ourselves cleaning out our home of furniture only to replace it with something new. We had this one living room set consisting of a sofa, loveseat and chair. It went through a couple of the kids, hauling it up the stairs to their third floor apartments and back down again to the next apartment. Our son was the last to have the set when he finally asked for a place to store it because he was going out of town for a semester.  We told him we would hold it for him in our garage.  So we picked the furniture up and brought it back to the house. One day, while at work, I heard a couple of people talking in the hallway.  A mother and her two children were kicked out of their ... Read Full Story >>

5525 Reads
  • Posted by momoffive
  • Apr 30, 2013
  • 17 Comments
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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 >>

4328 Reads

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 >>

6359 Reads

Blue-Eyed Blessing

It has always been hard for me to give homeless people money, even when it tugs at my heart strings. Maybe I've heard too many times that they would use it to buy drugs or alcohol.

Yesterday, on my way home, I made a stop at a shopping center. On the way into the store, I notice a man standing with a sign. On my way out, I decided to exit from the other side.

When I got back into my car, without thinking, I went back the way I had come in. I took some money out of my purse and pulled up to the man. I looked straight into his beautiful blue eyes and handed him the money.

"Bless you," he said, and he took the money.

I said a prayer for him as I drove away, for I was deeply touched by those eyes. There was so much human grace in them.

I don't know what he will do with the money. His sign said something about being homeless and I truly hope he was placed in my path because his need was real and I was able to help in some small way.

Those eyes touched my soul and I was deeply moved.

979 Reads

Top 10 Kindness Stories of 2012, Story #3 - Girl Gets Up At 5AM To Decorate Her Entire Street

As part of her personal mission to try to bring some unexpected cheer to her neighbors, UK-based Zoe Green—who goes by the moniker Pea Green Girl—got up at 5 one April morning, or what she calls “Happy Street Day”, to decorate her entire street.  Along Shelbourne Road, she hung balloons at a bus shelter, post-box and telephone booth; stuck Post-Its with encouraging messages on a telephone pole; and pasted a “Good Morning!” sign along the bridge so that people who drove under it could see the greeting.  Green’s little project aimed to inspire people, and it must’ve brightened up someone else’s day—and it was her tiny step to changing the world, one smile at a time.  “I don’t intend to change the world, but I know that if you brighten one person’s day, they are highly likely to brighten someone else’s day,” she wrote on her blog.  If you left your house one morning and walked down the street to ... Read Full Story >>

13.5K Reads
  • Posted by Anthea Quay
  • Dec 30, 2013
  • 19 Comments
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Found on the NYC Subway

Pay It Forward Day has come and gone, but one New York City metro rider is keeping its spirit alive. The anonymous do-gooder left a sweet note along with a prepaid unlimited metro card for another rider to find, use and pass on. New Yorker Michelle Attardo spotted the card on 2nd Avenue between 88th and 89th and took a photo, which she shared on Instagram. The note reads: Unlimited - good 'til midnight. Use, if you can; leave for someone else when you're done. We love everything about this note, right down to its impeccable semicolon and apostrophe usage. Whoever you are, thanks for making our day -- and someone's night! ... Read Full Story >>

5088 Reads
  • Posted by HP
  • May 11, 2013
  • 1 Comments
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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 >>

14.5K Reads

Love Lasts for an Eternity

I drove to a local supermarket the other day. My shopping list was long and my wallet was light. Still, I needed to get a week's worth of groceries for my family. I parked my car, looked down at my list, and hoped I could afford it all.  As I approached the door, I saw a man with kind eyes and a gentle smile. He said he was collecting for a local food bank that helped to feed the hungry in my area. He handed me a second shopping list of things they could use and asked me to help if I could. I smiled back, took the list and walked into the store. I really wanted to help, but wasn't sure if I could this time.  I walked through the store, picking up vegetables, soup, spaghetti, bread, milk, cereal, macaroni, bananas, and a dozen other things. I slowly marked each item ... Read Full Story >>

7308 Reads
  • Posted by brownowlster
  • Jun 20, 2013
  • 22 Comments
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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 >>

22.4K Reads
  • Posted by anonymous
  • Dec 23, 2013
  • 6 Comments
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