Stories Matching 'Teens' Tag (65 matches)

Taken By Surprise By A Course In Miracles

Arriving in a new city last Thursday, I had the strangest first week of graduate school. I fell and broke my leg within 48 hours of arriving there! I was really amazed by the kindness shown by my new roommmate, someone who I had only just met. "We are family now", she said when she found me lying in my room with a swollen leg, unable to move, in a strange city with no family except across three oceans. She took me to the student health center by cab to get my leg examined. The cab driver was so nice and said to me how lucky I was to have a friend like that.  After that, my roommate didn't stop helping me - she made me amazing meals and brought them to and made me comfortable despite my insistence that I could do things on my own. When I protested, "I really like helping people", she said , "I believe ... Read Full Story >>

A Profound Urge To Do Something Outrageously Kind

Yesterday, I wasn't having the greatest day. I lost my wallet, and luckily I found it, but the whole mishap messed up the rest of my day. In the evening, I was reading stories on My Life is Average, and then switched to Gives Me Hope. Reading about so many positive experiences and contributions to society from so many different people made me feel very cheerful. After reading, I was getting ready for bed in an altogether happy mood, and as I was getting out of the shower, I had a wonderful idea. I had this profoud urge to do something outrageously nice for someone whom I don't feel like I've ever done anything explicitly nice, my mother. That's not to say that I don't love her and tell her as such, but doing the little acts of kindness, those usually escape me. And it's not just me that forgets to do ... Read Full Story >>

A Phone Call, To A Letter... To A Life Changing Friendship

My first full time job after high school was selling vacation packages via telephone for a well known company.  One day, the dialer connected me to a man that answered the phone and sounded a bit out of breath.  I started with my normal pitch, and expecting to hear the normal, "I don't want any," and be hung up on.   Instead he spoke in a faint, weak voice and began to tell me how he wished he could take a vacation like the one I was offering, but couldn't because he was dying of emphysema.  He explained how he was on oxygen, and it took almost all his energy just to get to the phone to answer the call.  I apologized, and my heart fell into my stomach.  He asked me if I smoked, which I did, and then begged me to stop.  He told me smoking is what was ... Read Full Story >>

An Inspiring Personal Journey in Helping Others

I stumbled across Helpothers.org when I was in a Computer Science class in my last year at high school (2008) while looking for an inspirational quote. Well I found more than just an inspirational quote but many inspiring people from all around the world too! I had no clue then how I would begin a journey of being inspired every day by all of you. I didn’t know I would meet and become friends with people from the USA, UK, India, Netherlands, Australia etc..But in life the things you love the most are surprises which take you on a whirlwind adventure. After successfully grasping the quote I had been looking for, I noticed a green box on the site saying about “if you had US$100 to helpothers what would you do to help people?”  There was only a few minutes until class finished. So I hurriedly submitted my idea of how I would ... Read Full Story >>

How I Like To Use My Smile Cards...

Thank you so much!! I had sent a request for 30 smile cards for all my Christmas acts.  In the request I said that if it's not possible for them to send me these cards I totally understand because after all I do live a long way down in New Zealand.  I didn't hear anything more and just happily accepted that I won't be receiving any smile cards. Last night I arrived home to find a package with about 278 smile cards inside!! This arrived a few weeks after I placed the request...I couldn't believe it!! That was something I sooo wasn't expecting! I was so overwhelmed, thinking is this a mistake? Here is what I use my smile cards for.... - Whenever I send out cards or presents in New Zealand or around the world I always include a smile card inside. I have sent out quite a few cards out to quite a number ... Read Full Story >>

The Journey of a Spanish Smile Card

At 2:00am this past Friday morning, I received a text message from a friend, asking if I had any Smile Cards in Spanish. I immediately replied back saying I didn’t have any smile cards in Spanish. However, I also asked her why she wanted them specifically in Spanish and if smile cards in English would be acceptable. To my surprise, she said she had been one of the few selected by her high-school to go on a service trip to Nicaragua. She was going to spend four weeks in the villages teaching English to children & teens between the ages of five and eighteen. She wanted to share the concept of Smile Cards and kindness. By now, I was totally rocked and excited with hearing the news! :) So I decided to stop texting and call her to get more information about her service trip and ask when she was leaving for ... Read Full Story >>

School Friends Step-Up The Generosity

My friend and I had an assignment for one of our classes to do a random act of kindness and write and essay about the experience. We were inspired to take  the assignment even farther and turned it in to a kindness project to recognise people who serve our community. We scoped out a number of places where people serve the community in our town.  Then we baked (and baked) for 6 hours: cookies, cakes, cupcakes, pies, and brownies.  When we were done baking, we began dropping them off.  We went to two fire-stations, a hospital, the post office, the police department, and we even chased down some bus drivers for three blocks :) Everyone's reactions were just amazing. The bus drivers hugged us and were on the verge of tears. Everybody was so thankful when it was us thanking them for what they do.  Policemen and women, doctors, nurses, bus drivers, firefighters - these are the people who ... Read Full Story >>

Love Is Stronger Than Fear

My Daughter and I recently encountered, as we often do, in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, a Homeless man, who was hunkered down for the night, under a few sleeping bags with his book and all of his belongings. We encountered him as we were walking home after dinner. We had been so hungry at dinner, after a day of touring colleges, that our eyes were too big for our stomachs and we ordered too much. The appetizer ended up being enormous, and ravenous as we were, we ate it hungrily. There was still some to spare. When our meals arrived, we picked at them, out of obligation, but decided to take the whole portions home, although we were staying in a hotel, and leaving early the next morning, and likely wouldn't have even eaten it.  As we were walking home from dinner, we passed the homeless man and he made some gesture to us, ... Read Full Story >>

Candy Care from the Kindness Contest

In early December, I had a fun idea. I thought it would be a good idea to provide care packages for my students who were heading into their final exams. I teach two classes at CWRU in Ohio, which is a difficult, research oriented, private school.I also teach two classes at Tri-C, a community college made up of more mature college students who worked and had families. They had their own stresses.  I found this site, HelpOthers.org and the kindness contest, and wrote in with my idea to use the $100 to provide care packages for my students.   Before I even knew if I would win the kindness contest, I spent $50 of my own cash. I used it to get the supplies for my CWRU students' care packages. I pondered this for awhile before I did it, because $50 is a lot of money to me, but it quickly became an obsession.  I decided to do it ... Read Full Story >>

Thank You For Doing The Most Important Job

I was heading to my writing group yesterday. Standing at the bus stop I decided to run back for a book to read on the journey. (Something I don't normally do.) While waiting for the bus, I flicked through the pages and found my place. Because it was an old book I didn't want to "dog-ear" the pages, so I searched in my pockets for something to use as a bookmark. All I had was a couple of ten pound notes, so I carefully folded one of them and slipped it between the pages. Sitting on the bus I took the book out and was about to read but and I was distracted a young woman behind me who was speaking on her cell phone. She was talking to her brother. She wanted to know where he was, why he wasn't where he was supposed to be, why he had lied to their mother again and ... Read Full Story >>

A Teenage Boy 'Starts at the Heart'

I have always tried to base my life on helping others. Sometimes I have had to do without but that’s okay. Our family, like everyone else, are having a rough go of it and I feel blessed just to be able to provide for my own kids. I know that my kids have always been kind-hearted and would do whatever they could for anyone else, but when I learned about a recent act of kindness my teenage son did for a friend, it has really touched my heart. My son was going to school every day with lunch money in his pocket but yet coming home hungry. When we asked about this, we came to find out he was sharing his money daily with a friend that was going without any lunch every day.  As rough as we have it some days we now make sure there is lunch money for two ... Read Full Story >>

Even Small Kindness Is Never Forgotten

I came across HelpOthers few days ago and I can`t stop reading the stories. I want to thank you all for sharing joy around the world and writing about it. Ever since I was a kid I've believed that a smile is a cure and that kindness spreads around like a (wonderful) virus. I`m glad to see how many stories of miraculous acts you all have written. I shared some of my favorite to my mom an hour ago. She was a bit down and I wanted to put a smile on her beautiful face and remind her that people can surprise you in a very pleasant way. After hearing some of the stories from HelpOthers she told me one herself that happened 30 years ago. She was just a teenager on a vacation on the Adriatic coast with her two best friends (they are still her best friends).  They were having coffee ... Read Full Story >>

Inspired by the Courage of an Intern

In August, an intern came to work at  my company. As I began to get to know her I was inspired by her story. In addition to coming from the inner city and having suffered many abuses as a child, her story was one of courage. At age 20 she went to bed with a headache and woke up paralyzed and unable to speak. She had a brain virus that caused the brain to swell. She had to relearn to talk, walk, write and lost much of her vision and balance. Despite all that she continued with her education and graduated in December with a bachelor's degree.   Her family was not supportive, her mother did not even wish to attend the graduation. The last week she was here I told her to show up early and dress up as we were taking someone else to lunch.  Instead, I had a surprise. When ... Read Full Story >>

Paying Forward My Gratitude

When I was 23 years old I was in a dangerous relationship with the man who was my financee at the time. I was being physically and verbally abused on a daily basis.  I was financially tied to him (after he spent all my savings to pay his debts) but I wanted to be free!  For the longest time I was too embarrassed to tell my mother about the situation. She had warned me about him. But, eventually, I worked up the courage to tell her and she sent me the money I needed to leave.    Before the money arrived he found out what I planned to do. I was so scared of what he might do I decided to leave all my things and just get out of there.   Then, on my way to safety, my car died! I had automobile insurance (thanks to my mom) so I called the AAA and had them tow ... Read Full Story >>

More Kindness Inspired By A Homeless Man

  It was bitterly cold and I had been watching a homeless man make himself comfortable in a "shelter" next to a power unit on the canal bank. His "shelter" was a tarpaulin taped to the metal unit and anchored with rocks to keep the wind from blowing it away.  He had been living there for over a month in weather that often dipped below freezing. In all the times I passed that makeshift lean-to I never saw him with warm clothing or food. I knew what I wanted to do.   I was young, living at home, and when I told my parents what I wanted to do they were alarmed. I could be putting myself at risk, taking a box to a homeless person in the night time! But I knew, on some intrinsic level, that I would be safe.    I went to the grocery store and got an apple box with a solid top ... Read Full Story >>

Helping a Little Girl on the Street

Her facial deformities make her look scary. She is around eight or nine years old and she begs for living.   The first time I saw her I got a fright and almost squealed. A few times after than I handed over some coins. Later, I felt annoyed with her and her parents for scaring others to get money. Eventually I thought of giving some more money or talking to her but I was worried she might become a nuisance, so I didn't. I told myself she probably wouldn't understand my language, but that was just an excuse and I felt bad about it.   Today, when I saw her sitting on the footpath counting coins, I thought she would come to my car and beg but she didn’t. I started walking home from my car but then thought maybe I could do some good here if I could overcome my inhibitions, discomfort ... Read Full Story >>

The Man I Will Never Forget

This morning, I remembered a childhood memory.  It made realize that some of the acts of kindness that we might do spontaneously might never be forgotten by the recipients.  I was six years old and in foster care. My foster mother was not the kind of person I would have chosen to stay with. One morning she sent me to the store for a sack of flour. On the walk back home I was doing what any six year old would have been doing -- playing. Because of that I dropped the sack of flour and it burst open spilling the flour all over the ground. I knew that this meant I would be in big trouble when I got home. So I ran back to the store and asked the clerk if I could have an empty bag and a scoop so I can gather up as much of the flour ... Read Full Story >>

Buying Ice Cream and Making a Difference

The other day, I decided to come home early because it was such a beautiful day. The kids were outside playing in my apartment complex and the ice cream truck was whistling its tune. As I drove slowly to avoid an accident, I noticed a little boy looking at the ice cream truck. He didn’t get anything and he walked away with a disappointed look on his face. I asked the ice cream guy what happened and he said the little boy had no money. I had no cash on me so I drove to my building and went upstairs to look for some cash. When I found it the ice cream guy was still waiting but the little boy was not.   I went in the direction I thought he might have gone and I saw a woman getting out of her vehicle. I asked her if she had a little boy ... Read Full Story >>

A Pay It Forward Revolution at School

As a part of my Pay it Foward project revolution, I'm starting the 29 day giving challenge...again!  I've done this in the summer, but this time is different because I'm also doing it with some friends from school and some friends here at KindSpring ;) Today, as my first gift, I believe I have given the gift of encouragement and cheer. Looking back , when I had first done this challenge, normally I would think, " What kind of gift is that?" Looking back at that experience now, I realize that these simple gestures mean a lot more then one thinks they do :) Today, some of my friends were a bit gloomy, perhaps because of the weather, some because their schedules got changed (it's a new term for us now at school).  There was this one frind from school that had recently gone through a break-up that I didnt know of, ... Read Full Story >>

Flowers and Wheel Chairs

I am the Director of a little non profit Youth Centre and we do at least one act of kindness a month with the youth who attend. Just this month the youth handed out flowers to random community members. There was great energy among the kids that day, after we exchange stories on how we felt about the act of kindness we did. A 14 year old male stood up and said "Id like to say something." I was a bit surprised as he is a shy and quite boy but I said go ahead. "Today I gave a lady who was in a wheel chair a flower. She was putting her two kids in the back seat of her car. When I went up to her and said, hello, she was suprised when I handed her a flower. I quickly said Happy Valentines day and started to walk away. She ... Read Full Story >>

Be Open. Be Ready. Look for Opportunities to be Kind.

Today I prayed for ideas on ways to be kind. My first opportunity came at a restaurant. A little girl dropped a dollar and walked off. I picked up the dollar and ran after her, giving it to her mother. "She dropped this," I said. Then at the store, there was an elderly man looking at firewood. He had a cane, and I couldn't see him carrying the firewood by himself, so I approached him and asked if he needed help. He said that he was just looking, but he seemed grateful that I asked. Inside the store, I found a bouquet of beautiful flowers. Uncertain who to give them to, I got into the check-out line. I only had two items, but a man came behind me with one, so I let him go first. I bought my mother her favorite candy bar, and I had the flowers but no one to give ... Read Full Story >>

Inspiration From my Daughter

I thought that was so sweet of her! It seems she not only reaches out to her friends these days but to her teachers and other children as well. I thought that was awesome! 

Soccer Team's Gift

Today, my family was given the opportunity to do an act of kindness. My son's soccer team was invited to a home for children with complex physical disabilities to help celebrate the 14th birthday of one of the residents. This boy is from Burundi, Africa where soccer is very popular.

All the children got wheeled out to the back yard and my son's team played an exhibition game for them to watch. The team gave the birthday boy a team jersey and a birthday card signed by all the players. We all got to meet the boy's family and have a tour of the home.

It was a gift for everyone involved - the birthday boy and his family, the soccer team, my son, my husband and I. I left there with such a feeling of warmth and love and pride in our boys.

That feeling stayed with me through the rest of the afternoon and shone through in all of my interactions - with the check out person at the grocery story, the man walking his dog on the street and the old friend I ran into in the supermarket.

I was even inspired to buy and leave a box of raisinets and a smile card on a windshield of a car parked in the supermarket parking lot.

Works in mysterious ways

As a young man, there was a special trip I had really wanted to take, but it cost $50 and I didn't have the money. A friend of mine who was doing things for his church, said I could earn $50 doing yard work and invited me along.

When to my total surprise in the process of cleaning up the fall leaves in the parking lot, I found of all things...a $50 bill there on the ground under the leaves I was raking! I was totally astounded!

Gratitude told me the best thing to do was donate the $50 I was to earn for my work, back to the church instead. It was my first exposure to "pay it forward". From then on, I have "paid it forward" with random acts of kindness for others ever since. The heart warming feeling of helping others "mysteriously" is better than anything I know of. :)

When The Student Is The Teacher

I teach at a middle school where we really focus on kindness and service being our over-riding culture. We have a Wheel of Kindness we spin each week to challenge the kids to commit kind acts, and we hold assemblies that recognize our students who are committing acts of service locally and globally. Well this week I was reminded again how special middle school kids are. I follow many of my students on Instagram so I can keep up on their lives away from school as well as look for any cyber bullying. On Monday evening, I received a direct message from a boy who had someone write a very mean message in his locker. He took a picture of it and sent it to me asking for help. I assured him that this is not what we are all about at our school and asked him to meet me at ... Read Full Story >>