Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Is people helping people such an unconventional idea? I don't think so.

One of life’s more challenging aspects is being in need of assistance and having no one to turn to. For many of us, asking for help is a difficult concept. It can require a certain amount of vulnerability. We may feel as if we are admitting a personal limitation that the world would not have known about, had we not asked for help.  

This is why I started the Helping Movement, in my local area (Ithaca, NY). The Helping Movement is a free online tool that gives people the power to ask for help from our entire community. I noticed that there were many opportunities to volunteer your time to help specific organizations, but not a way to volunteer time for people’s individual needs. The Helping Movement fills this void by giving people the ability to ask for help from the community and a way for volunteers to help people in need.  I truly believe helping others is one of the most effective ways to get in touch with the joy of giving without expecting anything in return.

Just recently a local Ithaca resident, Helen, was given until the end of March to remove all of her collected life belongings from her basement or her landlord would have been forced to dispose of the items due to fire code issues. These items mean the world to Helen and to loss any of them would have been devastating. After extensive searching for a place to store her belongings she was able to secure an affordable storage unit in Newfield; but now her next challenge was moving a completely full basement across town without access to a truck or manpower.

Helen contacted the Helping Movement and explained her dilemma. The Helping Movement was able to recruit six volunteers, including myself, and one truck to move her belongings the morning of March 29th. We arrived at 9:30am and the smile on Helen’s face was amazing. She was so taken back by the amount of support total strangers were willing to give her without asking for anything in return. The entire move took only about five hours, but the experience will be remembered for a lifetime.

Helping others gives you an opportunity to change people's lives, including your own. You have the power to change things for the better and a community that is listening to your needs. When other people depend on you, it will change the way you look at yourself and at the same time, it will create a more giving and peaceful world.

We can do it together.