Forums » Smalltalk » Random Acts of Kindness

C'mon you guys! I know you've got something to share that you've seen or done or had done to you that just made you feel so warm and fuzzy inside!

It can be anything! Everyone's bound to witness things like this. C'mon and share your stories! .

What are some things you go out of your way to do to help people or the world around you?

Here's a couple from me: At times, on my two-mile walk home late at night from work, I'll pick up trash and toss it in the cans next to the sidewalks for the duration of those two miles. I get sorta sad when I feel I can't pick it all up, but I figure picking up all the bigger stuff (not like cig butts since i can't see them at night much) helps a little bit more than nothing.

A lot of people tend to ask for food around here, but my ex and I, when we were walking home from work together after getting to eat, gave our boxed food to some younger gentlemen who looked obviously worse for the wear, travelling with what looked like an entire campsite on their back.

I like to compliment everyone.

I also tend to question if the person is recovering well from injuries they are currently healing from.

These are silly, small things but... they make me feel good when I do them. Really good. So tell me your stories!

I lived in Philly for a while and often times you see a lot of people on the streets. It is heart breaking but a lot of times you just can't afford to give much. On one of my walks to class I noticed a man with a dog who I had seen many times before. But the day was very hot and they both didn't look so good. Since I was on my way to class I had a drink with me. So I offered the man the extra bottle of water I had.

But the story isn't just about me being nice to offer the man water. What the man did with the water is really more kind than I was. He poured half the bottle into a paper cup he had and offered it to his dog. He put the animal first before himself and that made a small sliver of hope for people spread in me. He could of downed the cold water which I am sure was tempting (it really was beyond hot) but he didn't.

That's so sweet.... I love it when people really are as close to their pets as they claim they are. There's nothing quite like a friendship between a dog and a person. And kudos to you for wanting to help, even if you may feel it wasn't much.

I volunteer at my library to read to the kids for story time. It gives me forensics speaking points, which can carry into the high school circuit, and most of the kids there can't read themselves, which is why they come to listen to story time. I've seen a few kids as old as I am sitting there watching us read the books, but that's beside the point.
Three of our regulars, one day, brought the other librarian and I flowers. It made me happy, because even though I wasn't there to receive these flowers (I was off at my States tournament) these three little girls went and took the time to pick us out some flowers and give them to us. They didn't have to, but they did anyways.
It's the thought that counts.

I do a lot of little things, but never any great acts of kindness, I must admit. I've been so busy as of late it's difficult to find time for volunteering of any sort, though I've made it my personal mission to help at a kennel one day. Perhaps this summer I'll have the time.

Most of the things I do is help people up who fell, give the occasional change to homeless people or offer my aid to people who have difficulties with something and require help. There is one thing I did I'm proud of though.

It must have been around two years back or something, around the time the newest Elder Scrolls game, Skyrim, was finally released. I was walking in the park on a saturday morning when I heard yelping and growling coming from a dumpster. What I found was a little doggy, a Cocker Spaniel I believe it was. The poor creature was abandoned. It didn't have any sort of identity attached to a collar or anything. It was just a poor black furry pup who was surrounded by trash and heaps of dung, half of which clung to his fur. It was devastating to see! The poor creature was so scared, it started growling at me and backing up into a corner as soon as I looked at him.

I had half a mind to just call animal control and leave it there, but I couldn't. I was just so heartbroken by the sight of him. I jumped into the dumpster and sat there for a while, waiting for him to come to me, which didn't take all that long. Once I had his trust, I picked him up, took him home and put him in the shower to wash all the dung off.

My mother is allergic to dogs, so I wasn't allowed to keep him, which was understandable. Luckily I was allowed to have him with me until we could find a foster family.

Though he wasn't the most manly looking of dogs, I gladly walked him him every day and took good care of him. He already knew how to sit and play dead and such, so there wasn't much training involved. I had named him Meeko, after the raccoon from Pocahontas. I found it to be fitting, since he was found in a dumpster 'n raccoon's like trash (yes, I'm a total master when it comes to naming animals). I was quite sad to let him go, really. He was such a swell little guy. But at least he's in a good home now. Perhaps it was stupid of me to name him, that way I just got more attached to him. I'm quite proud of what I did. If I had just called animal services, Meeko might still be in that kennel today.

EDIT: I also realize there's a dog in Skyrim called Meeko. Perhaps I could've named him after that one. It seems fitting.

This thread is so uplifting. That story about Meeko especially tugged at my heartstrings!!

I try to compliment a stranger at least once a day.

When I see someone with a drawn expression or who is clealy crying out in public, I try hard never to close up and just push past; if at all possible, I ask if something is wrong and if I can help. Just asking seems to turn people's day around if what was getting them down isn't too too serious. So far no one has taken me up on my offer of help, but it seems clear the thought helps on its own.

I try to remember to write and send physical letters to the people I know, Even if they live nearby. If I know someone has a big event coming up, I will write them encouraging notes. If I hear that someone isn't feeling well, I write a get well card. I love to write thank you cards, both for real gifts and also to thank people for more intangible things like a fun outing or a word of wisdom they said ages ago but that I remember suddenly just when I need it. I think it is rare to receive real mail anymore (except for big family update mass mailings at christmas) but that at it is SO nice to be able to hold something physical in your hands that proves someone is thinking of you and appreciates you.

I also always try to give people the benefit of the doubt when they seem to be doing something not so pleasant or smart, and if there is any other more positive interpretation i try to believe that first, to give people a chance to return to their best selves if they had a bad day and stumbled. Or also just to avoid drama and making both our lives more unpleasant if the better interpretation (or something else harmless that I hadn't thought of) turns out to be true!

Well, I can't immediately name any great things, but I do always tell friends that whenever they need anyone, they can always give me a call or just let me know Much like Kim said, just having someone ask you what's wrong and talk about it can really turn a day around for the better ^^

There's one thing I can tell of right now. Just today, my brother was off on sports day with his class. Apparently there was this mechanical bull there, so of course the bugger had to give it a try. However the mechanics underneath the machine that kept it all moving were not covered up (which absolutely blows my mind) and as he was slowly slipping off, his foot got stuck in there. Apparently he lost track of time, but he was told later that it had taken the controller of the bull 8 minutes to maneuver the machine so that his foot could get out from between the machinery. Of course he was taken to hospital and came home with serious skin damage and no certainty of whether the wound would have permanent consequences.

So when I came home from school myself and I heard/saw what happened, I started doing what I could to help out. Mom was out again to the general store to get dinner, but we knew of a friend living two streets away that they still had spare crutches from his father, who had only recently stopped using them. They offered them to us, so I went over there quickly to pick them up. I reset them to his height and helped him practice on them, since even moving that (currently gigantic) foot of his could hurt, apparently. When he was comfortable with the height setting, I helped him back, then left him since there was nothing he needed. I'm two floors above him now, but he has my cell number in order to text me when he needed anything - my phone is now right next to me and I check it every now and then. When he's going to bed later, I'll probably also be helping him up the stairs.

I know it's not much, but it's the little things that do the trick I've done my good deed of the day, and it's always amazing when you can help out somewhere, somehow ^^

There was a woman in one of the local shops, buying what looked like treats for her kids. I was just behind her in the queue, and inwardly cringed as I saw her literally counting out every single penny she had before realizing that she didn't have enough and had to put something back. So I asked the cashier to put it on my tab. It wasn't a major act of kindness but, the fact that people have to resort to penny-counting in cases is terrible.

After a stressful day at work, I'm so happy to come back and read all these wonderful stories. Here's one my ex had on his own:

He was sitting at a bus stop waiting for a bus, his change in hand. Suddenly he sees a woman rush from her house and hand him a day pass! He was so thrilled. She went out of her way to do that. Unfortunately, she gave him one that expired another day and not the one she probably intended to. So he bought a day pass himself. Later on, he decided to return the favor and give his day pass to a woman standing at a bus stop. She looked at him like he was disgusting and didn't even say thanks, but she took the day pass. A man nearby saw what he did and went up to him and told him how awesome he was for doing that for her, even if she was too stuck up to say thanks. He then gave him a cigarette just to be nice, since he didn't have anything else to give. And that absolutely made his day.

I had a similar encounter as disducibus with someone counting change for a treat, except she was starving across the street from me at her job and couldn't afford anything to eat. She was trying to get enough bulk candy just to keep her from feeling too hungry, and she was digging in her change, which wasn't much in the palm of her hand, and instead just gave me this questioning look and presented the coins to me. Said, "This is all I have, I just want a bite, I've been over there all day. Will it be enough?" I felt awwwwfuuul. I told her to keep her money and to fill her bag and to enjoy her day.

I'm very shy so I find it hard to approach people and ask if they're ok, but if I'm close to them as is I'll try to ask if I can help somehow.

Oh that reminds me, recently it was raining a lot and people still tend to walk around. I asked this couple who were soaked if they had an umbrella. They said no, so I said I could give them mine. I had another in my backpack, just bought it, and the one I'd give them is sorta old, but... it was an umbrella!

They were thankful, but still refused. :c. I felt nice for offering but I sorta wish they would've taken it... x.o;. .

Rynh that dog story absolutely touched me. I'm a huuuuge fan of animals so it's so wonderful to hear these amazing stories involving them. . You guys are all so awesome!

I love this thread. It is nice to see what sort of great people are in thie community.

When I was serving one night while I still lived in Colorado, there was a really bad snowstorm. Because of it each server only had one table or so. One of the people who came in was this homeless woman who had been standing outside collecting change during the bad weather and kept coming inside to look at the menu. When she sat down everyone knew she only barely had change to eat something small and that if they served her they would be working for free, so everyone refused to pick up the table. So I took the table and skipped my turn in rotation knowing that I wouldn't be making any money for the night. She could only afford six chicken wings, so I went to the back and spoke to a guy in the kitchen about what was going on and asked if he would mind helping. So he gave her eighteen wings instead and some fries. I got her a free drink and we set her up for a few hours so she could warm up and eat. One of our chashiers looked up the homeless shelter and the bus route to it and the schedule, and when it came around we gave her directions to get there and the bus fare so she could get there along with some more food to-go. It was nice to see those at work who cared for the people in their community, and who were willing to give help when someone was down on their luck.

Amazing Idea!!!! Warm fuzzy stuff is good

The most amazing random act of kindness I have ever witness happened over the holidays. I was at work with a long line of customers, and the other cash had a line up too. In that line at the cash was a young couple with a very young baby, you could hear them talking about money and going thru the cart of stuff to see if they could cut corners to save some cash (they didn't even have winter coats on, the baby was taken care of first obviously). They were both very stressed and obviously hard up. Then an elderly man who just finished paying for his own order at my cash, stepped over to their cash and paid for the entire order.

As a parent I have been there, in the position where you make sacrifices to make sure that your child never goes without. Seeing him do that slightly reinforced my faith in humanity, and really truly warmed my heart.

I can't recall anything major I have done recently. I do little things, bring extra snacks with us when we go to the park so my son can share, or offer sunscreen/bug spray to those who don't have any.

I work as a mechanic for Wal-mart.. this being said, I am the only female among a group of large burly men. Which suits me fine, all my co-workers are great. What makes my day is every now and then I will get a surprised customer, and the exchange usually goes something like this: "You actually work on the cars? That is so great, you go girl! Way to break the boundaries!" Sometimes I get a little extra. It's even better when I hear it from men. One man shook my hand and laughed and said "I'm proud of you."
Once, around christmas, a lady in the marines reacted in the same way. She said she was so happy when she saw women being strong and taking on challenging jobs and thriving. We talked for a while before she told me to wait, went into her car, and gave me a huge box of cookies and a bunch of mints she had just bought. She insisted on me taking them and sharing them with the guys and then gave me a hug and told me to stay strong and keep at it.
Another time, a woman was coming out of the store and saw me working on her car and reacted similarly. She was an elderly lady, perhaps almost 70 years old, and out of her bag she pulled a box of expensive chocolates nd gave them to me and said that I was a tough cookie.
There is a McDonald's right down the road as well and me and the guys eat there a lot. One day a customer there came up to me and said "Don't you work in the auto center in wal-mart? I came to get air the other day and you were so kind and helpful to me, thank you!" And then proceeded to pay for my meal.
Another time, in the same McDonalds, a couple of elderly ladies complimented me on my earrings. I engaged them in coversation as well while one of my co-workers, Kevin, waited and we talked about their family for a while and one of them said: "So are such a polite young person! You don't see many of them around these days." And then bought mine and Kevin's lunches both.
People sometimes slip us tips though we're not supposed to take them sometimes as well...
And once around christmas, I was waiting in the drive-through line at Taco bell to get my food.. when I got to the window, they told me the person in front of me had paid for my food. Well dang, I said, I'll pay for the person's behind me too.
I like doing that from time to time... it's one of my favorite simple things to do. Just a random act of kindness from a stranger you'll probably never meet! And you never know how it might brighten someone's day ;

Late last year, I went to a convention in London and as I was walking from one train station to another, came across a blind man who was completely lost and no one was willing to help.

Turned out he had just arrived in London too and was trying to find his hotel. I wasn't sure where it was either but eventually we tracked it down, across many very busy roads and in a very hard to locate place.

It meant I missed my chance to meet Matt Smith at the con but I don't regret it because it was worth it to help that guy find where he was going.

My story isn't about helping homeless people or anything, but I'm sure it was special to the ones it happened to.
I decided this semester that instead of spending money to get myself a little gift to push me through finals week, I would spend the money to get my two favorite professors a gift. And not a 'you're such a great teacher' gift, either, but something that was unique to that particular teacher. My one prof was surprised, and was really worried that I might have spent a lot of money on it. I insisted him that it didn't cost much, and he seemed very appreciative. My other professor I got a gift for was very thankful for his present as well. I'm glad I could show them how much I appreciate their efforts, because face it, as students we sometimes aren't very fun to teach. But hopefully I was able to brighten their day and renew their teaching spirit.

Oooh! You reminded me of one of the things I'm proud of myself for most! I don't get a whole lot of super nice things done for me like these, so I don't have a lot to share in that category, but this next tale comes from Wal-Mart as well!

I was in Florida with a friend of mine when I lived with her. We used to go to Wal-Mart alot to get snacks in the middle of the night. This time I think we just went for actual groceries. I don't remember if it was in the line we were in or a line beside us, but one of the cashiers (an older lady) was being literally screamed at for something she couldn't control. She kept apologizing and tried hard to fix it, but eventually said she'd need to call her manager for assistance. When he got there, he also seemed irritated with her and fussed a bit and made her seem so small in front of everyone. When all was said and done, both she and I (because I'm a crybaby) were in tears. I felt soooo bad.

I wanted to do something for her. It made me sick to my stomach with nervousness to go through with it, and I actually got a bit shaky (I have a terrible case of social anxiety and anxiety as a whole x.o;.), but I told my friend I was going to hug her. And I did. And I told her she was beautiful and that I hoped her day would get better, that she deserved that much. She hugged me back, very surprised, but I could see she was smiling, too. Nervous, but smiling.

I'm still sorta surprised I did it because even thinking back on it makes me nervous. . Confrontation of any sort makes me so anxious! Eeeep.

Also CelestinaGrey, your story is adoooorable! That's so sweet. . All of these stories are sooo awesome I'm so happy you guys are this cool.

Faith in humanity has been restored a bit. Thank you!

My biggest act of kindness also happens to have a rather sad twinge to it.

I used to see this guy raiding the dumpster near my home all the time. It was highly evident he was homeless and by asking around I found out he had been like that for as long as anyone could remember. Anyways one day I was coming home from shopping (I was 19 at the time and living with roommates) and I saw him going through the trash..with what looked like the pork chops that I had thrown out the night before.

I didn't even think about what I was doing as I set down my grocery's and walked up to him. I asked when was the last time he had a decent meal and with the way he wasn't meeting my eye's I could tell it had been a while. So I invited him into my home, introduced him to my roommates and told him that dinner would be ready in an hour or so. I asked my boyfriend at the time if he had any extra clothes that Sean (The guys name) could wear and then told him he was more than welcome to use the shower.

That night Was filled with laughter, storys and some heart touching moments. I told Sean that he was more than welcome to sleep on the couch if he wanted to and the man almost started to cry. He told me that people twice and even three times my age wouldn't even look at him with anything more than contempt and disgust. But because I could see through the situation to the person he really was I was a beautiful example of humanity. I was so flustered I didn't know what else to say so I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek and told him I would make him breakfast in the morning.

Unfortunately when I woke up Sean was no longer in the apartment and here's where the sad thing comes into play. I found out two weeks later that Sean passed away from pancreatic cancer and had been found under the bridge five blocks from my house where apparently he had been living. They found his diary and the last entry described the Best Blessing of his life had been the dinner he had with myself and friends.

I don't care much for boasting on acts of kindness that I did. The fact that I did it is enough of a reward that I don't really need to talk about it, but I'll share something recently.

I was down in Montgomery at the wind creek casino there on uh.. Sunday. It's a fairly big place with several wheel chair ramps. I was busy trying to sort out some transaction errors involving cash not being deposited back into my account when I ran into a gentleman at the top of the wheelchair ramp.

I had passed him before, and was a bit weirded out, not by the fact that he was wheelchair bound, but that someone left him there at the top of it. My mother is handicapped and gets around in public in a wheelchair. She's been disabled for 7 years and it's been my responsibility to help her. I am her main care giver, but that's not the point.

Anyway, as I am passing back through, going back up the ramp since it's in the main hall and everyone sort of just has to walk down it. The alternative was go all the way across the casino, which is silly. Since there is a wheelchair ramp there too. It's more or less just a sloped hallway, haha.

He stops me and asks for directions to the cafeteria. Well that's down two ramps and they're fairly steep, I gave him the directions and he asked if he was going to go down the slope fast and I told him I didn't know, but I asked him if he'd like me to wheel him down and he said yes, so I did and that was that.

After that I have no clue what happened to him. I had to relocate my party and go back up to the desk to sort my information out. I didn't see him again, but I'm pretty sure he made his way to the cafeteria. I think his party was waiting for him there, but I have no clue.

Well it's a bit silly, but hell with it. I moved to a new state where I didn't know anyone about a year and a half ago. I smoked heavily at the time and was really in rough shape. My neighbors also smoked a lot, so we ended up outside chatting most days. There was this stray cat everyone called "Tails" that was always lingering around us while we sat out there. He was a scrawny cat and only six months old. This was during a very cold winter. Despite his lack of nutrition he had beautiful fur. Gray and white markings and looked like he might be of Brazilian short-hair descent.

He had no idea what to make of me. He was cautious and hadn't been totally acclimated to people so at first he just sat from a distance and watched me. I decided to stare back knowing that cats recognize a lot of communication with the eyes. Eventually he started hopping into my lap because he was freezing cold and I decided not to shoo him off despite everyone else doing that because they thought he was dirty. Honestly he was a very clean cat.

Fast forward to the Summer and I'm feeding him and providing fresh water multiple times per day. It was the hottest Summer on record, but this cat was a fighter. I found out he was the only one of his litter to survive, and his mother eventually died off from starvation. He was extremely smart which is why I grew so attached. By August he and I could read each other without a word. I felt bad that he had to endure the elements constantly so I began acclimating him to the indoors. It wasn't easy. I endured a lot of scratches and cuts, but he learned. By October he thought the greatest thing ever was to be let inside so he could just flop down in the air conditioning and sleep.

Because of all of the food and care he eventually became the dominant Alpha cat in our area. He would often hunt just for fun and leave the kill in front of one of our chairs outside... except he would then sit in the chair and watch over the lesser cats venture into the yard to eat. Kind of morbid but it was also fascinating to see. Tails killed a hell of a lot of pests in my yard, and completely eradicated our mice problem.

I watched him go from scared and scrawny to loving and strong. He loved to snuggle and eat beef bits in gravy. And when he was at the peak of his quality of life, a 16 wheeler truck ran him over.

I stopped smoking. Being outside just wasn't the same. I wasn't depressed for very long after the incident. I figured that I was able to give him a home and love and a lot of delicious food. He seemed content with life.

I know it's just a cat, but I really loved that little guy.

You made me cry a little