Humans are at the root of pretty much all of the world's biggest problems today, and that can make it hard to appreciate them as a whole. But everyday heroes do exist, and their acts of kindness and generosity may be the only reason we have hope that things will eventually get better. Read on for some truly inspirational tales:
1. Emotional Security Guard
The most underratedly kind thing a stranger has ever done for me was the time a TSA guard, while checking my ID, mentioned how he could tell I had lost weight and complimented me on it. That was pretty awesome, I must say!
2. Secret Santa
I absolutely love doing adopt-a-family programs during Christmas. I don't have kids of my own, so I love the opportunity to buy gifts for kids in low-income families. My favorite family of them all was single mom who'd just turned 18. Her son was three and she'd moved into her very first apartment. She had nothing but two bare mattresses on the floor, one for her and one for her son.
She was working a job and was trying to save up for things for the house. Her wish list was heartbreaking. She wanted blankets for them both, a pan to cook with, and a Spider-Man toy for her son. That's it. I was single at the time, and supporting myself, so I only had a couple hundred to spend, but I was determined to make it go as far as possible.
I got her a complete comforter/sheet set, a pillow, and a full set of cooking pans. Then I found the coolest thing for her son: it was a fitted sheet that turned his bed into a Spider-Man tent! It was awesome! I found a big Spider-Man stuffed toy for him as well. I also found a huge book with over 100 full-length bedtime stories. I got the usual boring stuff of course, clothes for her son and a gift card for a holiday meal. But then I found the ultimate deal.
It was a clearance TV/dvd combo for less than $100! I knew money was tight for them, so I included a note in her Christmas card letting her know that she could rent her son videos from the library for free. I would have given anything to see their faces; I hope that it made her first Christmas on her own a little more happy.
3. Ticket To Ride
A while ago, I used to work overnight at a gas station. I saw a lot of the same customers, so a huge majority became regulars. There was this one woman who I always assumed was on something because she just looked like it. Anyway, one Sunday night about two years ago, she comes in and asks me a question that left me puzzled.
She asked if there was any way I could print something for her. I'm looking at her kind of skeptical, because this is a gas station, not a library. What she told me next broke my heart. She goes on to say that she is catching a bus to go to rehab in the morning, and the only way she can get on the bus was with a printed ticket. So me being me and it being after midnight on a Sunday, I had the time and the means to help her.
The only problem was she couldn't remember her email password. So we sat going back and forth trying to reset her password, with me dealing with a few customers in between. About 45 minutes later I printed out her ticket! She thanked me over and over. I just gushed I was so happy I could help her better her life. Fast forward I'd say about eight months later, the door opens. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
She came into the store and she looked so good! She'd put on weight and looked so healthy and happy. I gave her a huge hug and she thanked me again. I had tears in my eyes when she left.
4. Sweeter Than Chocolate
I was once feeling really down because of school, and also just life in general. I stopped at a convenience store on the way home one day to pick up a bit of chocolate to make myself feel better. The guy at the register must have noticed how miserable I was looking, because he let me have the chocolate bar for free. It was a really simple act of kindness, but it almost made me tear up in the middle of that convenience store. It instantly improved a lousy day for me, whether the guy realized it or not.
5. It’s The Little Things
Sometimes when my sister is sleeping or napping, I plug her phone in to charge so that when she wakes up, it’ll be 100%.
6. Upper Crust Move
I did this at a pizza place I worked at. Anything that was left in the warmer at the end of the night was supposed to be thrown out, but I would take it out back to the homeless people around. Towards the end of my time there, the general manager found out what I had been doing and tore a strip off me. What he said made my blood run cold.
According to him, if you feed them, they'll always be around harassing you when you're trying to get into the building and that would be unacceptable. Well, I got my revenge on the jerk. I only worked there for a couple of months after that, but I made sure I frequently “messed up” orders and set them carefully aside to distribute instead of throwing them in the garbage like he ordered me to.
I'm pretty sure the local homeless community was devastated when I finally quit. That boss was a monster though.
7. Bathing Suit or Birthday Suit?
One time on a cruise ship when I was young, my bathing suit flew off of one of those wave machine things in the pool. To be clear, it didn’t just slide down a bit, exposing some of my butt. It came completely off. WHOOSH. Trying to stand, keep my boyhood covered, and look for my trunks all at once in the middle of a tsunami was tricky to say the least. All of a sudden, a towel from out of nowhere hits me in the face. Thank you, kind stranger!
8. Floored
I had some extra laminate flooring from a renovation I was doing. An elderly neighbor saw it and offered to buy what I had leftover. I hesitated, because it wasn't really leftover, I had other plans for it. It was about a thousand dollars worth of material. I told her if she could hire our neighbor to move it for her, she could have it for free, since I knew my neighbor needed the money. She agreed and redid her living room with it.
Wikimedia Commons, Crystalflooringsydney
9. Warm Your Heart
I live in the deep south where winters are mild, but this one particular day it was cold. Like unnaturally cold. This guy came in at like 5 AM and all he wanted to do was warm the coffee he had in an empty water bottle. I'm pretty friendly, so I started chatting him up asking him why he was up so early in the cold. He told me he had to walk about 10 miles to work.
I felt bad. I asked about the bus, and he said he had no money. I was broke too, but I couldn't bear to see this man walk in the cold. So I went in my register and gave him two bucks for the bus. And told him he could wait in here out from the cold until it was close time for it to come. I miss working at that store and meeting all the different people.
10. Carry On My Friendly Stranger
I was moving out of an apartment, trying to pack some pretty heavy things into my car. A stranger witnessed this, offered to help, and spent a solid hour helping me carry furniture, densely packed clothes, and a TV down some stairs into my car. He was either an absolute gentleman or a future robber who was scouting out my apartment building for entry points. Either way, he definitely helped me a lot!
11. Diamond in the Rough
It was my first job in the field of conservation, and my boss was really tough, but secretly was a kind man. I had a six-month-old son and I was a 20-year-old single mom. I had just found out some bad news, and I was really sinking financially. My son's dad was dipping in and out. I wasn't emotionally mature enough for a relationship at the time. I had too much on my plate. One thing after another.
I was also the only woman on a crew of seven men, working to plant trees, fix United States Forestry Service roads and restore habitats for ten hours a day. I was too girlie to relate to the guys, but too manly for my girlfriends. Nobody understood. I felt hopeless. One day I cried on lunch break; it was all stacking up and I was cracking under the pressure.
After work the next day, as the other crew members filtered out of the work trucks, my boss said to me, "Just wait for a second." I was irritated, because I thought he was going to ream me out for my work performance, which he frequently did, for everyone. Instead, he waited until everyone was gone, pulled out his wallet, and took out a wad of cash.
He said, "I don't know how much is here, because I just grabbed a handful. But I want you to take every dollar in my wallet and help get yourself out of that hole you're in." It's been almost a decade since then, and my life has been completely turned around. I'm deliriously happy now. That gruff, sour old forester made a big change in my life, one that reached far beyond that moment of desperation and generosity.
12. Tips For A Better Life
I worked as a waiter. I had a nice table of four tourists with a bill of several hundred dollars. They paid in cash with crisp, new $100 bills and they left me a tip of exactly 20%—but there was something else. An additional $100 bill. Seeing how the new bills easily stuck together and knowing they were tourists who may have just taken money out for their trip or exchanged currency, I knew it had to be a mistake.
I ran out to the street, found them, asked how much they meant to tip me, and gave them $100 back. Could I have used that extra money? Yes! I was in my 20s, living away from home, had a tiny studio, beater car, and slanging fish and singing happy birthday multiple times a shift. But I just couldn't live with myself knowing I chose that option.
I knew it would only enable me to make excuses for other immoral decisions down the line. I never regretted it and have had an amazing life since.
13. Not Today, Fellas!
I was waiting at a train station in South Auckland at around 10 at night. For those who are not so familiar with my home country of New Zealand, let’s just say that South Auckland has a reputation for being a “bad place.” Anyway, our trains system forces us to pre-purchase our tickets at vendors. So, me being a skinny young naive 16-year-old, I openly pull out my wallet full of cash to buy my ticket without realizing that a train station full of criminals and druggies were surrounding me.
I grab my ticket and sit down as far away from everyone else as possible, just to avoid potential trouble. Then, as I’m sitting there reading a book, these two fairly large guys begin to walk up to me demanding my cash. Then, seemingly from out of nowhere, this man runs up to us, jumps in between me and the guys, and shouts "NO, NOT TODAY, WALK AWAY!" The men flee, and this helpful stranger then sits with me for the rest of my time there to make sure that nothing else happens. When my train finally comes in, my new hero sees me off and then continues on his way as if it was all no big deal.
14. Supportive Stranger
I broke my foot while bouldering a week into my semester abroad. I had never been out of the country before, so I was absolutely panicking. A total stranger came right over after I fell, recorded important information for the paramedics, and spent the next ten or so minutes while waiting for the ambulance asking me questions about my studies and my research after I mentioned that I was a student. His kindness was able to calm me down even though I was absolutely freaking out.
15. Beautiful Burrito
I purchased a Chipotle burrito for an old homeless man who wasn't even asking for money. He was just sitting in a corner and looked sad. I went to talk to him and asked if he wanted chicken or beef, and came out of the restaurant with a beef burrito, he thanked me and started eating right away. I have no trouble accepting I'm a jerk sometimes but for some reason, that man just looked sad and lost which got to me so I bought him food.
16. A Fella With an Umbrella
One afternoon back in my university days, I walked out of class into a summer sunshower. Just a few short instants later, some stranger walking by offered to share his umbrella with me. For the record, I am an ugly nerdy guy, so there were no ulterior motives if that’s what you’re thinking. He was just a sincerely nice guy who decided that he felt like sharing his dryness with a stranger. We parted ways at a corner and I thanked him. Then, another person going my way saw this—and offered me their umbrella. I made it mostly dry to my next class thanks to the kindness of these strangers.
17. High Risk, High Reward
One of the smartest people I ever met married one of my good friends from high school. She had dabbled in coding games for fun, but had no IT experience. She was working minimum wage at a sandwich shop, which I thought was a shame, because she hated it and could do so much better. I was a manager at an IT consulting firm at the time.
I knew if given the chance to work in IT as a developer, she would do great. So I pushed my company to hire her as an intern. Without any code camp, relevant college classes, or experience, I was told that our company could never hire her. So, I helped her start small user group, put together a resume, and prep for an interview.
Then I went back to my company and forced the issue. I had to use a number of favors just to get her an interview. Then I basically cashed in all of my political capital, and said if she wasn’t successful, I would be accountable for it. They gave her a chance—and she did wonderfully, just as I knew she would. That was five years ago.
Today, she is a java developer making over $80k a year with full benefits. She loves her job, and my good friend doesn’t work much because his wife makes so much money. Unfortunately, pushing so hard was a contributing factor to the company letting me go a year later. I found a new job, so it worked out for me too. I don’t think she realizes what it cost me to get her in, and it’s probably better that way, but knowing I gave her a chance to change the trajectory of her life makes me smile.
18. Generous Barista
When I worked at Starbucks and the food was supposed to “go bad” that night, I’d put it all in a bag after we closed, and hand out to the homeless people around where I worked. They seemed to appreciate it, and I always had enough to leave them with the bag of food to disperse amongst themselves and their friends.
19. Taking Care of Business
A professional-looking guy in a three-piece business suit got out of his car in the snow and walked through a large snow bank on the side of the road to help me push my car out. He did this voluntarily, purely out of the goodness of his heart.
20. To Teach Is to Touch Lives Forever
I was in a car accident when I was four years old that left me in a coma. But that wasn't the worst part. My sister, who was also in the car, succumbed to her injuries the next day. I was unconscious when my sister’s funeral was going to occur, which meant I would be left alone at the hospital. My preschool teacher offered to sit with me and hold my hand at the hospital, so that my parents could attend my sister’s funeral without having to worry about me being alone. It is the kindest gesture anyone has ever done for me.
21. Pet Care
I contacted a local therapy dog network, and my dog and I now visit a bunch of schools during finals, when students are really freaking out. Dogs are wonderful beasts who don't know or care about finals, they just want to be petted and fed treats.
22. Forever Holding His Peace
I was supposed to be a groomsman in a wedding and my flight got delayed. Like really delayed. Delayed so bad that Delta brought out the "We are sorry" care packages and complimentary pizza. Towards the seventh hour, I started getting pissed that the front desk wasn't giving us answers. Well, while I was going off, some seven-foot-tall guy saw me, got in line for the complimentary pizza, and, to my surprise, handed me the plate that he had picked up. I ate the food and reflected on what a jerk I must have seemed like to everyone there.
A little later, he found another flight and was kind enough to have asked the front desk women to book two tickets instead of one. He gave me the other ticket. Apart from the nod I gave him once we got off the plane, I never saw that dude again or even learned his name. I made it to the wedding just in time.
23. A Helping Hand
When I turned 18, I was struggling immensely with my mental health. One day it all got too overwhelming and I left the house, thinking I’d end up at the train tracks. My mind was in an absolutely terrible state. I got to the park and just couldn’t keep walking, so I sat on a bench and manically wept so hard that I couldn’t feel my body, and I was shaking uncontrollably.
My mum was calling me to try to find me, but my phone was about to die. Many strangers walked straight past me, or threw me a look of disgust. Then one lady, who lived on the street next to mine, stopped and sat beside me. She just sat and hugged me. She eventually called my mum and told her where I was before my phone finally ran out of battery.
Then she stayed with me until my mom arrived and took me for a long drive to calm me down. I still see the woman around when I’m back in my hometown. I don’t know if she remembers sitting with me, but I do, and her presence that day meant a lot to me. I’ve always wanted to let her know that I appreciated it a lot and will never forget it.
24. Drive-thru Kindness
I was dropping my friend off at her car we had left in a parking lot by a Taco Bell. This homeless couple comes up to us and asks if we can go through the drive-thru for them as the dining room was closed and they couldn't order by walking through the drive-thru. They gave us some money, maybe like four or five dollars, and just asked us to buy what we could with it.
We went through the drive-thru and paid with our own money. We bought a good amount of food and a couple of drinks for them. We came back to them and gave them the food and their money back. Their reaction broke my heart. They thanked us profusely and as they started to walk off the woman starts crying and the man gives her a big hug.
It wasn't a lot, but the fact it had that impact on them warmed my heart.
25. Easter Parade
At Easter, I was ten dollars short in the grocery line. We really needed food, so I was about to put back the two chocolate Easter bunnies and the jelly beans I had, when all of a sudden the lady behind me shouts, "Don't you dare!"
She paid for all of them. I cried and thanked her repeatedly.
26. Benevolent Bus Driver
After school one day, I was supposed to have practice, but it got unexpectedly canceled and nobody told me until it was too late. My school days ended at 3:10, and busses left at 3:20. It was like 3:18, so I scrambled to grab my stuff and find my bus, which changed places frequently. I couldn’t find my bus, and all of the busses started leaving.
Now, I could have just walked home, but it was raining and I had a ton of stuff with me to bring home. My old bus driver, who drove another bus, saw me stranded and crying. So, she pulled over and lingered so that I could hop on. She waited with a bus full of kids waiting to go home, for a kid who doesn’t even belong on her bus anymore. That is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me.
27. A Little Help
When I was waitressing to put myself through school, I was struggling. There were some lean months. I got an amazingly large tip one December and the person had just written "Happy Holidays" on it. In the blink of an eye, I was suddenly able to afford presents for my family that year. That’s when I made myself a promise. I vowed to do the same when I could afford to.
I now leave huge tips throughout December. At least 50% (or more if they are amazing). I never even get to see their reaction, but I am hoping it brings a smile.
28. Home Is Where the Heart Is
I bought my condo at 27 from a guy I had never met. There were a lot of offers way over asking price in a very competitive market, but I offered what I could. I had lost out on many places before over months of searching, being outbid by ridiculous cash offers I had no chance of beating. I fell in love with this neighborhood and made two other failed offers here earlier, so I just wrote him a letter telling my story, explaining how hard I’d tried to save everything I could to buy my first place and make a home to start really establishing myself.
He ended up taking my offer over several much higher bids because he sympathized with my story. He himself had apparently bought this place decades ago when he was a struggling 27-year-old trying to establish himself. My letter resonated with him to the point where, even though he probably could have made another $40k easily, he instead felt that he wanted to give me the same opportunity he had once had. I’m forever grateful to him for that, even though we have never met.
29. Regardful Recruiter
When I was enlisting into the army, my recruiter picked me up to go over some paperwork in his office, which was close to the downtown area of my city. On the way there, we passed a homeless woman sitting on the side of the road. Without even a second thought, my recruiter whipped the car around and pulled through a nearby drive-through.
He bought a huge meal with a large cup of water, and raced back to where the woman was sitting. The look on her face when he pulled up and handed her the meal through the window was something I will never forget. He didn't have to do something like that, but he did it out of the kindness of his heart. He's one of the best leaders I know, and I try to emulate him in everything I do.
30. From Santa
About a week ago, I mailed off a box of Christmas presents to an old friend. He and his wife have six kids between them and have fallen on hard times. I offered to buy presents for all the kids and asked him that he tell them it's all from Santa because, as someone who grew up in poverty, I feel it's important that those kids experience the magic for at least one more Christmas.
I included a present for him and one for his wife, which he doesn't know about. He's waiting until Christmas Eve to open the box and put everything under the tree. I hope they like their gifts.
31. O Positive
The nicest thing a stranger ever did for me was donate their own blood to save my life. Thank you, blood donor!
32. More Than She Bargained for
I was at a convention standing in line to get David Tennant's autograph. I was so excited that I unfortunately caused a seizure. After I woke up, I was so embarrassed. I was wheeled back beyond a curtain that was behind the autograph booth. A moment later, David Tennant's agent came up to me and asked me what color pen I wanted.
I was confused, but I said black. After he said that, he explained that David wanted to come back to make sure I was okay. I was still pretty embarrassed, but of course I agreed. The first thing he said to me was a joking, “What are you doing falling down on me?” Then we had a full conversation. Eventually, he asked my name, and autographed the book I had brought. I was so excited that I forgot to be embarrassed!
Wikimedia Commons, Rhododendrites
33. Secret Wardrobe
I have a 16-year-old pregnant student who is far too poor to afford pregnancy clothes. I managed to get some pants and a few shirts to her without anyone else finding out so that she had appropriate clothes to wear to school.
34. Finally, Someone Who Gets Me!
I was walking back from Starbucks after meeting my ex to finalize some financial issues. I was smoking a cigarette when a man approached and asked if I had an extra smoke. I usually just decline or ignore any person who approaches me when I'm out and about in the city, as many turn out to be nothing more than beggars looking for free handouts.
However, this guy seemed genuinely nice, and he looked like he was having just as bad a day as I was. I reached into my pocket and looked in the pack I had. I forgot that I had been smoking the last one. I told him that I was sorry and that I had another pack in my car a few blocks away, if he wanted to walk up there with me.
He accepted and we got to talking. As the conversation progressed, he explained that he had recently lost his job and was now pretty much homeless for the first time in his life. He was coming from an interview for a job that he didn't get, and I knew he wasn't lying because I actually used to work at his school that closed down and we knew some of the same people.
When I got to the car, I offered to split the pack with him and he refused. He just wanted the single one that he had originally asked for. We were both going through the roughest times of our life, and had both previously quit smoking for years. I could tell that he was really struggling, so I reached into my pocket and offered him the last 20 bucks I had.
At first, he adamantly refused the gift, but eventually, I convinced him to take it. I, at least, had another unemployment check coming and a roof over my head. The man then proceeded to hug me, and we were almost brought to tears. He then insisted upon giving me the hoodie he was wearing, and wouldn't take no for an answer. It was definitely a pretty nice one, not exactly my style but likely worth a few dollars on the street.
He wouldn’t take no for an answer and I eventually accepted this thoughtful gift. I still wear it occasionally, usually when working outside, and I am reminded of our little encounter and how caring and nice he was to me every time I put it on. I hope he's finally doing well and I am glad that I never got into as bad a situation in life as he had been in.
35. The Musician’s Message
I had a breakdown in the middle of one of my college classes. I had been depressed for several weeks, feeling like I wasn’t good enough to be in my major. Really I just felt worthless. I was doing a performance-based test in front of the whole class, and I was doing terribly. I was really angry with myself for not being better.
My professor interrupted me midway through and asked, “Do you want to try it again at the end of class?” I nodded, went back to my seat—and immediately started crying uncontrollably. I couldn’t help it or stop. I ended up excusing myself to the bathroom so that I wouldn’t cry in front of the class and embarrass myself further.
I performed again at the end of the class, and my professor was really patient with me and gave me feedback. The thing that really got me was before he dismissed the class, he wrote something down in the binder I had open in front of me. When I read it, I've never felt so touched. It said, “You are a strong, smart musician, and you have a bright future ahead of you. I believe in you, and I’m here for you.”
I cried even harder after that, but in a good way. I had never had a teacher care about me that much, or show me so much compassion. That one message genuinely turned around my entire year and made my sense of self-worth improve exponentially. I still think about it all the time, and I’ll be forever grateful to that professor.
36. Compliments On Little Things
A customer came in. She had this gorgeous wavy blonde hair. I told her I loved her hair and asked if it was her natural color, or if she dyed it. Her reaction was incredible. She was shocked and told me that it’s actually a wig. She had got it a couple of days before since she had recently lost her hair. I assured her multiple times it looked real and looked nice on her.
She left so happy and told me she couldn't wait to tell her husband. Whenever I'm at work I like to give people compliments now because I never know if some people need a pick-me-up, plus it’s always nice to receive compliments on little things.
37. A Shot in the Dark
I was sitting at a train station next to a girl who looked rather sporty. I noticed she was writing something, but didn't pay any attention to what it might have been. Fast forward half an hour. She gets up, hands me a note, and walks off. Of course, I wait until she leaves before I open and read it. I was very curious as to what the message might be.
Turns out she had written "You're really beautiful, don't know if you're interested but here's my number," followed by her phone number and several naughts and crosses. I never contacted her because I'm very shy, but I carried her note in my wallet for several years. It was a brilliant pick me up at a time when I had been feeling very low.
38. Help Needed
I worked at Apple and had a homeless gentleman come in and ask for a job. Even though he tried on several occasions, he couldn’t get a job, unfortunately, because he had no phone and no home. He eventually got into a halfway home, and a bunch of us at the store got together and got him a cheap phone and a SIM card, paid for six months. He eventually got a job and isn’t homeless now!
39. A Helpful Tip
I went out to dinner last week with my husband. I could just tell that something was weighing heavily on our waitress. About halfway through our meal, I said, "Please don't take this the wrong way, because I've never met you before, but are you okay?" What she told me broke my heart. She opened up and told me that she is four and a half months pregnant and just got into a fight with her mom and sister.
We are certainly not rich, but I figured my family could do with one less Christmas present this year. I gave her a $100 tip. My husband went to the restroom while I was signing the slip. I left it on the table and then stood outside waiting for him. He wanted to go back and see her reaction to what we did. I, on the other hand, feel like that cheapens it for me.
I didn't do it so she would thank me. I did it because I wanted to help her.
40. It’s Raining Pennies From Heaven
I was on the bus freaking out about not knowing how I was going to be able to feed my fiance and myself, as I was the only person working at a 100% commission job. A stranger heard me freaking out and on the verge of tears on the phone. He politely alerted me I had "dropped" some money on the ground. It was 40 dollars, and my fiance and I savored every penny. I never got to thank this guy, but I went and quit that job about a week or so later. Thankfully, I was able to find something way more stable to replace it with.
41. Filling In
Just recently, a coworker needed a shift covered—all for a truly heartbreaking reason. It was so he could say goodbye to his elderly grandparents. It meant missing my only Christmas dinner this year with friends, because I’m working away from my hometown and family, but I was happy to do it.
42. Grocery Gratitude
It was the first day of isolation here in Michigan, and there was a line in the grocery store that wrapped around the building. I spent 90 minutes waiting to check out. Eventually, I was next in line, but the lady in front of me had a problem with her card: it was denied. After a few failed attempts, the cashier asked her to step aside and call her bank.
They set her groceries aside. She only had necessities, nothing fancy; jugs of water, rice, macaroni & cheese, everything generic brand. As I was checking out, she was sitting on a bench trying to get through to her bank without having any luck at all. So I asked the cashier to check out her groceries with mine, which she did.
As I checked out the cashier told the woman, who was still waiting on the phone, that she was good to go. She was confused, and the cashier told her that I had paid for her groceries. If I had lifted a car off of this woman, she couldn’t have looked any more grateful. I once rescued a claustrophobic woman who was trapped in an elevator, and her look of gratitude didn’t even compare to the look of appreciation I got from this woman at the grocery store.
She said thank you and asked my name. I told her, said something cliche about needing to stick together, and we went our separate ways. It was only $80, it wasn’t a big deal to me. But, in that moment, on that day, when things were falling apart and people felt scared and powerless, after waiting so long, and not knowing what to do, my small act of kindness had been a big deal to her. I was so glad I was able to help out, even that little bit.
43. Missed It By That Much
When I was around eight years old, I was crossing a street without much looking. As soon as I started crossing, a stranger pulled me back by my shirt. Of course, a car flew by that same moment. Thank you, stranger.
44. The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship
When I was in seventh grade, I was getting yelled at by some mean people at lunch one day. I had been tormented for years and was getting tired of it. After the mean kids went away, I just sat down on the floor where I was and ate my lunch, stifling tears and sniffles. A group of sixth-graders came up to me and asked what was wrong. I told them what had happened and they offered to have lunch with me. I accepted. Then we just started having lunch every day.
45. Thanking A Vet
I paid for a WWII veteran’s meal at a bar after I had noticed his hat. After he found out but before I could slip out, we chatted a bit. I told him my first name and that I worked up the street. A week later I was called into HR—and for once, it was a nice surprise. I found out that he tracked down where I worked and dropped off a very sweet letter to my company.
I contacted him again to see if he wanted to meet and get to know each other a little more because he went above and beyond by improving my employee file even though I did it just to pay my respects. We agreed and it turned into a few pizzas and beers, talking about everything from waffles to women. It turns out his son is a very well-known celebrity. It’s a small world.
46. Driven
About three or four winters ago, I had a 5 AM shift on Thanksgiving. It was freezing cold outside and I had to catch public transportation to get to my job. So there I was waiting on the street corner for a good ten to twenty minutes, freezing my tail off. Suddenly, a taxi driver waves me down and asks if I need a ride. Me being super broke at the time, I couldn't afford it so I waved him off.
A couple of minutes pass by and he drives by me again, waving me down once more. I tell him that I can only afford to take public transportation. Nevertheless, he insists on driving me—telling me not to worry about the money. I hopped in the car and he was the most gracious person in the world, taking me right to where I needed to be and asking absolutely nothing in return.
47. Foreign Friendliness
I had recently moved to a foreign country, and one day I was riding my bike and epically crashed. I ripped a hole in my leg and couldn’t make it to the hospital. I also didn’t know how to call the country’s emergency services. I flagged down a car and when they saw the leg gash, they told me to get in. They not only drove me to the hospital, but they also held on to my bike all day, and then once I was done and back at home, brought it over to me. Complete strangers and the kindest people I had met in a while.
48. Sweet Gesture
A friend was feeling really down in the dumps, so I sent a basket of candy to him and a nice card saying how he's a good person—but there’s a twist. I never signed it and never told anyone. To this day he doesn't know who sent it, but it makes me smile when he tells the story.
49. That Guy Was Key
I was out clubbing one time and unknowingly dropped my house keys. The next day, I get a letter in my mailbox with a guy’s phone number. I text him. It turns out he had found my keys at the club, recognized the building they belonged to (student housing), came to the building, and tried using the keys on every single mailbox until he found the right one. Then gave them back to me. He was the nicest guy I’ve ever seen, and I am definitely glad he didn't choose to rob me instead!
50. Auspicious Timing
It was Christmas Eve and I found out that a friend of mine had literally no one to spend Christmas Day with. I lived far away and had a family of my own, but I wanted to help him somehow. I was browsing Facebook and suddenly saw a friend of ours post that he had room for a spare person on a trip. I told my first friend to go grab his passport and pack to go away for a few days, and then sent him to Amsterdam on Christmas Eve with some spending money. Dude was in tears.
51. Fill ‘Er Up
I moved a friend's car for them the other day, and when I did, I saw that their tire pressure was low in the back tires, and they were low on gas. I filled the tires and the gas tanks and parked the car. They knew I moved the car, but I didn't mention the gas and air.
52. Traveling in Style
In Paris, the Metro is not wheelchair friendly. We got stuck once because the accessible station was closed and we were diverted elsewhere. Two guys walked up, picked up my mother-in-law in her chair, and carried her up a flight of stairs, through the turnstile, and down another flight of stairs to the platform. It was as quick as you please, and they wanted nothing more than thanks. I don’t think they even knew each other.
53. Pay It Forward
When I was 17, my mom signed us up to deliver presents for one of those giving tree places. The lady who she was taking presents to lived in a tiny town in a rural part of our state that was about an hour and a half from where we lived at the time, but also just happened to be close to where we had lived when I was little.
I tagged along with her because she asked, and I didn’t want her to have to drive all the way out there alone on Christmas Eve. I didn’t want to go though; I hated the tiny town we were going to. I was a moody teenager in a perpetual bad mood, and I thought I had better stuff to do. Anyway, we got out there and found the place.
It was a tiny, one room shack in among tiny one room shacks behind what used to be a little hotel on the side of a rural highway. We knocked on the door and this little woman, probably in her mid-late 20s but so careworn that she looked closer to 40, opened the door. She invited us in and we offloaded the goods, like three bags of presents. Her three kids were peeking at us from behind a curtain, and she had them come out to say thank you.
She was beaming, couldn’t stop thanking us. The kids were ecstatic. They weren’t getting presents at all until we knocked on that door. It was like 10pm Christmas Eve, and we had basically saved Christmas for them. As we left I was quiet until we got in the car. Then I turned to my mom and told her that I was glad she had brought me.
She started crying her eyes out and just grabbed me and hugged me tight. I offered to drive home and she agreed. On the way she told me that when I was little, we had been in that family’s position. We had gotten gifts from that same giving tree organization for years. I knew we had been poor, but never realized how poor. I still consider that my best Christmas. I have no idea what I got that year; but I remember giving those kids and their mom a good Christmas, and that’s so much better.
54. Clearing The Way
I shoveled snow around the neighborhood mailbox to make it easier for people to mail their Christmas cards and for our mail carrier to get to the box during collection times.
55. Secret Santa
Last Christmas, I couldn't afford any gifts for my son. I'm a single mom, currently coming out of a domestic violence situation. I was struggling so much and I really had no way of making it work at that time. I wrote a comment on Reddit in which I talked about my situation. The next thing I knew, Redditors I had never met and who I have no physical connection with had bought my son Christmas gifts. My son had an absolutely amazing Christmas. He's four years old and it meant so much for him to have gifts to open. I still cry when I think about how generous these strangers were. I hope one day I can pay it forward.
56. No-Name Giver
I sent a friend some money anonymously because I knew they wouldn't accept it otherwise.
57. All Dogs Go To Heaven
I work at a veterinary clinic, and was helping a client when he noticed that our euthanasia candle was lit. They asked if someone was saying goodbye, and I sadly nodded. His next act brought tears to my eyes. He handed me his credit card and said he’d like to pay for them. Trying not to lose it and burst into tears completely, I ran his card through and thanked him.
He waved his hand saying that he’s been in that position plenty of times, knew how difficult it was, and wanted to help. He wished to remain anonymous and left with his pet.
58. Nifty and Thrifty
My family didn't have a lot of money when I was a kid, so we often shopped at thrift stores and such. What I loved about that was that you could get ten books for a dollar, so I would often plant myself in front of the book section, make piles of which ones I wanted to get, and then decided after I had gone through them all.
One day, an older lady saw me sitting with my piles and asked if I liked to read. I told her that I did and showed her a few of the books I had found that I liked. She smiled, and then pulled a dollar out of her purse. She handed it to me and said, "Promise me that you'll keep reading." I was so happy, and I immediately stood up and said that I definitely would. She smiled and walked away, and I went back to my piles—now able to pick out an extra ten books to take home.
It was just a small act of kindness for her. For me, though, having a random stranger encourage my love of reading and making me promise to never stop definitely had a lot to do with my continued lifelong love of reading. This was probably about 20 years or so ago, but I still think of her every time I buy a new book.
59. Wonderful Withdrawal
Being a college kid, my bank account tends to fluctuate between negative amounts and about $100. However, when I get intoxicated and start talking to homeless people and listening to their stories, I normally go to an ATM, take out all my cash, and give it to them. This has happened many times and although I do get a hangover, I tend not to regret that part too much.
60. Don’t Shoot the Messenger
There was a man on the train I was on giving grief to the ticket attendant because he had incorrectly purchased a ticket and she had asked him nicely to buy a new one. Long story short, he asked for her full name and said he wanted to write a complaint. I felt bad for her, because she was just doing her job and had done nothing wrong.
I left my spot and went on a mission to find her. When I did find her, she looked absolutely miserable. I asked her nicely if she had any spare paper and a pen, and she brought it to me. I then wrote a recommendation from myself to her boss saying that she had been a great host and was doing a great job. The smile on her face was beautiful.
61. I Gotcha, Bro
I studied in Copenhagen last year—and, believe me, you don't get very far living on a student loan. One time, I was shopping at the local grocery store when this lovely guy who realized I was a student stepped up, voluntarily paid for all of my groceries, and wished me the best experience I could possibly have while studying in Copenhagen. All I could say was thank you. I have never forgotten this man and his generosity.
62. Making Highways Safer
I just drove my dad to the airport, so I spent a lot of time on the highway. It made me remember something I used to do all the time. I got a chance to do it tonight. I love making room for semis. I don't know why, but creating space so a semi can change lanes safely, and flashing my headlights to let him know when to change to your lane and do that little courtesy light flash to say "thanks," I just love it.
I used to drive for hours a day for work, cross-country highway driving, so I have had the opportunity a lot.
63. Destiny at Play
I went to pump gas today. The card reader was broken, so I went inside to pay. As I opened the door, I saw a mother holding her daughter’s hand saying, “come here honey,” as she inched towards the cashier. She then pulled out a crumpled dollar bill and some change and told the cashier, “$1.47 on 3 please.” When it was my turn, I added another $10 to her pump.
I tried to do the deed unnoticed, but her $1.47 worth of gas ran out before I could enter my $10 worth. This resulted in me going outside and telling her to try the pump again. She knew it was me, and was very thankful. I can’t help but wonder if the exchange was meant to be. How often is a card reader broken at a gas station forcing you to go inside?
Had that not been the case, I wouldn’t have been presented with the opportunity to help. Before the mother left, she told me that she hopes someone does something nice for me in return. Though that would be appreciated, the only thing I truly hope for in return is to be presented with more opportunities where I can be of help. I have yet a single regret: Only adding $10.
64. All Aboard!
When I was about nine or ten years old, I just missed the school bus one morning. All of a sudden, this big guy who happened to have witnessed the whole thing ran over to where I was, picked me up, and run after the bus screaming to try and get the driver to stop. They eventually did, at which point the man put me down at the door and we drove off. I never even got the chance to say thank you. This guy was a saint—I was a pretty chubby little rascal back then!
65. We All Scream For Ice Cream
I was walking down the street one day near my apartment complex and an ice cream truck decided to come through. My parents never let me buy ice cream when I was little—but I’m not little anymore. There was a hoard of little children struggling to find enough nickels and change to pay, so I went and bought everything the kids wanted. It felt so good.
66. Spidey-Sense
My brother and I were driving home to my parents’ house, and it was about a five-hour drive from our college. We came up a hill in a fairly rural area and I saw something weird on the side of the road; a motorcycle abandoned on its side. My brother said it was nothing, but I stopped anyway because I had an eerie feeling. I soon found out I was right.
It turns out that a 65-year-old man had crashed his motorcycle and was unconscious in the ditch. Since there was a hill right there and he was on the other side of it, he was pretty hidden and no one saw it happen. He was ten minutes away from his house too. I stayed with him until the ambulance came, and then checked in on him a few weeks later.
He had some broken ribs and was a little beat up, but he made it just fine. I think about him a lot and hope he’s enjoying his retirement and is staying away from motorcycles.
67. Bookworms
I was working the cash register at Chick-fil-A and one of the customers had a book that I had been wanting to read. I mentioned to him that I was planning on getting it when I got my paycheck in a few days. The next morning, I go into work and my manager hands me a copy of that very book, saying that some guy had come in and dropped it off for me. The dude went out and bought me the book! It was honestly the nicest thing I ever experienced—and I never even saw him again to say thank you.
68. A Man And His Dog
I was driving back from a road trip and saw a homeless guy and his dog on the side of the road. It had been extremely hot that day. I had just gotten paid, and the sight of him and his dog pulled my heartstrings. So, I dropped into a store and bought more than $300 worth of supplies for them. I’ll never forget his reaction.
He burst into tears immediately. The look on his face was priceless. I never told anyone why it took me so long to get home or why $300 was gone from my bank account. I hope that guy’s doing well.
69. Midwinter Miracle
At one point in my life, I was struggling so much financially that it was difficult to even gather up a couple of dollars to put gas in my gas-guzzler car. Consequently, I rarely had more than 1/4 tank, even in the winter. One day, I miscalculated, and I ran out of gas in the middle of town. I remember carefully walking on snow and ice to a nearby phone booth carrying my nine-month-old baby in his snowsuit.
I only had a handful of phone numbers memorized, and nobody I called answered the phone. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t even have enough money for a bus. Out of desperation and feeling completely humiliated, I approached a stranger and asked for a couple of dollars so I could walk to a nearby gas station and buy some gas.
He told me a couple of dollars wouldn’t be enough, because they’d want deposit money for the gas can. I’m sure my face fell as I fought back tears and muttered, “Thanks anyway.” He looked at me a moment, and then said, “I’ll be right back. You stay here.” He left for a few minutes and came back with a full gas can. As he poured the gas into my tank for me, he told me the location of the gas station where he got it.
He then said, “I’m counting on you to return this gas can.” He drove away once I assured him that I would. When I got to the station about a half-mile away, the attendant told me that my “friend” had given him $40 and told him that it was so I could fill my gas tank and that he was to give me the change. It was like a miracle to me, and I started crying all over again.
70. Stormy Weather
Here in upstate New York, we just got a foot of snow. I came out to snowblow my driveway—only to discover that my driveway had already been plowed. It's a very long driveway. Whoever it was didn't even leave a note or anything. I have no idea who did it or why. Thanks, stranger!
71. Changing Lives
I once saw a mom and three kids pushing their car to the pump next to me. Then, she was scraping together change to get gas—so I filled her tank. She was incredibly grateful and said the gas she could afford probably wouldn’t have even gotten her to work the next day.
72. Let Me Get That for You
I was walking down the beach in Morocco on holiday in December when I saw this couple walking the opposite way to me. It was a chilly day, so the women had her hands in her pockets and she was all snuggled up in a big scarf. She started scrunching up her face and titling her head, and was clearly about to let out a big sneeze. Her partner noticed that she was about to sneeze and before I knew it, he had whipped out a tissue and covered her nose before she even had to take her hands out of her pockets. It was the most wholesome, purest and kindest thing I’ve ever seen.
73. Hit and Stay
When I was 11, I was stupid enough to cross in front of a bus with only a cursory glance backward, and I missed the minivan that had just started to overtake the bus. I got hit by the left-hand corner and flung across the road, injuring my legs and splitting my lower lip. It was a bad accident and my knee still hurts me sometimes even all this time later.
As I lay there on the ground, a lady who I didn’t know but had seen on the bus a few times came over and helped me over to the curb, checked me over, made sure my parents were called, made sure an ambulance was called, and generally looked after a scared tearful hurt little boy until help arrived. She was a wonderful person and helped me hugely to get through that situation in the panic of the moment. I still see her around the neighborhood to this day, and she always gives me a big smile when I wave hello.
74. A Homeless Skeptic
A homeless guy was hanging outside of the McDonald’s near me and I was sitting in the drive-thru debating with myself if I should get him anything. Eventually, I decided that I should. I bought him a couple of burgers and gave them to him, but tried to play it off like they got my order wrong and gave me extra food. But it didn’t go as I planned.
He acted pretty skeptical about the whole thing and acted like he thought I messed with the food. He took it, but it was a little weird exchange that didn't go the way I thought it would in my head.
75. Saving for a Rainy Day
An acquaintance of mine with two kids had his car repossessed. I only found out after a mutual friend of ours was gossiping about it. I decided to give the guy my second car, since it was just sitting in the garage gathering dust. He used it for two years until he got his dad's old car. I let him sell the car and keep the $600 bucks he got for it. For years before, I had people ask me why I was keeping that second car and I just kept saying, "just in case."
76. License to Give Thanks
On a Monday afternoon, I came home from work to find a letter in the mail. It was addressed by hand and the return address wasn't familiar. I thought to myself "this can't be good!" I opened the envelope to find my driver’s license and a note. I was unaware that I had even been missing my driver’s license. Apparently, on the prior Saturday, I had managed to drop it from my wallet somehow.
This nice person found it on the sidewalk, went home, wrote her note, addressed an envelope to me, and put a stamp on it, then deposited it into a mailbox in time for the Saturday pickup. By Monday, it was already back safely in my hands before I had even realized that it was missing.
77. “She Burst Into Tears”
I used to be a dialysis nurse. When people find out their kidneys are gone, it’s the worst day of their lives. I had a patient who was very irritable and snippy, critical and complaining. She snapped at me about something. This time, instead of fixing whatever it was, I took a different approach. I just paused for a minute. I didn’t move. Just waited for a beat.
She said “I’m sorry. I’m not usually like this. I never complain.” I held both of her hands and I said “It’s okay. You don’t have to be strong right now.” Her reaction was devastating. She burst into tears and said, “Thank you. Thank you,” over and over again.
78. Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover
I was at a store and there was a woman with two very small kids checking out. She had a bunch of groceries and a couple of toys for the kids. She went to pay and discovered that she didn't have her wallet, so she told the cashier that she would put everything back. Her little girl, who was only about 2, started to cry uncontrollably.
The rough-looking man in front of me, who looked like he could have been homeless, went up to the cashier and told her that he was going to pay for everything. When the lady protested he said, "I don't want your little girl to cry. This is my good deed for the day." I almost cried too, as did the lady who was trying to buy her groceries.
79. Just in Time
While walking through the Walmart parking lot, my cousin and I (two young naive-looking girls) were approached and harassed by a guy who did not seem very mentally stable. As we were standing there beside this guy not knowing what to say or do to get away safely, we suddenly heard a middle-aged country boy yelling from a distance, "Girls! What do y'all think you're doing?! Y'all know we ain't got time for this! We're gonna be late!!!"
We apologized to the guy for having to run, and quickly walked toward the man. When we got to him, he just laughed a little and said, "Just thought y'all could use a little help." Thank you, kind stranger!
80. Pay It Forward
I was at the dollar store during the summertime getting some odds and ends. There was a dad who desperately wanted to buy this little plastic dinosaur for his kid. He was like two cents short and came for diapers. He ran to his car to search for the two cents. I paid for his diapers and the toy so when he came back it would be taken care of. As I paid for my things and left, a cashier ran outside to let him know it was paid for.
81. Compassion in the Cake Aisle
Years ago, I was going to a family get together and I was told I needed to bring dessert. So, I went to the store and was looking at the cake mixes for an awkwardly long time, not knowing what to get. A lady walked up beside me and began scanning the options as well. After several minutes, I said jokingly, “Are you having a tough time deciding too?”
She replied yes, and explained that for the past fifteen months, she had been watching her diet and exercise and that she lost 100 pounds. I replied, “Wow that’s incredible—you should really be proud of yourself!” She replied with a shrug. I stopped her and said it again, because I really meant it. She started to cry. I asked why she was crying, and she said that her family and friends weren't very supportive of her efforts.
I said, “Well I'm very proud of you!” and asked if I could give her a hug. She said yes, so we hugged right there in the middle of the aisle. Then, she said thank you and we parted.
82. The Long and Winding Road
This is a story that happened during the dark days of my childhood, in the mid-80s. I was ten years old, and I was having serious problems with my family—mostly my father. I was doing absolutely miserably at school. That year, I also had the bad luck of having a really bad music teacher. Now, music wasn't a major subject, as we had one lesson a week. Nevertheless, that person was determined to make it a living hell for me.
Looking back now, I think he was just a quirky character, but he definitely had an extremely short fuse and was prone to switching at the drop of a hat from hearty, belly-type laughter to shouting and roaring at someone for nothing at all. I just never knew where I was with him, and adding that to my problems at home just brought me to the brink.
One day in December, my mother had promised that she would come to school on the day we had music lessons and that she would have a word with him. So I stood in front of the classroom, waiting and waiting for her. She didn't show up. My brain just went into complete panic mode. I could not face that teacher on my own for another lesson, I just couldn't.
So I walked away and walked right out of the school. I walked through the town. I walked through the outskirts of the town, and through the industrial area around that. I walked through the first village, then the second village. It was very cold, and there was a lot of snow on the ground, so I wasn't walking fast, but I just kept walking on and on.
At some point, a car pulls up next to me and a man, probably in his 30s, rolls down the window and asks me if I wanted a lift. I said no, thank you. After all, I had no idea where I was heading myself and, as a young girl, I had been warned about taking lifts from strange men. I just kept walking. Through the next village, and then the next.
It was beginning to get dark. I had started to cry. I was feeling worn out, tired and so, so cold. I must have been walking for the better part of six hours at that point. All of a sudden, that same car pulls up next to me again, and the same man asks if I had changed my mind about wanting a lift now. By this point, I really did not care about anything anymore, so I got in. It was nice and warm in the car. He started chatting to me, easy and friendly. He even offered me a cigarette, which I found very odd.
Eventually, he got me to open up a bit and tell him why I was walking down country roads in the middle of winter all by myself. I told him all about how I felt my parents would be better off without me, and how I felt they didn't really care and hated me. He kept talking to me, mainly about my family. He asked who else I have in my life who might care about me.
So I tell him about my grandmother who I've always been really close with. He asks me if I would like it if he dropped me off at her place and checked to see if maybe I could stay with her for the night instead of with my parents. I was just so exhausted at this point that without giving it a second thought, I agreed.
He turns the car around and drives back towards our town. On the way, he tells me that he had been thinking and worrying about me on the road that whole day, ever since he had first asked me if I needed a lift. He tells me that he had actually left work early just to drive around and see if he could find me—to make sure I was safe and that everything was okay.
He dropped me off outside my grandmother's house and drove off. My grandmother gave me the longest, hardest hug anybody had ever given me in my life. I stayed with her for the next couple of weeks until things settled down a bit back at home. I have never told anybody about getting this lift from a total stranger, but I've never forgotten him. And I never will. If I ever find myself in a similar situation, I truly hope I can be as sweet and kind as he was.
83. No Contest
A friend was in the running for an online contest for a gift certificate to a particular store. He would have won, but something happened with the voting and other people were allowed to make extra votes. He was very gracious about losing. I bought a gift certificate for the amount he would have won and sent it to him.
84. Medicine Miracle
About 8 years ago, I had lost my job and was on social assistance. One day I went into my pharmacist to have my prescription filled. I miscalculated the total and I was about ten dollars short, but it was all the money I had to my name at that moment. Embarrassed, I was fiddling in my purse looking for coins when the pharmacist stopped me and said it was okay.
They just gave me the medication, no charge. A few weeks later I got a job, and upon receiving my first paycheck, I paid them a visit with a big box of chocolates and a thank you card. I tried to give them what I owed for my medication, and they refused it. What they did for me meant so much at such a dark time and I’ll never forget it.
85. A Very Deer Fellow
We live in Canada, where a lot of deer and moose run into the middle of the road in the winter. My mom and sister were driving back home on a rural road late at night and when a deer ran in front of them. My mom couldn't stop fast enough and hit the deer. The vehicle was wrecked and they were about 40 minutes away from home in the middle of nowhere. A random guy pulled over to help them. He ended up driving 20 minutes to the nearest town to buy them pizza, and waited with them while my dad drove from home to pick them up.
86. Twenty-Something
A homeless man asked me for change. All I had was $20, so I gave it to him. He hugged me and said I was the mother he never had. He looked older than I was, but that was okay.
87. The Shoes Off His Feet
My dad was working in construction in New York City in the early 90s. It was December and it was raining, so there was nasty slush everywhere. He saw a homeless guy outside the train station on his way home. The poor man was wearing no jacket, and had shoes with holes in the bottom so large that you could see his wet socks through them.
Dad gave him the boots off his feet, the jacket off his back, two extra pairs of socks he had packed with him, and a $20 gift card to a local chain restaurant that he had received for his birthday but hadn’t used yet. We picked my dad up at the train station, shoeless, socks soaking, with no jacket, shivering uncontrollably.
Despite all that, he was smiling and waving at us as we pulled up. We were poor growing up, so he had a lot of compassion for people who were struggling. He knew, as you will if you’ve ever had to buy them, that good work boots and a good winter jacket aren’t cheap buys. He saw someone who needed what he had more than him and gave it, just because he could.
88. Knocking On Heaven’s Door
It was Thanksgiving Day, 2003. I was driving down to my parents’ house on Long Island from Buffalo, New York—roughly a seven or eight-hour drive. As I'm about halfway there, I have a tire blow out on me. It’s just completely shredded. I managed to get the donut on and slowly tried to make my way into the next town. Most of New York state is just farms and emptiness, including the spot this happened to me in.
I tried stopping at every store along the way that could conceivably have a tire, but nothing was open. I stopped at a police station, but they just told me to get a hotel until tomorrow. So, I hopped back into my car and kept going. That's when my donut went flat. I got out and started walking. This is 2003, so I didn't have a cell phone.
I knocked on the door of the first house I could find, hoping they'd let me use their phone to call my parents and inform them of this situation. The lady who answered the door not only invited me in and let me use her phone, but even offered me food and then, to my complete shock, called her friend who owned a used car dealership, had them tow my car to the dealership and put on a new tire, all free of charge. I went from completely missing Thanksgiving and having to spend the night in some crummy hotel outside Binghamton to being back on my way within two hours. I'll never forget that lady.
89. Women Helping Women
I gave a woman a spare pad. As a female, I always carry everything and the kitchen sink in my bag. On Sundays, the shops were closed and this woman was trying to find an open pharmacy or chemist to buy some stuff for her daughter. I talked to her for a moment asking if it was a "medical issue" and then gave her a couple of pads.
90. Scam Safety
An older gentlemen tried to ship an envelope to his “grandson” from a shipping company I worked at. The way he acted and the things he said threw up too many red flags in my head, so against company policy, I opened the envelope after he left and found 5 figures in cash inside. I called the authorities and told them to get in touch with the man to try to figure out what was going on.
As it turns out, someone had called the older man and said his grandson was in the hospital and if they didn’t send the money, he wouldn’t get a surgery that was badly needed. The older man couldn’t get in touch with the grandson by phone, so he panicked and sent the money to the address the fraudsters provided. We were able to stop it from happening and get the money back to him. He was so grateful; he said that the money was basically his life savings.
The news ran a story on the situation, and apparently it’s a scam that happens to a lot of older people. We started a club to reach out to nursing homes to try to educate people about the scam. A lot of people were not aware of anything like that happening, so hopefully we prevented some people getting scammed. A lot of good came from me just being nosey!
91. There’s a New Sheriff in Town
In 1990, I was 19 years old. I was driving across the country by myself and all I had was $63 and a Texaco card. One night, I notice that my gas tank is close to empty somewhere in the middle of Iowa, so I pull up to a Texaco station—about five minutes after they had closed. I was trying to only use my Texaco card and to conserve what little cash I had.
The person working at the station wouldn't open to give me gas, so I decide that I'll just put ALL my clothes on and sleep in my car until they opened again in the AM. It was the middle of December and only about 11 degrees. At about 2 in the morning, I hear a tap on the window and a voice saying "I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the car!"
It was the sheriff. Uh oh! I explained what was going on to him. He ran my ID to make sure I didn't have warrants or anything and then ominously stated, "That's not how we do things around here." Oh no, I was terrified! How do you do things around here? What's going to happen to me?!? Turns out, he was PISSED that the guy at the gas station had left me there and refused to help.
So, he called the owner of the gas station up and made him come down in the middle of the night to fill up my gas tank—for free. Then the sheriff calls his wife and lets her know what's going on. She tells him to offer to bring me over to their place for the night. Mrs. Sheriff proceeds to feed me, let me take a shower, and give me a place to sleep until the next morning.
Then she feeds me again, packs me a lunch for the road, gives me $20 in cash, and sends me on my way. It was seriously one of the most wholesome things that has ever happened to me.
92. Pasta Pleaser
My university makes it very easy for students to donate to a food pantry when we move out of the dorm in the summer. They had huge containers in the main offices of each dorm. I donated some instant mac and cheese.
93. Love Thy Neighbor
My neighbors asked to borrow my truck one day. I told them no because I could not trust my truck due to the tires being bald. The next day, my neighbor called and said that he was getting new tires for his vehicle, and that I could have his old ones, since he knew I needed them. He told me to just show up at a certain tire shop and they would put them on for me.
When I got to the tire shop, I was shocked when they put on brand new Goodyear tires. I asked what had happened to the used tires I had been expecting to receive, wondering if there had been a mistake. The shop owner smiled and confessed that the “old tires” were just a story to get me in the shop. My neighbor had bought me a full set of new tires instead.
94. Ticket to Ride
I was at a bar with my then-girlfriend. Seated next to us was an older gentleman who was alone and looking forlorn. After some time, he tapped my girlfriend on the shoulder and said, "I like the way you two talk to one another. Here's what I'm going to do. I spent a fortune on these tickets for my wife. Unfortunately, she can't go anymore, and I just don't feel like going without her. So, I'd like the two of you to have them. The only catch is that the concert starts in twenty minutes." He didn't elaborate, nor would he accept any kind of payment. He asked only that we go, enjoy ourselves, and keep being good to each other. He paid his tab, handed us the tickets and left. And that's the story of how I got front row seats to a Prince concert.
95. Pennies For Your Thoughts
My dad and I leave a pile of pennies under the Meijer pony whenever we go to Meijer. A penny a ride, y'all!
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96. Secret Tipster
I had been working as a server for a while, and one day I was working with a co-worker who was pretty new. They'd sent most staff home because it was late. Then disaster struck. As it always seems to happen at those times, we got super busy. My co-worker was struggling and got a terribly rude table. They didn't seem to understand that they weren't the only customers in the restaurant or that we were understaffed, and it took a turn for the worse.
They made her cry and have a meltdown. We've all been there, so I took over the table and, after they left, put $15 on the table so that she would see she had received a "tip" from the table. I never told her that I was the one who put money on the table for her. Seeing her confidence grow from that was what I was hoping for. I got my wish.
When she picked up the tip, a grin broke across her face and she said, "Wow! I must not be as terrible of a server as I thought I was! Maybe I'm getting the hang of it after all.”
97. One Good Turn Deserves Another
Around 2008, I helped a guy go through TSA at Laguardia airport in New York City. He had never flown before, and had no idea what he was allowed to take on the plane or what the whole security process entailed. Security told him he couldn't use the plastic bags he had all his stuff in. What rattled me was the fact that he was shoving pairs of very new Nike shoes into a trash bin.
I couldn't fathom why, so I went over to ask him. He explained his situation. I told him that if he held tight, I'd go through security, buy him a carry-on, pass it over to him, and let him use it to get his stuff through. He handed me a hundred dollar bill and I gave him my crochet project bag to hold as insurance. I got him a suitcase, went back, gave him it along with the change, and showed him everything he needed to do to get through.
He thanked me and we hugged, each going our separate ways. My flight turned out to be delayed by three hours at the last minute, and I was already exhausted. I used my purse as a pillow, covered myself up with my coat, and fell asleep against a wall. When I woke up, there was a fuzzy travel blanket, a convertible neck pillow, an eye mask, a bag of cookies, and a little plush stuffed dog with a note tucked in his collar. The man I had helped stuck this gift between me and the wall and never woke me up. I ended up traveling for 11 more hours and that thoughtful little package saved my sanity. Random airport dude, I'm glad you got to keep your kicks, and I still have the puppy! I named him LG.
98. A Little Goes A Long Way
I found out my co-worker was struggling badly financially, so yesterday I slipped $40 in an envelope and wrote a note saying “I know this isn’t much, you deserve the world. You’re a beautiful person inside and out. Love, Santa.” She posted it on her Facebook thanking “whoever” did it. I’m still so smiley thinking about it.
99. A Little Something Extra
My dad is a retired junior/senior high school art teacher. Every single morning for well over a decade, he packed an extra lunch and put it in a place in his classroom where a student whose family was struggling could take it without making a big deal of it. Eventually, when the older student graduated, one of his younger siblings started taking his class.
The kid would already know he could take the extra lunch bag without having to face talking to my dad about it, or being embarrassed in front of the class. I used to ask why Dad packed two lunches while I was growing up, and he would just say, “I sometimes get extra hungry.” My mom later told me the truth. He is such a quiet, humble, and extremely generous man.
100. Angels in the Heavens
When I was really ill in October 2017, my father also became even more ill than I was in another country. There was nobody else around for him who actually gave a damn, so I had to fly over there to see and support him. I planned to bring him home with me after he had recovered from his surgery. I had just been through a lot of trauma, and I was in no physical or emotional state to be getting on a plane—but there was literally no other option.
The flight was only around two hours long, but even that was way too much for someone as weak and frail as I was at that time. When I was waiting in line to board the plane, I could immediately feel myself getting dizzy and panicky—but that got a lot worse when I got onto the plane and when it started to take off. I started having a full blown panic attack, hyperventilating and crying in my seat.
I was sitting at the window, and there was a rather large man sitting in the middle with his daughter on the outer seat. The man noticed me crying, and he and his daughter switched seats. She took my hand and said something along the lines of "You’re okay, we're here. There’s no need to hold this anxiety back, we’re not going to judge you, just let it happen and everything will be alright."
She just hugged me and told me she’s so sorry while I hysterically cried. Once we landed, she and her father drove me in their car directly to the door of the hospital my dad was admitted to (over an hour away). They even offered to book me a hotel for a night or two, but thankfully I already had my accommodations sorted out. I do not know what I would have done without those people that day. We have each other on Facebook now, and she still occasionally checks in with me to this day.
101. Blowing His Own Horn
I help people move their broken vehicles off the road to safety. I did it at least six or seven times last year. I send my mom an expensive protein shake powder she likes each month and some other stuff that tends to randomly fall out of my memory, but the residual "did good" high lingers. I also bought random gifts for friends and family throughout the year.
102. Mother of Mercy
When my wife gave birth to our firstborn, the woman she had shared a ward with while in the early stages of labor had a stillbirth. After giving birth, rather than spending time bonding with her newborn, my exhausted wife handed me our son and spent the next three hours comforting and consoling the poor woman. Something about the bond of mothers seemed to connect them.
The woman and her husband have since become close family friends and had two beautiful children after that—they still credit the support my wife gave them in the period of time after the stillbirth, especially in those three hours, with helping them get through their grief. It was the kindest act I've ever seen, done by the kindest person I've ever met.
103. Parking Your Ego
I always leave my leftover parking ticket—I have to pay for more than 12 hours but I only use eight—in the slot in the machine in hopes the next person will see it before paying. The other day, I started work late and noticed someone else had left their old ticket in the machine. There were only two minutes left, but still! This gave me hope that someone was using my leftovers and with any luck, I inspired at least one other person to do it!
104. Pass It On
My mom likes to start those "buy someone else’s drinks for them at Starbucks" chains. As a family, if we have extra passes at a theme park (usually Disney) we give them away to someone else. One time our flight had to be changed, so we only got to be in the park a few hours before leaving. Our passes were for the entire day, so we walked up to a family in line to buy passes and gave our passes to them.
105. Improving The Cycle
I used to stop at this convenience store daily on my way to work. There was a regular homeless guy who sat outside and did nothing but say nice things to people. "Have a great day," "Happy Holidays,” etc. I never heard him ask for anything or pester anyone. One day I pull up and he's sitting on the ground—but this time was different. He was looking pretty banged up. I look over and see that his bike is pretty much mangled. I concluded that he got hit by a car.
I asked what happened, and he confirmed that a lady ran him over and didn't stop. She just drove away. He said that his bike is his livelihood. He rounds up recycling and scraps for money. I sympathized with him and went about my business. As I was pulling away, I saw that there were two pawn shops less than a block over. I knew exactly what to do.
I had the time so I pulled in to see how much a bike was—but that wasn’t even the best part. I told the pawnshop clerk what I was doing and he wanted to help. We agreed on a price for one of two bikes. I got a little written contract from the manager and then took the receipt to the homeless dude. I let him know that he would have his choice of two bikes, and that I'd follow up tomorrow to make sure they didn't try to work him over.
He gave me a huge hug and cried a good deal. I saw him the next day on the new bike. I've never told anyone about this.
106. Rescuing The Lifeguard
I'd just finished one of my evening swims. I'm getting changed and I hear a lifeguard getting shouted at because the floor was wet. This guy was laying into her about how he nearly slipped and did the whole "I'm going to speak to a manager" thing, then stormed off. I'm getting changed at this point and I hear her start speaking to one of her co-workers. What she said made me so sad.
She was talking about how she just wants some food and for her horrible day be done. I've been going to this pool for ages. I know that the pool closes at 10 and the staff leave at 10:30. I arranged for a pizza and pre-paid taxi to be waiting for her when she left, with a note saying "Not every customer is a jerk. Hopefully, this will cheer you up."
The next time I went swimming, I overheard her talk about this "amazingly random pizza and taxi,” and how she "really needed it." I just smiled and carried on. Not bad for a guy with social anxiety and depression! Plus, I learned a valuable lesson. This was when I found out that my best coping mechanism for when I was feeling down was to be a kind stranger.
107. Can’t Put A Price On Education
On September 14th, 1986, my dad dropped me off at boarding school and gave me a five-dollar bill. I never heard from him again. He never paid my tuition bill. So, from the age of 14, I took every job I could get and worked my way through. At $4 an hour, I didn't even come close to paying off my entire bill, but the school let me stick around because I was a model student in and out of the classroom.
We get to graduation. I opened my little diploma thing expecting to see a bill in five figures. Instead there was a note: “Congratulations on your graduation. A group of us who believe in you and love you have taken care of your bill. We are proud to present you with your diploma.” I later found out that one of my friend's dad, a fairly well-off dentist, went fundraising among his golf buddies because he didn’t want to see me enter life at 18 under crushing debt.
108. Selfless Sharer
One of my coworkers works about 70 hours a week between a full-time job and at least two part-time side gigs. She is just trying to keep a roof over her and her son’s head and make sure he has everything he needs for school and sports. In addition to all that, she’s still the sweetest and makes time to help out others with work, and always comes to work with a great attitude.
I know she never does anything for herself, she even cuts her own hair. So everyone from work chipped in to give her a big spa day: massages, mani/pedi, facial, and a real haircut and color. Now we had to be sneaky about it, because she’s not one that accepts gifts or she’d want to pay us back or something foolish like that. That’s when we came up with an ingenious plan.
We made an official-looking letter and mailed it to her, basically a “You’ve won!” thing with all the gift cards to this particular spa. Her reaction was incredible. The first thing she did? She called our work and tried to share the gift cards with everyone. See? She’s the sweetest! I quickly told her the gift cards probably weren’t transferable, since she’s won them.
Thankfully she fell for that and went and had a great spa day for herself. That was two years ago, and after Christmas, we’re going to start saving up to do it all again for her birthday!
109. Fallen On Hard Times
About six years ago while I was working at a sandwich shop, I had this teen come in and ask for some food. He looked familiar to me and by the time I finished making his sandwich, I made a disturbing realization. He was my little brother's childhood best friend. Here's this guy that I pretty much grew up with. He lived with his grandpa across the street. He was best friends with my brother since probably the age of four, all through elementary school—until tragedy struck.
His grandpa passed, his mom took control of the house, and they moved away. Then, years later, there he is, sitting in front of me and eating a sandwich. I asked him what he's been doing. He said he was living at a nearby park and had been kicked out of his place by his mom. He would swing by every day that week during my shift for food. I had told my family that I saw him, and we took him in.
It was obvious he had some issues. He would talk to himself when in front of a mirror, or randomly get uncontrollably angry. My brother also said he would wake up to him just standing at his door staring at him angrily in the middle of the night. He was with us for about a month. We didn't have what he needed for help. We got a hold of his mom and explained what we saw. She agreed to take him back and get him help. That’s when everything turned around.
Today, he is no longer homeless. He does live in a special home that makes sure he is staying clean and taking his meds. His family is more involved and we see him once a year on his birthday. It's hard on my brother to see his friend like that. It's hard on my family as he was essentially part of it as a kid. But, at least he has a roof now and some help.
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