The world is such a cruel place that it's hard to trust anyone to be kind or genuine nowadays. But those people do exist, and their random acts of kindness are exactly what keep our hope in humanity alive. Here are some heartwarming stories that will convince you not all humans are evil:
1. I Tawt I Taw Real Kindness
When I was six, my parents and I were at the local bar and grill. I was looking at a very specific doll in a claw machine. It was Tweety Bird in a spacesuit and I was OBSESSED. I was so zoned out; I didn't even know someone walked up until the claw came down, picked it up, and dropped it in the chute in one fell swoop. I turned and saw a man.
He looked transient and was taking the Tweety Bird out of the chute and immediately bending down then handing it to me. Neither of us said anything. We just smiled at each other, and then he turned and walked out of the restaurant.
Shutterstock
2. Face the Music
When I was about 13, the pastor of our family church heard me practicing Chopin on the piano. Knowing my parents couldn't afford much, he offered to pay for my music studies so that I'd be prepared to enter music conservatory right after high school. All he asked for in return was that I'd help out with the church's music program when needed.
This kind, generous man spent thousands of his own dollars to help me along the way to a rewarding career in music.
3. Worth The Drive
I had worked a shift at the hospital on Christmas Eve and was trying my best to get to my family’s house about two hours away before dinner. My brakes on my car just were not working right. It was snowing like crazy, and I was losing hope. I saw the mechanic was still open, so I drove in and told him what was going on.
Half hour or so later, he came out and told me what was wrong. And that wasn't all: He had already gone ahead and fixed it. I asked him what I owed him for the work. He told me to just get home to my family safe and have a merry Christmas. I felt like I was in a Hallmark movie. It is now the only place I will take my car.
4. Sleep Away Camp
When my parents were awful, and my sister was passing away, my friend’s parents took me in for a while. But it was even better than that. You see, they did it in a way that seemed like a sleepover, even though it went on for months. I didn't even realize until I was an adult how much they stepped up for me and protected me, right when I needed them the most.
5. Norway To Wait
I was on a trip in Norway, and it was my last night in the city and the country. I lost the midnight train, but no problem, I could still take the first train in the morning. In the meantime, I went to the dock because that's where all the nightlife was. The bar closed at 2 AM, and the train was at 5 AM. I’d met a guy.
He said, "There's no way you're gonna spend three hours walking around," and took me to his house. He gave me the worst coffee ever, and we talked. Then he took me to the station and bought my ticket. Before he left, he said, "I haven't slept, so tomorrow I might not remember you, but it's been a pleasure helping you."
6. Lean on Me
I had a sore leg, and it was sore enough that I couldn't put much weight on it. During this time, my school did this fundraiser run, and I wanted to participate even though I could barely walk. My best friend, who I'm still friends with to this day, stayed by my side, limping the whole way. I still thank him for that, it meant a lot to me.
7. A Big Help Catching Up
When I was nine or ten, I missed the school bus. I thought I was doomed and would get in big trouble with my parents, but then this big guy picked me up and ran towards the bus screaming to try to get the bus to stop for me. It eventually did, and he put me inside of it and then just dipped. I couldn't even say thanks, and I was a chubby one too.
8. To Serve and Protect
When I was 16, I was at a store getting some comics. I was 15 cents shy, because they raised the price by 5 cents a comic, and I was trying to decide which one to put back when a guy I went to high school with, and barely knew, gave me a fifty cent piece. He went on to join the Marines right out of high school, and retired a couple of years ago.
He's still just as awesome now. He restores old Volkswagens and sells them for cost to his fellow veterans. He restores old furniture and donates the pieces to families in need. He volunteers with wildlife rescue programs. He refuses to let me pay him back, so I'm going to try and buy his drink at our 30-year high school reunion. Gotta thank him somehow!
9. It Was Tow Problem
My wife and I saved up to buy a nice grill, but we had never thought of how to get it home. We were trying to get it in the trunk of our little car and were just about to resort to opening the box it came in to put it in piece by piece when a guy who'd been sitting in his truck eating dinner in the parking lot came up to us.
He asked if he could help us transport it to our place. We thanked him, but didn't want to say yes. After all, we lived about twenty miles away, so the round trip would take a fair bit of his time. We told him about the distance, and to our surprise, he was still more than happy to drive it to our house. He even refused any kind of payment for helping us.
10. Something for Nothing
I went to a local breakfast spot one day after a rough night. I totally forgot my wallet, so I left my phone as collateral and went back to my house. When I came back, some guy had already paid for me. I know it doesn't seem that big of a deal, but it was a pretty bleak week for me so it meant a lot just to have someone do something for nothing.
11. Woman To Woman
I was an American in China and at this time, I was very pregnant. I was at the train terminal, and the hormones kicked in. I started crying for no reason, which made me only cry more. A very tiny old Chinese woman there said something (I couldn't understand her, since we spoke different languages). She then gave me a great big hug and a big smile. It was exactly what I needed.
Pexels
12. A Friend Forever
My wife and I were driving our kids, who were three and five at the time, to the zoo. We narrowly missed being smushed by a semi truck, but also almost flipped our top-heavy minivan doing 75mph when dodging said vehicle. All in all, we were very blessed to have our lives, let alone no damage to our car. The same couldn't be said for other cars, but no one was hurt either.
The State Trooper who showed up was the most generous young man. He gave my daughter a little teddy bear that she still has to this day 5-6 years later. She even remembers getting it, which is pretty incredible for someone that age. I think that was the most meaningful thing anyone's done for me, and I've been fortunate enough to have a lot of good people in my life. This one stands out because it was directed towards my daughter.
13. Eat Something
I came a minute late to catch a critical flight. People were still going through security, but they wouldn't let me line up. I had a breakdown right then. Some old guy gave me a twenty and said, "I know this doesn't help, but at least have a hot breakfast on me. Take care," and he shuffled along his way. I was floored.
14. I’ve Got You, Babe
My mother passed, and I was so stressed trying to find a way to give her the funeral she deserved. My boyfriend went down to the funeral home, made the arrangements, and paid the balance. By FAR the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me.
15. Here’s A Tip
I’m a Seahawks fan living in Arizona. In 2011, a regular at the Starbucks where I worked gave me four tickets to a Seahawks and Cardinals game. It was the last game of the year, so he also gave us his stadium food card that had about $200 left on it. The seats were club level, and my three friends and I ate like kings.
16. A Helping Hand
My firstborn had a severe deformity, and spent a week in hospital before we took him off life support. I was staying at the Ronald McDonald House, and even though one of the rules was that you are your own maid when you leave, complete with doing laundry and remaking the beds, I was a complete wreck and couldn’t do a thing. Then I got the surprise of my life.
A kind stranger took care of my room for me even though they were going through their own stuff. Another blessing from that dark time is that the funeral home took care of everything for me, including all bills associated with the service and cremation. I will never not donate to the Ronald McDonald House and I know what funeral home I'll be using when I one day need one again.
It was a very long time ago and very dark sad time. It destroyed my family, a few years later I lost my husband to suicide stemming from the depression that happened from this, and while both tragedies changed me, I'm very good now and know happiness. I want to say that I've thought about how very, very bad things can get in the world, but this stranger, and people like him, showed me daily that the world is full of amazing loving people.
17. Only So Much Time
I was on a summer road trip with some friends from Dallas to Austin. On the way down, the battery meter on my dashboard started acting funny – jumping up then dropping down and all sorts of weird stuff. We made it to Austin, and we're supposed to watch my one friend's show, but I had to go to an Autozone for a battery.
It was 7 PM, and I assumed all the mechanics were closed. This was pre-cell phone times, so I couldn’t check. I bought a new battery and installed it in the parking lot. When I turned the car on, I realized the truth: The battery was not the issue. Something in the car was seriously busted and I needed to get it fixed, stat. I met my friends and said we should leave that night instead of the next morning.
My rationale was that if we drove at night, we wouldn't need the AC and therefore would use less battery. We piled in my car and got about twenty miles outside the city when my car stopped. While we didn't need AC, we did need headlights. We pulled over on the side of the road. My friend with the cell phone called AAA.
They told us that it’d be an hour or so before anyone would be able to make it out. While we were standing there on the side of the road, in the near pitch black, a truck pulled over in front of my car. A man got out and was walking to us. All of my friends took a step back nominating me to do all of the talking first.
The man asked us what the problem was. I explained that the car stopped working. He had a tow chain in the back of his truck and could bring us to Dallas, which was about 200 miles away. It seemed like a bad idea since I would have to ride in my car steering and braking, and it was only going to be attached by a chain.
But I was 19 years old and stupid, so after my friends and I talked it over, we agreed. He told us that he had a small trailer at his place about fifty miles away that we could use to tow my car, but until then, I was steering a bum car about three feet away from the guy's bumper. My ex-girlfriend and I were in my car.
My other two friends were in his truck. They said that the driver told them about himself on the way. A year or so earlier, he'd been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Instead of treatment, he chose to accept his fate and spend whatever time he had left driving around helping stranded people on the side of the road.
18. A Little Tune-up
A few years ago, I was going down to visit my grandmother in South Carolina. I needed an inspection and oil change on my car, and I was the single mom of a 5-year-old. The total cost ended up being 40 dollars more than I thought. At the time, that was devastating, and I had to tell my daughter in the parking lot that we couldn't go see her grandmother anymore.
Someone heard me talking to her and came over to us and gave us 60 dollars. That was one of the nicest things someone I don’t know has ever done for me.
19. Reporting For Doody
I was shopping at Target when my baby had a blow-out diaper situation. I also had my two-year-old with me and had to use the changing station in the ladies’ room. My toddler was out of control and was just itching to do gross stuff like lick the floors or something else horrifying to everyone except for a mischievous 2-year-old.
A woman, maybe in her 40s, saw as I tried to deal with my baby on the changing table and keep my 2-year-old from eating something disgusting. This woman immediately helped me out by interacting with my toddler, so I could fix the poosplosion my tiny infant son had produced. She got my toddler to count sinks, jumped from tile to tile with him, and made him laugh with silly faces.
It probably only lasted 2-3 minutes, but it was the most helpful thing someone could have done for me in that overwhelming moment.
20. A Class of His Own
When I was in school, I had a classmate who was terminally ill. He wanted to do all the things he wouldn’t grow up to do, and pretty much our whole school got involved. One girl’s parents owned a nightclub, and they decked out the VIP lounge and served mocktails to roughly 100 students. The kid wanted to be a police officer, and one boy’s dad arranged for him to go on shift with him for the day.
He wanted to go on a beach holiday, and the teachers put little kiddie pools around the long jump pit with water in. We all did something off his list. He got 62 valentines cards in October! He was always such a kind and thoughtful guy that everyone was happy to join in. His mom messaged me a few weeks ago just to catch up and she said she can’t believe that this year it’s 20 years since he passed, and she's so grateful that everyone made his brief time on earth so wonderful.
21. From The Heavens
I had an incredibly painful ovarian cyst and had no idea what to do about it. I managed to go to the pharmacy, where I was hunched over and even lying on the floor at certain times waiting in line. After I paid, a lady in line asked me if I needed a ride anywhere. She brought me to the urgent care clinic and even stayed with me to bring me home. What an angel.
22. The Tables Have Turned
One of my high school tormentors invited me to his house to hang out for a day. I was really nervous it might just be to screw with me, but I was desperate for some sort of friendship at the time, so I went over. We're now best friends, and he and his family feels like family to me. Honestly, I have no idea how we ever disliked each other.
23. A Mother Knows
When I had no money as a student, I went to do a shop with the little money I had left. But my phone bill was due, and I was flat broke and had to leave all the stuff at the cashier while I went outside to work out if I could borrow money. This absolutely amazing, amazing woman came out and said she saw the whole thing.
She told me she had a son who was a student and found himself in similar situations. So, she gave me a hug and forced some money in my pocket. I was too flabbergasted to say anything then, but lady, if you read this, you really changed my opinion about people in general and made sure I ate for the first time in a week.
24. The New Normal
I was hugely pregnant and had very young children with me. We went to a free exhibit at an aquarium down town. I was unfamiliar with the area, but found free parking several blocks away. I was broke, so finding a free exhibit with free parking was really a special outing for us. After the exhibit, my young children and I started walking towards the car, but couldn't find it.
I figured I had gotten turned around, so we returned to the aquarium and started walking in the other direction, but still couldn't find the car. We went back and started out in a third direction, still unable to find our car. It had started to rain and we were just lost. All along, a homeless man had been watching us, as we had passed by him multiple times in our search.
His words were heartbreaking. He told me he remembered seeing us first go in to the aquarium hours ago and what direction he saw us come from. He offered to walk down that way and look for our car for us so we didn't have to be walking around aimlessly until the car was located. I thanked him, but turned his offer down, not wanting to send this homeless man out into the rain.
He told me he was impressed with how well-behaved my children were, and he offered a dollar to buy them a candy bar. I couldn't accept, I mean how horrible of a person would I be to take money from someone who clearly needed it more than me—but he insisted. He said the dollar wouldn't save him from being homeless, but buying my kids a candy bar for being so patient and well-behaved would make him feel normal and some days he just needed to feel normal.
It was an act of kindness I will never forget. I think of that gentleman often.
25. Bitter Together
I had been going through a breakup and went to have some dairy-free frozen yogurt. Inside, the workers were talking while helping me, and apparently, the girl who was helping me was going through something then too. She looked at me and said, "I'm sad. Are you sad too?" I said, "Yes," and she gave me my froyo for free.
26. From Beyond the Grave
My grandmother made a ton of birthday cards in advance. After she passed, I still received birthday cards from her for the next few years. It was a little weird, but I cried happy tears whenever I got to read words from her after she passed.
27. Food For Bought
I was flying back on leave and had a stopover in Vegas. I was really hungry but pay wasn’t great, so I figured I’d just have Burger King. Standing in line, a guy who wasn’t even in line came up and just went, “Here man, you look tired. Thank you for your service to the country. Let me get your meal.” He handed me a $20 and went away.
I thought that $20 was way too much just for Burger King. I got to the front of the line and ordered. It ended up being $18. That surprised me, and I was glad he’d given me a $20. There have been other times when people have randomly paid for meals when I was broke. So now, I’ll randomly buy the person’s meal behind me.
28. Duty of Care
A paramedic helped me after I was in a car crash. He took his time to come back to the car and bring me back my front tooth, which was really tiny and he offered to go and look for in the wreck. At the same time, he found and brought back my partner's phone. I don't know his name, and I was in such a state of shock that I can't even remember what he looked like.
Still, he put my tooth in a special liquid and the hospital team managed to put it back, saving me a lot of money. There was also a woman officer who put a blanket on me and made sure I kept it. The hospital only managed to take it off me right before I left. It was a green standard first aid blanket, and I don't know why I refused to let go of it (again, shock) but it provided a lot of comfort. Thank you so much, guys.
29. On The Table
In my first year at university, my boyfriend and I went through some pretty rough times financially. He was older than me and had a steady job, but the income still was not enough for both of us, so when I went through a period of unemployment it became hard to make ends meet. A couple weeks went without grocery money.
My boyfriend’s first bi-weekly check went to pay for rent, so when his second one came, we were excited to finally have something other than Mr. Noodles to eat. Unfortunately, his bank only had two locations and weren't in our city, so when he deposited his cheque online it would take a week before we could access any.
We tried to deposit the cheque at my bank. He signed the back, "pay to the order of (my name)" hoping that would make me eligible to deposit it. I explained the situation to the bank teller, and she told me her hands were tied and I couldn’t deposit it because it wasn't in my name. By then, there were tears in my eyes.
I thanked her and was about to walk away. She paused and then took the cheque from me and then asked me to wait for a moment to see if there was anything one of her superiors would be able to do. I stood there trying to compose my 17-year-old self, and the teller came back and said there was still nothing she could do.
She handed me back the cheque, and I went to put it in my wallet. She then slid a $50 bill across the counter and told me to go buy some groceries on her. I bawled the entire way to the grocery store.
30. Get Away From It All
The nicest thing someone I know has done was for someone else. My brother took a fellow band nerd on a high school graduation road trip for several weeks. Thing is, the friend was dying of leukemia, and they both knew that this was going to be his first and last road trip. No timetable, just one day at a time across the breadth of the US.
31. Ticket To Happiness
I was in a very dark time of my life, and my doctor told me I needed a distraction away from home. I went to the arcade, bought $10 of tokens, and started to play skeeball. I'm pretty good at skeeball; I consistently hit 40s and 50s with the occasional 100. After playing through all the tokens, I had over 1,500 tickets.
I was ready to leave and saw a young kid. I went over and offered him my tickets. He looked at the person with him and asked if it was ok, and she said yes. The look on his face made my day! He thanked me, and so did she. He got whatever he wanted from the counter, and I got a smile, which I hadn't had for a long time.
Flickr
32. Found in Translation
I worked in Korea for a bit. It was late at night, and I decided to surprise a girl I was talking to by heading to her apartment. It was around 10:30, and unbeknownst to me, the subway stopped running at 11:00. Unfortunately, I was halfway there, so I decided to message her. She told me to take a specific bus to get to her place. I get on the bus, and I don't have the slightest idea which stop I should be getting off on.
Well, about 10 minutes later, a load of people get off on this one stop. An older Korean businessman sees me and motions to me that there's an available seat next to him. He starts talking to me in English and he says that the stop where I'm getting off is one stop before he gets off, and that he'll let me know when. We start a conversation about where he works, how he learned English, what I'm doing in Korea.
By the time we knew it, his stop came up. He profusely apologized to me and said that it was the stop before. I said, "It's okay, I'll just walk the opposite direction." As we get off the bus, we're both walking in the same direction. As we come up to an intersection, he flags down a taxi, tells him the subway station to drop me off on, and he paid the fare. All this while still apologizing to me. That guy was just such a good person, you know?
33. Using Signals
I was running and dropped my MP3 player without realizing it on a busy city street A nice older man literally stopped in traffic and flagged me down. When I didn’t respond because I was spacing out, he honked and waved his hands at me. A lot of people were honking at him to keep going, but he was being very persistent.
When he had my attention, he told me that he'd seen another guy pick it up, pocket it, and try to walk away really quickly. Then as this nice older man drove off, he kept pointing and yelling, “He has it! He has it! Hurry!” I turned around, ran two blocks, and caught up with the guy who had definitely tried to steal my MP3 and got it back. Thanks, old man!
Pexels
34. Moms Just Know
I was involved in a hit and run on my bicycle in Chicago. I broke my collarbone, and a stranger drove me to the ER. I was going into shock and freaking out about finances—I’m a single mother. The stranger gave me her number for the report and such, but then she made a gesture I’ll never forget. She later sent me $5k because she knows what it’s like to be a single mother with nothing.
I sobbed. I hadn’t gotten my unemployment yet. I was overwhelmed by her kindness.
35. Uphill Babble
My motorcycle stopped working at an intersection. This was when I was 16. It stopped while I was rolling, and I just rolled through the intersection. I pulled the bike onto the sidewalk. It was nighttime, and I was riding home to my parent’s house. The intersection was at a Meijer known locally as the "ghetto Meijer."
On the stoop of the apartments was a group of fellas just drinking, talking, and for some reason, wearing generally the same color. I was sketched out. It was dark, and I was a skinny, weak-looking kid. I was scared. I was trying to figure out what was wrong with my $700 ninja and was looking over my shoulder the whole time.
Then, out of nowhere, this man walked up, and I thought to myself, "Here we go, gotta empty my pockets, I guess." The man stopped next to me and flashed me a smile. "Are you okay? Do you need any help? Do you know what's wrong? I have a flashlight." I told him I had no idea, and I just was going to push it up the hill.
He offered to help and handed me the flashlight. He helped me push my bike up the sidewalk to a carwash since it was closer and well-lit enough. I think he could tell I was sketched about the area because he talked to me the whole walk. I called my dad, and he went to the wrong place, so I waited twice as long for him.
The man was just talking about his life and growing up. I didn't pay much attention to what he was saying; I just knew that it was calming me down. My dad showed up finally. The man helped us put the bike in his van, and then he said to have a good night and just walked away. I will never forget that moment in my life.
36. Friends With Benefits
I was having a panic attack for the first time. It swung between so euphoric I thought I was going to "ascend" and terrified that my life was going to end in pain. I called my loved ones to say goodbye, including my best friend. He came running from a block away. He was terrified too, but he held it together, sat me down, hugged me, told me that he didn't want me to go anywhere, and that he needed me right here.
I needed that. I needed to see what I felt wasn't based on reality, needed someone to say that I should not obey those feelings because I was needed and loved. On some level, he saved me. Years later, he voluntarily went into homelessness just to fly out to see me on another continent. Yes, we're together now romantically. No, I don't know how I got so lucky. We're planning the wedding. :)
37. Got You Covered
I was waiting at the traffic lights to cross the road. It was raining a bit, and I didn't have an umbrella with me that day. I don't really mind the rain, so it didn't bother me that much. However, a man came up to me and held his umbrella over me while we were waiting to cross. It wasn't much, but it made me so happy.
Unsplash
38. The Art of Caring
When I was a freshman in high school, I took an art class that was a mix of 9th-12th graders. I was really bad with people back then, so I spent most of class sitting on the floor between the trash can and the drying racks and never speaking to anyone. Still, there was this one 11th-grade guy who would always make it a point to talk to me.
He didn't know me or anything; he just happened to sit near me. But he'd always ask about my day or compliment my art or offer to help me with my math homework. At one point, he even managed to get me to sit at the desk with the rest of the students. It's just one of those things I think about from time to time because he really had every right to ignore me like everyone else did, but he didn't. He really made art class into a second home for me. I miss that guy.
39. Really Slimming Down
While I was in a bad relationship and basically being starved, I had to go away on business. When I was away, I decided to meet up with a friend who lived nearby. While I was waiting for him, a homeless charity gave me a cup of tea because they thought I was a junkie given how thin I was. I protested, but they said that I looked like I needed it. I burst into tears.
Their kindness was a wake-up call. I left my ex and vowed to be with someone who treats me well.
40. It’s the Little Things
I have an online friend in another country, and one time she made a cake for my birthday with my name on it because she knew no one else would do anything.
41. Trying To Help
I went on a school trip to Parc Astérix in France when I was in grade 6 and was having trouble ordering myself a no-relish cheese burger. This random old biddie wandered over to me and asked, in English, what I was trying to order and proceeded to order it in French on my behalf. Even though she forgot to ask for no relish, I appreciated her help.
42. Know Your Worth
During my Physics graduate program, there was a terrible professor for two of my core classes. He was terrible at teaching, but also known for complaining at faculty meetings how the grades had been going down in his classes ever since more women started taking them. I put in a ton of work anyway, and despite all that he gave me two Ds for those two classes. I’ve honestly never heard of someone getting Ds in grad school and finishing, so I was convinced my life was over. Then, I learned that I was so, so wrong.
At that point, I told another professor who had been supportive what happened, and he got me a stiff drink to talk it over. In that meeting, he said that technically there was no requirement to take the guy’s classes. Instead, he told me to sign up for two independent study classes, which he would supervise, and all I would be doing is practice questions for the qualifying exam.
So we did exactly that—I studied, and we would meet up a few times a week to go over problems. By the end of the semester, I took my qualifiers, and passed with margins to spare. Today, I’m a postdoctoral fellow in astronomy at Harvard, which never would have happened if that professor hadn’t taken a chance on me and put in so many hours to help me.
It makes me so determined to help all the students in my path and mentor them as well, because people can be so much more than one bad professor thinks they are.
43. Comfort Station
I was going through a rough patch and was in the subway and just started crying. An older gentleman took the time to talk with me and just be nice until I calmed down a little. He reminded me so much of my dad that it made me cry more. He was just so incredibly kind and patient even though I was in a really dark place.
44. Chosen Family
I had just had my father completely cut ties with me after years of estrangement and him being super distant. Obviously, I was a little emotionally uneasy about how “final” it felt, and the implications for the distant future. My live-in girlfriend knew, told her mom, and her mom sent me a bunch of snacks I’ve always wanted to try but never wanted to spend the money on.
Instant mood lifter, and it restated the fact in my mind that there are other people who care about me even if my dad doesn’t.
45. I Know What To Do
When my cousin's little girl was about six, she saw a young woman trying to cover herself with a blanket so she could feed her baby on a park bench. Having a baby brother, she often held the blanket for her mom. She went over, hopped onto the bench, and just asked if she could hold the blanket because she, “Always did it for her mommy!"
Unsplash
46. Pikachu, I Don’t Choose You
When I was like nine, I went to an arcade over in San Antonio, Texas because we were there for a vacation. There was this claw machine that had pokemon in it, and I was aiming for my favorite pokemon ever, but accidentally got a different one. The employee comes around to unlock the thing so I can get my prize. I whine to my mom, "Aw I wanted the Charizard though."
This dude puts the other one back in there, and hands me the one I wanted. I will forever remember you, bro.
47. What Little I Have
When I was 16, I was upset with my parents and decided to leave my house in Los Angeles and secretly drive my car to San Diego with two friends. We, uh, didn't plan our escape really well, so immediately once we were in San Diego, the authorities picked us up. Our parents back in LA reported one of my friends and I missing, so they held my friend and told me I could go, but only if I went straight back home.
The department bought me a Greyhound ticket back to LA and dropped me off at the bus station in downtown San Diego. There was just one problem: Greyhound drivers were on strike so the buses were delayed. After a few hours, I decided to leave the bus station and go look for my car. At this point, it was the middle of the night.
So there I was, not knowing how to get anywhere, when this homeless man approached me asking for change. I told him that I didn’t have anything to give him. I guess I was stressed, because I went on to say that I needed to find my car to get back to LA and even if I did, I still might not even have enough gas to make it there.
The homeless man then gave me couple dollars in change and gave me directions to where my car was. I tried to decline, and he said, “You need it more than I do right now,” and insisted that I take it. Eventually, I found my car and made it back home. But only because of that homeless man. I ran out of gas and the only way I could afford enough was because of the change I found in my car, plus the change that he had given me.
48. Work to Live
My one co-worker got all my other co-workers to donate money for a gift to me from my hugely underpaid apprenticeship. I received $350, which was exactly how much I needed for an upcoming bill. It really saved me when I had literally $0.70 in my account. A few weeks earlier, actually, a different co-worker noticed me not eating and bought me lunch, then many of them brought me leftovers. That apprenticeship was the worst, but the people were the best.
49. Magical Moment
I was backpacking across Europe and on the train to Disneyland Paris. A guy saw me getting off the train at the Disneyland Station and got me admission for free. The guy worked there and randomly decided to sign me in as his guest.
50. The Good Neighbor
His name is Duong. When I was in university, he was my neighbor. I got into a motorbike accident and couldn’t go to class by myself, so he put me up on his back and brought me to the class like a hero. When my elevator was broken, he climbed all 13 floors to bring me dinner because he knew I couldn’t go out to get it. Whoever is with him for the rest of his life is a lucky person.
51. Sharing Stories
I made a post on my Facebook page asking friends if they could donate some gently used stuffed animals for kids at my school to take home over winter break as "Reading Buddies." I thought it would be great to get fifty toys for our neediest first graders. Well, my friends were incredible and shared and spread the post.
I ended up getting over 400 mostly brand-new stuffed animals, which was enough for every single kid in my small school, plus some left over. It was unbelievable. People were dropping garbage bags of toys off at my house daily for two weeks.
52. Child’s Play
I was walking through the streets of Marrakech after it had just rained, and I was wearing those flimsy flip-flops, so all the wet sand from the street was being catapulted onto the back of my legs. Out of nowhere, I feel a tap on my arm. It’s a young Moroccan girl, not older than 6 or 7 years old, offering me her water bottle to clean my legs.
I politely declined because I could never accept to take someone’s water in that scorching heat, but thanked her and her mother profusely. Children are so pure.
53. Friender Bender
One day when I was around 19, I took my father's car without permission to go to the 7/11. It was only a block away from my house and I could have walked, but I'd just got my licence and felt like going for a ride. Big. Mistake. When I got to the store, I started panicking, thinking my dad could get home and not see the car. Just as quickly as I decided to go to the store, I decided to leave.
But as I pulled out of the driveway, I hit another car! I considered running, but I decided I had to own up since I saw that everyone in the store turned their heads. The owner of the other car came out really chill to look at it. It was on the back of his car, and I kept apologizing over and over and explained that I had no licence, insurance, or permission to use the car.
But I told him that I would still take the responsibility for it. Before I could even give him my information, he calmly said to me, "well, run before your dad gets home!" I was shocked. He even helped me get out of the parking spot properly. Sir, wherever you are, I hope life has repaid that act of kindness x10 times!
54. Do the Math
I went to a very small school with a bunch of really amazing math teachers, and one really bad math teacher. For example, she tried to sue a kid for "aggressively swinging his backpack" at her when she threw him out of the classroom for something trivial. He had only picked up his backpack in a completely normal manner.
I was slated to have pre-calc with the terrible teacher the following year and was complaining about it to my amazing math teacher, saying how much I was dreading her class. That’s when I got the offer of a lifetime. My amazing math teacher offered to teach me pre-calc over the summer so I could skip a year of math and go straight to calc with the amazing teacher.
So, once a week, each week over the summer, I met my amazing teacher in her back garden, where we had tea and cookies and she taught me pre-calc. A week before school started, I met with horrible teacher and took her pre-calc final, aced it, and got to stick with amazing teacher. I’ll always be grateful someone cared enough about that.
55. Elevator Pitch
I started my route to an interview really early to make sure I’d be on time, but the train was late anyway. So, when I got off the train, I basically had to jog my way to the company. It was a really hot day, and my face was all sweaty. When I got in the elevator, a guy who worked there asked me if I was heading to HR.
I replied yes, and then he told me where the bathroom was so I could wash up a little bit before going in for my interview. I didn't thank him then and there, but I thank you now, kind stranger!
56. Second Home
Growing up, I was severely neglected and had no friends due to my lack of hygiene and social skills. One of my teacher aids got wise to it, and brought me to her house to play with her daughter, took me on family trips with them, gave me clean clothes, and just showed me an insane amount of kindness I'll never be able to repay.
57. Driver To Driver
When I was 17, a bus driver saw me get on with my shiny new license plate. Instead of taking a few bucks, he didn't charge me fare. He said something like, "looks like you won't be needing me for a while. This one's on the house."
58. Through Thick and Thin
I was fired from my last job. It was the first and only time I had been fired, and it sucked. I really liked that job, and I got super depressed. My friend also lost his job later that week, which really sucked because I knew he loved that job, too. He would always tell me that it was his dream job. And right as soon as he found out, he called me.
He called me to tell me that even though he lost his job, he knew he was going to be alright. He wanted to tell me that to set a good example. I knew he was heartbroken, but he put on a strong face for me. And I'll never forget that. Never.
59. Riding It Out
This is the story of how some kind strangers literally saved my life. A few years ago, I crashed my motorcycle on a back-country road. A group of bikers found me and called one of their friends to bring a truck, drove me back to my apartment, brought my bike to one of their guys’ place who lived by me, and stayed with me to monitor how I was doing.
They later had to bring me to the ER because I started repeating myself. It turned out that I had a concussion. They stored my bike for me for about a month until I could get my insurance payout and offload the wreckage.
Pexels
60. 24 Candles
I’ve never been able to celebrate my birthday. Between my awful mom and horrible relationships, it’s just become a tradition to lie in bed and cry every year. Well this year, my best friend and boyfriend put their heads together and threw me a surprise “party.” They decorated our apartment, baked me a cake and decorated it to the best of their abilities, and got me some small, thoughtful presents. 24 years old, and finally I had my first good birthday. I cried like a baby.
61. Much Needed Replenishment
I was 19 and had just moved out of my parent’s house. I was in college, working in retail, living in a shoebox apartment, and broke. I had $50 a week for food. I was hungry, tired, and living on coffee and spite, and finals were that next week. My shirt had three stains and five holes. My dirty hair was in a messy bun.
I hadn't taken time to wash it. My sweatpants looked like I’d slept under a bridge in them, and my eye bags would be checked in luggage if I was flying. I was at the local budget grocery store, standing in front of the chicken, agonizing over getting some for me to add to the 15-bean soup that I splurged for that week.
I wanted it but knew I couldn't get it. A voice behind me said, "get the chicken." I turned around and saw a woman in her 50s, tall, with dark hair that had gone pretty gray, and lots of laugh lines. She was smiling at me. I said, "pardon me?" She repeated herself, "you should get the chicken." "Oh, well, you see, I-"
"I'll buy it for you." I was shocked. I thought that I must have heard her wrong or maybe I was hallucinating the whole thing. "Ma'am, I-" She cut me off; I guess she could tell by my face that I was confused. And she said to me, "I've been where you are. This isn't charity. This is me just doing what I wish someone had done for me.”
“I was broke and hungry and too proud to ask for help once. Please, let me buy the chicken for you." She was still smiling, but she looked sad too. She was so sincere. I was hungry and broke. But I wasn't proud enough to say no. I caved in ten seconds. We started to chat. I picked out the chicken breasts that I wanted.
And then she dragged me back over to the produce section when she saw that I didn't have any fresh produce in my cart. She asked me, "when was the last time you ate a nice fresh tomato at home?" The answer was when I was still living with my parents. She walked around the store with me for an hour asking about my life.
I also asked her, and her answer was heartbreaking. She had a daughter named Amy who would have been my age if she hadn't been in a drinking and driving accident three years before. She had a son named Colin who was off at college and going to be an electrical engineer soon. She was very proud. She bought me $467.58 worth of food that day, and I cried.
I felt so guilty! She didn't even know me, and she was helping me! She would put things in the cart, and when I would protest, she would ask me if I needed it. I had no argument that would sway her. It wasn’t just food either. She bought me almost three months’ worth of toilet paper and four months’ of period supplies.
She helped me load up my car. She gave me a huge hug, told me I was going to do great, and walked away. I've never seen her again, but that was the best thing anyone's ever done for me.
62. You Shall Not Pass
I went out to a bar drank a bit too much with my girlfriends. Some guy saw and tried to push me into an Uber to take me to his hotel. Then, the bouncer wouldn't let me back in no matter how many times I asked because according to him, "I changed my mind and that's not the guy's fault." No one else passing by wanted to intervene. I was getting really scared—until a good Samaritan stepped up and changed everything.
The Uber driver popped out of the front of his car and wrestled the guy off me. He made sure I was okay, gave the bouncer and everyone else a piece of his mind, too. Hope that guy's doing well in life.
63. Froyo Own Good
When I was 16, I worked at a frozen yogurt store and had to close late a lot by myself with no manager, supervisor, or co-worker. One night, five minutes before close, a woman who worked next door at the veterinary clinic walked in for her froyo. As she was paying, another man walked in but was being really suspicious.
He just sat down and looked at the machines but didn’t make an effort to buy anything. The woman asked me quietly if I was alone, and I said yes, so she nodded and just stood in front of the cash register with me. Eventually, after realizing that she was not leaving, the man left. I thanked her and locked up the store. I don't know what would have happened if she left, but to this day, I'm so grateful that she stayed.
Shutterstock
64. Let the Good Times Roll
I took my sister, who’s in a wheelchair, to the cinema for the first time on my own. At the end, I realized I couldn't undo the brakes because it was a new wheelchair. It was blocking everyone. I felt like crying because I thought everyone was angry at me, but some nice lady helped me, then took me and my sister out. She said she once had a son who needed a wheelchair. This was long ago, but I'll never forget her or the kindness she showed me that day.
65. Getting Stuck
My period started in a public bathroom. It took me completely by surprise. My mom was there, fortunately, but she didn't have any supplies. As she started searching her purse for quarters for the dispenser, a woman offered her a tampon from her purse. She was so sweet. When we thanked her, she told us that the dispenser ones were terrible and just to pay it forward.
66. Tripping out
I am from 1980's rural Texas, where education was laughed at and where the idea of living in a foreign country was ludicrous. When I was 17, I met a Rotarian (like, a guy from a non-profit) who allowed me to go on a year-long foreign exchange. I had never heard of that concept before and had no real idea of what it meant. At 18, I packed my bags and discovered a brand new world! It honestly changed my life FOREVER. Definitely for the better.
While I was gone, I met other foreign exchange students and learned that it was fairly difficult to get into this program. I'd heard ambassadors’ children were being turned down from it. I honestly think that I got to go because no one else from my area wanted to leave the safety of our small town, while I jumped at the chance. I think about that old Rotarian a lot. I owe him everything for changing my life.
67. At A Loss
When my house burnt down, a close friend started a GoFundMe for me and my roommates. People ended up donating about $1300 to us, which made me feel bad because the Red Cross had swooped in immediately and set us up in hotel rooms and a stipend for meals and clothes until insurance kicked in, which would cover the rest.
That's when we came up with the perfect plan: We ended up taking the $1300 that was donated via GoFundMe and donated it directly back to the Red Cross.
Pexels
68. How to Save a Life
Back in 2018, I had a drastic decline in my mental health, which led to a failed suicide attempt. I had enough of feeling miserable, so I checked myself in to a program. Afterwards, the hospital gave me a number and location to follow up with my newly-appointed therapist. Upon getting to their building, though, they needed me to pay a co-pay.
I didn't have a darn penny on me and said I couldn't pay. They denied me my appointment, and I remember thinking that when I walked out of there I was really going to go through with harming myself this time. Then a miracle happened. Right before I was about to leave, this other patient stopped me, pulled out her credit card and paid my co-pay.
She had told me that this place and these people saved her life. She said she didn't want me to lose mine because I couldn't afford to be cared for. The intensity of that relief almost cured my debilitating depression, I never felt so grateful in my life. I sincerely hope that lady is flourishing and being the best self she can be. She saved my life; that is the greatest kindness someone has ever done for me.
69. Barking Point
My wife and I were taking the three dogs to the vet when our car suddenly stalled and stopped right in the middle of an intersection. We were freaking out, but thankfully, an SUV pulled up behind us and offered to help push the car off the road. In talking, my wife mentioned that we were heading to the vet. To our surprise, the driver and his wife offered to bring our dogs to the vet for us, so that we wouldn't miss their appointment.
I waited for the tow truck. I also managed to get a hold of the in-laws to come get us, and they said yes. They brought my wife and dogs back just around when the in-laws had gotten there. To the kind strangers, thank you! We were going through a lot at the time, and this act of kindness kept us from "the final straw."
70. Those Who Can Do, Teach
My English teacher when I was very, very young. She was the sweetest I've ever had. She knew I loved the Harry Potter books, even though they were not super popular in France back then. So one day, she brought me HP-themed coloring books from her trip to England. It made me so happy that she thought about me even though she was away from school.
Pikist
71. Been There
In 2014, I was involved in an incident in a border town. Some armed guys pulled my cousin and I over and forced us in the back. They tried to get information from us, but the car I’d been driving was the company’s, so I kept with the, “I just do my job,” line. My son had just been born a month prior, so I was praying to get out alive.
I prayed that if anything happened to me that they would drop my body somewhere where someone could find it for the insurance. After getting us to a store and emptying our debit cards, they beat us and dropped us at the US border. We managed to cross and ask for a travel permit and walked over to the first gas station.
I was asking people there to let me pay with my credit card and get cash as I didn’t know how to get money from the ATM. We finally got enough to pay a taxi to a hotel and started the process of letting family, friends, and work know what had happened, that we were okay, and we were looking into options to return home.
Then in walked a guy who I hadn’t seen in over a decade. He saw me beaten up and asked what was happening. I told him what happened, and he just pulled out his wallet and immediately gave me $500. The same thing had happened to him some months before, and another guy had given him cash to return home.
72. I Recommend This Man
My boss and mentor wrote me a glowing reference and pulled some strings to get me into a graduate program, even though I was severely depressed and my work performance was nothing to be proud of. I couldn't comprehend or remember anything due to an undiagnosed disease, and I also acted extremely awkward socially. I really don't know why he went so far out of his way to change the trajectory of my life, but I’ll always be grateful.
73. Paying My Dues
I was in a parking garage with no money to get out. There weren't any attendants. There was only an automated system. I was standing by the machine looking through my purse for any coins I could get but was still a dollar short, and the machine only accepted cash. A guy came over and put a dollar in the machine for me.
I thanked him profusely, and he said, "just pay it forward." I promised I would, and he made it clear that he was serious about it. A week later, I was at a NFL game and found a $10 bill on the ground. I remembered that I had made a promise, so I found a roving drink guy, gave it to him, and said, "consider this a tip."
74. Guardian Angels
I've had many people do nice things for me, but one stands out. I was very young, maybe 16 or 17. I'd had a terrible car accident and needed to get to a specialist downtown during my recovery. I wasn't a confident driver to begin with, and I had never driven downtown and got hopelessly lost. This was before everyone had cell phones.
I stopped at a pay phone in a grocery store. I was sobbing and scared. I couldn't describe where I was, since I was so lost, and I didn't know how to get turned in the right direction. A little old lady stopped to ask me if I was OK, so I told her where I was going and that I didn't know how to get there. She was shocked that I was SO LOST.
I was so far removed from where I was supposed to be. I wasn't even close to downtown. So she literally drove there in her car while I followed her. She just pointed out her window when we got to the address and I turned in. I never got to properly thank her. But it was far from over. To make it so much worse, once I finally got there, I was told they'd had to cancel my appointment.
I broke down, and an elderly couple came to comfort me and gave me some money and said to please take some time to calm down at the cafe next door, have some lunch or something. Twice in one day, I was approached by kind people who just wanted to help a teenager. That was over 25 years ago. I still don't like to drive downtown, but I do. I think of those people every time I have to go there.
75. We’re All In This Together
I took some acid at an EDM festival and became dehydrated. My group got up to leave the stage, and as we were walking, I just started slowing down. Step by step, I just felt weaker and weaker. My group was walking away without realizing that I was falling back. The crowd swallowed them, and I couldn’t see them anymore.
I took a few more steps, and all of a sudden, I couldn’t move. I was wobbling, and someone about 30 feet away saw me and yelled out, “are you okay?” I tried to reply, “I…can't…I can’t move…,” and wobbled when I tried to step and started to fall over. He ran over to me and grabbed my arm as I fell into a chain link fence.
Three other people ran over and started fanning me with their hands. I drank water and told them that I was okay, but they stayed for another five minutes and fanned me while I sat on the ground and drank more until I could speak clearly and seemed okay. They’d saved me that day, and I didn’t know a single one of them.
76. Saving the Day
My dad cancelled my weekend with him a day before we were supposed to go to Six Flags and do other stuff together. My best friend's parents found out and duplicated all the activities. It meant so much to me.
77. Like This Place Already
My wife and I had to move ourselves to a new area. We spent the previous 48 hours loading up a moving truck, driving 14 hours, unloading the moving truck, and unpacking boxes. We had a small window to work with while family watched our kid. We were exhausted, disheveled, and sleep deprived. We had no food in our house.
So, we found a place a few miles from new house to grab some lunch. We ordered our food, ate, and went to pay. That’s when we found out that someone else paid for our lunch with a note that said, "you look like you can use a hot meal." I'm not sure what they thought about us, but it was nice to have that in a new area.
78. Hit the Road
I was given a car by a former co-worker. At the time, I was walking or riding my bike eight miles one way just to get to work, and then another eight miles to get back home. When working with her, she asked if I wanted a car. I thought she was joking, but said yes anyway. About two weeks later, she said her husband had this old car that he fixed up and it’s ready for me.
From there, she had me meet up at a notary, and all I paid was for a title transfer and tax, which only came around $150. It wasn't the nicest car, but it worked. The car lasted a year, but still to this day I am forever grateful someone would gift me something that truly helped out tremendously. Then, she said there was a catch. I started to get nervous, but it was actually so heart-warming.
The catch was that, whenever I'm able to, I have to pass along a good deed. I've tried to pass this whenever I can. I sincerely appreciated all the help, Debby, and I wish only the best for you and your family. I'm still working on passing along good deeds as we have agreed. Thank you so much for your kindness, especially during a time in my life where I thought there was little hope. There is always hope.
79. Games With Dad
I was watching the World Series in a crowded bar. The old guy next to me chatted throughout the game. At the end of the game, he said that I reminded him of his son who was distant and that he was going to try to reconnect with him after talking with me. We were there for the rest of the series and when the Giants won.
He covered the entire bar’s tab for the winning game and also bought my dinners and drinks unprompted for every game of the series. When he picked up the whole place’s tab, I was shocked. He went, “eh, my bonus alone last year was $300,000. Don’t worry about it.”
80. Color Me Surprised
A woman I worked with a few years ago knew my 30th birthday was coming up and asked me what I was doing. I just said I’m visiting family, but she also found out that I’d never had a “surprise” before. I might get a present and maybe a bit of money and I was happy with that. I had no idea the gift she was about to give me.
At my parents’ house, they’d forgotten to buy a cake, so I just picked up a Victoria sponge cake and stuck a couple of tea light candles on it. It was fine, I don’t complain. But when I got back to work a week later, my lovely colleague had organised this beautiful two-tier birthday cake surrounded by gifts! And then she really surprised me.
She produced tickets for us two to get a drink at this ice bar place and tickets to go to the theatre. She did this because she remembered me saying I hadn’t been since I was a kid and no one I knew was interested in going. I was so shocked, I was nearly in tears. This was the very first birthday surprise I ever had. I will never forget my 30th birthday because of my colleague.
81. Safely Delivered
Once when I was delivering pizzas in high school, I got stuck sideways in someone's driveway during the winter. The front and back of the car were wedged between snowbanks, and the driveway was very long, so no one from the house could see me. Worse yet, it was a rural low-traffic area. A guy was driving down the road.
He was towing a trailer with snow shovels as well as a snow blower and happened to stop. We used his shovels to dig me out. When I was unstuck, he simply said to, "pay it forward." That summer, I was randomly driving through the back roads of my town, and I came across a guy having trouble with his old 80's Ford truck.
Both his batteries had stopped working, and he was pretty stranded. I had some chains, so I offered to hook up and slack-chain him back to his driveway that was a few miles away. When we finally got his truck parked safely in his driveway, he asked me, "hey, weren't you that delivery guy I helped out of that driveway?"
Unsplash
82. A Purr-Fect Present
I worked as a retail cashier at a drug store. It was the Christmas season and CRAZY busy. We had tins of chocolates on sale for under $10, and they had designs of kittens and puppies on them. I mentioned to a lady who was buying a bunch that one tin in particular looked identical to my cat. She bought the tin and gave it to me!
I actually cried. To have a stranger spend their own money on someone else in that capacity. I’ve never had it happen before. It was years ago, and although the chocolates inside are long gone, I still display that chocolate tin every year at Christmas.
83. Been A Treat
I was visiting friends with my kids, and we went to an ice cream shop. My oldest was quite excited running around being silly while we sat outside. There was also a middle-aged couple sitting out there, so I kept asking her to stay by me and be quiet, so she wouldn't bother them. We got up to leave when they came over.
They asked me if they could buy my daughter a gift card for the shop. I was speechless for a moment but told them of course and that it was so kind of them. "We lost our daughter years ago who looked so much like her," they said. "Make sure she gets more ice cream," and they left. I cried for a little while after that.
84. Girl Power
I was in a boarding school, so I couldn't go home or anything like that, and I was also really out of touch with my emotions. Very “keep calm and carry on.” One day in class, I was having REALLY REALLY bad period pains, and since I'm not the kind of person to share much, I was trying to hide it even though I was pretty much in agony.
My friend sitting next to me could clearly see something was wrong, and eventually I told her. So she sneaked into the dorm where you're not supposed to go during class hours for me to fetch some medication. She also offered to bring me dinner so I didn't have to move once I got home from class. She even told me jokes and stuff to cheer me up. I’ll always be grateful.
85. On The Right Track
I live near an airport and was waiting for a train when a guy came up to me with his wife and five suitcases. He asked in his broken German if I could help him get two train tickets. It’d only take about 10 seconds, so of course I helped him. He told me to keep the change. It was only seven euros, but it paid for my cold brew.
86. Memento Mori
I couldn’t be there for the passing of my grandmother because I was at university, so my uncle had a bracelet made for me. It was engraved with her handwriting.
87. Keeping Company
I was having lunch in college with some friends when another bunch of guys arrived from a different class. We all knew each other but were not close. I started eating late, so I was still eating when my friends finished who then went and left. Some of the guys from the other class wanted to leave, but one stopped them.
He said, “[my name] is still eating. we can’t go yet.” So, for the rest of my meal, they hung out with me while my own friends ditched me. Now, that guy who had spoken up is a close friend and a groomsman in my wedding.
Unsplash
88. One Happy Ending
I had a really bad home life growing up. My friend—and at the time she was only loosely my friend—had two incredible moms who heard what was going on with me, and pretty much immediately got involved. At the time, I was emaciated, constantly terrified, and never let anyone get close, especially adults. When it got really bad, I used to dumpster dive and collect scraps from the school cafeteria for food for myself and for my brother.
I was chronically sick, mentally ill, rarely slept, and skipped class all the time. My friend's parents started dropping off bags of food at school for me and my younger brother. One night, they invited me over and I just...never left. They moved my brother into the house. They had absolutely no money. Not a freaking dime.
The money that used to be split between four people (two kids, two moms) was suddenly split between six. The house we shared was a half-finished re-modeling project and a total hazard. We didn't even have doors installed inside! Just curtains. To me, though, it was magic. I thought the fact that we didn't have sinks—that we had to crouch over the tub to wash our hands—was mythical.
My moms hugged me every morning and told me how special I was and how proud they were of me. For the first time in my life, I was stupidly, ridiculously happy. Every morning I woke up, my heart would race until I thought it might burst. I was literally that happy to be alive. The second I woke up—I mean the second—I bolted to the kitchen to say good morning to my moms and get a hug.
My friend (now my sister) and her family did everything for us. No rhyme, no reason. I stopped skipping school. My grades improved. I started earning scholarships. I got into a fantastic university. I now have a degree, a fantastic job, friends, and a family that I love.
89. Special Date
One time in the dark evening in October, I took my 4-year-old girl out for a walk to the grocery store, so we could have a little treat at the deli. We’d even left her 1 year old brother home with dad, so it was a really big deal to her, and she was so excited while we were standing in line waiting to order our snacks.
We sang together softly the whole time little Christmas songs and telling funny jokes and stuff. She saw a Halloween cookie kit, got super excited, and asked me for it, but I said no baby, maybe next week. We were a super young family. I didn't work, and we had enough for some snacks but not a $10 cookie kit that week.
While we prepared to eat and marvelled at what a treat we had, the man who’d been standing behind us for the ten minutes in line walked by and very casually put the box of cookies on our table and left before I even realized what he’d done. That day happened to be my birthday, and that man gave my baby special cookies.
90. Kindness Is in Short Supply
On the last day of school, I was helping my art teacher clean up for the summer. She knew I was rather poor growing up, so she gave me all the leftover paper, some really high quality bristol board and watercolor paper, all of the leftover prismacolor pencils, tons of paint brushes, and other various art supplies. It was her last year teaching, and she didn’t care to save the stuff for the next year. I still miss her. She was the best teacher I've ever had.
91. Chip Off The Old Block
My son lost his Pringles at lunch and was crying. Some of the "big kids" comforted him by giving him some of their own food. Then, the next day, they brought him a whole can of Pringles. He was so happy.
92. Long Time, No See
I was at a restaurant in Boston by myself on a Friday night. It was 7 pm, so I was just enjoying a nice dinner by myself before heading back to my hotel. There was a man with a wedding ring on who asked me if the seats next to me were taken. I told him no, and he and his friends sat down. He eventually started chatting with me and it was friendly, but then he started hitting on me.
I brushed him off, and he slightly backed off…but then started eating French fries off of my plate. I pushed the plate away and asked the bartender for my check. I was in the last seat at the bar, so I had nowhere to go other than to wait, and the bar was packed. The guy then tells me I’m beautiful and asks if I want to go back to my hotel with him.
I told him again no. He asked again, I told him I was married and he said “So? So am I.” I’m so grateful for what happened next. All of the sudden, this voice says to me “Oh my god! What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in so long!” And a woman hugged me. This woman and I chatted and pretended we were old friends while I paid. She then walked with me to my Uber to make sure I got into it safely and that he didn’t follow me. I don’t know where this woman is now, but she made me feel safe.
93. Merriment To Help
I was at Walmart getting groceries with my wife and kids. It was a particularly tough year. I had lost my job, bills were piling up, and we were close to tears every night because we had no idea if we were even going to be able to afford to give our kids anything for Christmas. Anyway, as all this was running through my mind, I went to another aisle to get something.
While I was there, an elderly couple approached my wife, handed her a $100 bill saying, "Merry Christmas." She tried to give it back, but they refused. Apparently, they didn't have any kids or grandkids, so every year they looked for someone with kids and give them a gift. My wife burst into tears and hugged the woman.
Wikimedia.Commons
94. Mirror Image
I went on a homecoming date and ordered a bunch of food. While we were there, this old couple ended up buying our dinner because we reminded them of what they used to look like when they were young. I’m very grateful, because I didn’t actually have enough money to pay for dinner. I was maybe $30 short. I’m still with the girl three years later.
Needpix
95. Important To Learn
My parents hadn’t been there for me and my two siblings after divorcing. They kicked two of us out at 18, which left the 13-year-old between fighting parents. I just got custody of him because of the stress three years later when I was finally old enough to get him. He started working part time at a Mexican restaurant.
I went to pick him up from work, and the owner was at the bar. He asked me why I always picked him up and where our parents were. I gave him a quick run-through but not too much. He offered to pay the rest of my college tuition so that I could provide for my brother better and just set up a fund for him for his school.
I'm now going through medical school on him, and my little brother will also be able to attend once he's out of high school. I will never be able to thank him enough. He only knew my little brother as a hard-working dishwasher, and now he's provided a future for us. I can only hope that I can do the same in the future.
96. A Grave Secret
I have many family members interred in a small cemetery with a few unattended graves that I occasionally clean and place artificial flowers on. Sometimes I do the ones around them. I feel morally obligated to honor their memory. One day, I found a letter. Its contents were heartbreaking. Obscured behind my father's flowers, in an inconspicuous brown envelope, was an effusive message of gratitude from an old woman whose arthritis incapacitated her.
She had seen my maintenance of her husband's grave from her house across the road and wanted to thank me for my compassion. I was confounded because I never anticipated any recognition. She said she asked her daughter what she could do to compensate me, and she purchased an iTunes voucher for her mother to give me in the envelope.
It was one of those letters and gestures that the gratitude and appreciation emanated from the very paper. The handwriting was so elegant and fastidious; I know she took an inordinate amount of time composing her words. She loved her husband beyond articulation. We have tea together twice a month now.
Pikist
97. Just What We Needed
We were waiting in line at our state's renaissance fair. We tried to go every year, but we took in a few more kids to help family out and were short on money. We ended up getting enough for admission but little else, and we were basically going just to keep tradition. We had everyone in cheap costumes we bought online.
Someone came and offered us four tickets that they had extra from winning a radio show call in contest. We gratefully accepted and stayed in line because we still needed two more. Then a different group gave us two more tickets to get us in without having to pay. We spent what we saved at the fair and had a great time.
98. Can’t Put a Price on Education
On September 14, 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.
99. Rewarded For Good Behavior
We were out to eat with our kids, and my son, being the little punk that he was, threw his kids menu sheet under the booth next to us. It belonged to two middle aged ladies who were wearing skirts. My husband asked one of the ladies to please get it because he didn't want to go crawling under. She was kind enough to grab it and we briefly chatted.
Then, the women finished with their meal. As they got up to leave, one of them handed my son a $5 and gave my daughter one too. She said to get them dessert because they're so well behaved. I do have to admit my kids are very well mannered in public except for when my boy is a stinker, but I never expected a stranger to pay them for it.
Shutterstock
50. 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. Running On Empty
I was 21. I had just lost my father, my girlfriend dumped me, and I failed out of college. I was really depressed. My life was turning into a huge heap of garbage. So, I decided to hop in my car and just drive. After a couple of days, I was in a Waffle House somewhere in Atlanta. It was 3 AM, and I was the only patron.
A guy walked in and sat right next to me. I thought it was odd because there were so many open seats. We got to talking, and somehow, I opened up to this guy about life and my struggles. He listened. He cared. He told me to go back home because running away from my problems was not the right answer. We hugged. I cried.
101. Withholding Expenses
I lost my wallet after a night out. On Monday, it was just gone. On Tuesday afternoon, the guy who found it knocked on my door and gave it back. He was my hero. I got the wallet as an 18th birthday present. I'm 38 and had the wallet 20 years without losing it until then. I’ll definitely pay that human kindness forward.
Pexels
102. Taking Care Of It
After a motorcycle accident, a homeless guy returning some bottles dropped everything and dragged me off the road. Then he took my wallet out of my pocket to help me find my health card, used my cellphone to call for an ambulance, gave my phone back, talked a passer-by into waiting with me, and then went about his day.
Pikist
103. Relieving Message
Last year, my husband was diagnosed with stage four cancer. That meant he was out of work. But then we got a letter in the mail from our county. When I opened it, I felt my eyes fill up with tears. It turned out that someone had gone in and anonymously paid for our taxes on our house. It was definitely a blessing during a hard time.
104. Player Won
I was about 12 and rode my bike to a local GameStop. I didn’t have enough money to buy this Kingdom Hearts Gameboy game even though I scraped up as much money I could find around the couch and what I did from chores. The GameStop guy didn’t care. I was so sad, until a big guy behind me in a grey suit then threw cash on the counter for me.
105. Hot Second
I was in a car accident that set off both air bags and briefly knocked me out. I came around to a woman opening my car door and reaching in to help me out of the car. She had been driving behind me and saw the airbag powder. Her first instinct was to get me out of danger. She ran towards my car thinking it was on fire.
106. The Wrong Places
When I was about 18, my boyfriend at the time and I took a four-day cruise to the Bahamas. Neither one of us had ever really been away anywhere in our lives, so this was a big trip for us. After we reached the port and took our luggage, the first thing we did was go to our hotel to unpack. So, I went and opened my bag. That's when I made a strange discovery.
I realized I had someone else's things. Of course, I panicked because everything I brought with me was in that one bag, and when I called the port no one was answering. Freaking out and feeling helpless about it, my boyfriend and I went down to the hotel restaurant to have lunch. Our server could see I had been crying.
So, he asked me what happened. After I explained, he told me his girlfriend worked at the port, and he would call her and try to help. The guy, a total stranger, ended up driving us to the port to get my bag and then drove us around the island and gave us a tour of all the cool places most tourists wouldn't get to see.
107. Whatever Stuck
I was walking from school when I fell and hit my knee on the curb. I only had a period pad. So, there I was, my pad on my knee walking by a main road. This old couple came to ask how I doing. I told them what happened. They walked me home and stopped at the shops to buy a plaster. The next day, they even checked on me.
108. Worked Hard For This
I had worked at a school district for 4.5 years on databases. Everyone liked me there except for the one that mattered, the CIO. He had started a year before, and I would openly disagree when working on database designs. Mind you, this was usually when we were discussing in his office and making plans with just us two.
After around a year, he decided that the department needed a "reorganization" and "reorg'd" my position away. I spent those next two weeks doing as much documentation as I could to save whoever they hired to replace me. I floated on unemployment for a month and a half before one of my old team leads decided to hire me.
He worked for another school district. I was getting 25% more, and the office was 10 minutes away from my house over the previous 45 minutes. After working there for half a year, I noticed something strange on my "employee screen" while checking some of my PTO numbers. I was stunned: My amount of PTO had somehow increased by 30 days.
I went to HR and asked around. They checked and said that someone from my previous workplace liked me enough to submit paper work to transfer over my 30 PTO days that I hadn’t used yet. You got to transfer PTO from your previous workplace if you’re jumping from one district to another. I hadn't known about the benefit, but someone did, and they made sure I'd get to enjoy my time off. Whoever it was, thank you.
109. Leaving So Soon
The first year of college, I met this girl who turned out to be from the same area as me. During the summer, I went to a concert and then a party with her and went back to her place to crash on the couch. Now, I was used to sleeping over at people's houses after partying and going right home to not overstay my welcome.
I got up to leave and her dad, who I hadn't actually met or seen, asked why I was leaving so early, if I wanted breakfast, etc. He was being very hospitable, and I decided to take him up. He had me drive him to Whole Foods and did light grocery shopping to make breakfast, and we were talking about whatever while there.
He was a very easy guy to talk to, and we really hit it off on the subject of environmentalism and sustainability. This guy had never met me, and his introduction to me was my wasted self who’d woken up on his couch. He talked to me in a way like, "are you trying to date my daughter? Let me get an idea of who you are."
It was valid because I did like the girl. He also talked to me in a way that was like, "oh, look, someone new, let me show them some hospitality and make them feel comfortable." It felt like he was talking to me as an equal, which stuck out since, again, the only thing he knew me as was some guy who slept on his couch.
We made breakfast, and the four of us ate and chatted for a while, and I left. It really felt like such a wholesome place, and they were all such good people. I wanted to hang out more with the girl, but she disappeared off social media, and I couldn't get a hold of her all summer. Then I learned that sadly, her dad had passed. He was such a good guy.
110. Beyond Expectations
I was a teacher. My job was good, but tough. We were pulled so thin due to lack of employees and funds that I typically ended up doing an hour or two extra each day for no pay, and I never ever took a sick day. I was happy to do it, I considered the good of the school important to me, but still, it was hard. I felt like I could never take a break.
One day, I received the worst news: My wife had a medical emergency. It was scary but since she said she didn't need me to be with her, I planned to finish out the day and see her as soon as I was done. My boss had different ideas. He insisted I go home and be with her. The other teachers would cover everything for me. One supervisor was being difficult about it, but my boss said not to worry about that. He’d take care of it.
That was already so kind of him, but he went even further. By the time I got home, my boss had contacted several influential people in the community including doctors. My wife was supposed to wait four weeks for her next appointment to determine what exactly the problem was, but it had been moved up to the next morning with the top specialist in the country. This is in Canada.
You're not supposed to be able to do that. In the meantime, a lower-level specialist who was off duty returned to work just to see my wife immediately. Throughout the rest of my time I was employed there, I got annoyed every time they said that the principal didn't care about his employees because he couldn't pay more.
Pexels
111. A Healthy Amount
My dog was very sick. I had been back and forth to the vet, and it was really beginning to add up. I was freaking out about money when the vet office called to say that someone had donated a bunch of medication to me and my dog. They wouldn't tell me who but it ended up saving me a whole lot. I was so, so, so grateful.
112. Something Old
I accidentally stumbled upon a wedding dress that I loved for $60 with only three weeks left until my wedding. I called around everywhere, and not one local business could fit me in for alterations. I was discussing this with a co-worker on our hospital lunch break in a quiet area, and a nurse popped around the corner.
She said, “I do alterations! I would love to look at it!” Taken aback, I asked what she normally charged for her work. She said, “eh, 50 dollars,” which was extremely cheap for wedding dress alterations. I accepted her offer, got her number, and arranged for me to bring the dress in on our lunch break for the next day.
She had me come for several fittings just to make sure it was perfect. She even purchased additional material for part of it. During the fittings, we talked about our lives, and she revealed the heartbreaking truth: Her mother passed that winter. They used to sew together and working on projects like mine made her feel close to her mom again.
On the day that I picked it up, she handed me the beautiful, perfect dress with a huge smile. I tried to give her some money to show my gratitude, but no matter what I said, she wouldn’t take it. She told me it was on her in honor of her mother. I broke down, and we both cried together. I promised to pass on her good deed one day.
113. Here For You
I was in Whitefish, Montana for work and decided to go to a discrete gay bar. I met this guy who I thought was pretty cool. We went back to his place where his roommates were, and everything seemed cool. They were pounding back pints and asked if I wanted one. I said, “sure, why not.” I had two and wasn’t feeling well.
I decided to lay low when all of sudden one his roommates demanded that I drink another. I said no, and she told me that it wasn’t a question and I had to have another or leave. It escalated so quickly that I didn’t know what to do, so I politely told them to screw off and left. But my hotel was about 15-20 miles away.
I started walking back at 1 AM in the woods with no cell service, and to top it off, it was 20 degrees out in October. An old pick-up truck in the opposite direction did a U-turn and pulled up right next me. He opened his door and asked where I was going. I told him and said I had no cash for the ride if he’s offering.
He told me that he wasn’t even thinking of asking for money. I hopped in, and he told me how he lost his son because someone had been drinking and driving and hit him. He told me how he would drive up and down the road when he couldn’t sleep. He looked out for people hitchhiking after the clubs to get them home safely.
Sources: Reddit,
