Stories Matching 'Friendship' Tag (111)Environment Research New Ideas Public Transportation Children Inspiration Teachers Seniors OnThe Road Grocery Store Money Workplace Animals At Home Anonymous Friendship Kindness Kindness of Strangers Courage Small Acts of Kindness Health and Wellness Generosity Sharing Family Respect Neighbors Reconciliation Smile Cards Advice Good Samaritan Giving Money Giving Ability School Church Youth Collective Arts Creative Kindness Random Act of Kindness Homeless Travel/Vacation College/University Holidays Internet Birthday Sharing Food Emergency/Disaster Community Relationships Paying-It-Forward Coffee Shop/Restaurants $100 Kindness Idea Smile Decks Thank You Serendipity Good Foods, Good Smile Tags--posted by Anon, on May 27, 2006
comments (2) | email this | print | permalink Crown Coin--posted by Anon, on Jul 14, 2006
comments (11) | email this | print | permalink A Chain of Kind Events, Started By a 3rd Grader--posted by Wanda, on Jul 21, 2008 Lucia is 8 years old and in November '05 she wrote a contract for the whole family to sign. "We will all agree to getting a puppy dog on April 15 2006." She had been asking for a puppy for about a year already! It was inevitable now! We signed, the five of us, but did inform her that she needed to start saving money to be able to buy the puppy and so she did. At least once a week she would sit down to count, penny at a time, how much she had collected. In change she raised ... comments (4) | email this | print | permalink Driveway Turns Into A Beach--posted by Tom Gerdy, on Feb 14, 2008
comments (45) | email this | print | permalink Breast Cancer Blessing--posted by Donna, on Aug 4, 2006
Wow! What a diagnosis. I just kept telling myself that if I can get through this Chemo, I will give back and help others. comments (3) | email this | print | permalink Got Up Off My Bed--posted by Jac, on Aug 8, 2006
For a long time, I have been toying with the idea of going abroad to do something worthwhile, a voluntary thing, either working with kids or animals... and have been spoiled for choices with the kind of organised things you can pick, different causes, different countries. It's very expensive though. And I was puzzling over how can I be able to afford the flights and costs and everything. And impatience took over me. comments (9) | email this | print | permalink Lost and Found: Leigh's Light--posted by Judy, on Aug 18, 2006 My friend Leigh, unemployed and broke, found a sealed envelope with $200 in it while cleaning his house. Since he hadn't found it before, he figured he really did not need it. He gave it to me (I was working) so I could buy a new CD player and have music in my life. I protested. He insisted. Now, every year at Christmas I give $200 to someone I know who could use it. Along with the money I give them a one-page story: Leigh's Light My friend Leigh is a very special man. Even though he has had more than his ... comments (8) | email this | print | permalink Listening Life Raft--posted by twocents, on Sep 24, 2006
comments (4) | email this | print | permalink Valentines Day in WalMart Parking Lot--posted by denise, on Sep 23, 2006
A good friend of mine... i swear she must be the happiest most loving person I've ever met, convinced me to go out with her on valentines day since we both didn't have dates or boyfriends at that time. I went to grab her at her house, and she had construction paper and markers all over. We made what must have been 200 simple valentines saying simply "happy valentines day" and "have a wonderful day"... which then we drove out to walmart. (in our little town, walmart is the place to go late nights) then we put one on everyone's car in the parking lot. It was such a sweet thing. I imagine it brightened someones day, plus... it was so much fun making them, and running around putting them on people's cars. comments (7) | email this | print | permalink Smile Stones, Mile Stones--posted by singlestep, on Jun 9, 2008 Here's an idea that brings lots of smiles-- go to your neighborhood crafts store (I went to Michael's), pick up some polished colored stones, hand-draw some smiles, and leave those smile-stones with the following poem at coffee shop tables or just about any public venue. Look a Smile Stone straight in the eye and you'll smile back not knowing why It's something about their lopsided grins, their lack of noses and of chins A twinkling something that's not-quite-art touches your heart Like snowflakes and fingerprints no two are the same But why? You ask- What's the point ... comments (46) | email this | print | permalink Crumpled Ten Dollars From a Laundry Machine--posted by Jen, on Nov 3, 2006
comments (13) | email this | print | permalink Mikey's Kindness Booklet--posted by keymaker, on Nov 18, 2006 For their first baby-shower, my cousin and her husband created a very unique kindness theme for everyone to partake in. To support their heartfelt intention, my wife and I decided to surprise them with a booklet that contained many of our favorite stories from the HelpOthers.org site. The compassion conspiracy, as we soon learned, went way above and beyond our expectations. On Saturday, Michael was running the night shift at the 24-hour Kinkos and flat out said that they won't be able to get the project done that night. We nodded but still carried on with our ... comments (16) | email this | print | permalink Be kind - nothing in the world will harm you!--posted by Ari1969, on Jan 3, 2007
comments (7) | email this | print | permalink 100 Qualities I Love About You--posted by Aiya, on Mar 4, 2007 I have a friend whom I talk to a lot and love to share things with. Since she is a bit smaller than me, I'm usually giving her the clothes I outgrow. She doesn't have much money so she really appreciates them. Anyway, she had a horrible past, her parents were abusive to her both mentally and physically. As a result, she has very low self esteem and is very fragile. A couple of nights ago, her fiance and his friend came up to bring her an early valentine's day present, and then without warning, his friend calls her ugly! ... comments (45) | email this | print | permalink Make a Special Night Even Better--posted by ssn585, on Feb 27, 2007 One of my favorite anonymous acts is to pay for meals in a restaurant. A few years ago I was at a Ruth's Chris restaurant with my project team for a team Christmas dinner. Where I was sitting, my view of the other dinners was via a mirror in front of me. It was a Wednesday night about 3 weeks before Christmas so there were only about 6 other table occupied. About 10 minutes before we left, a young couple came in dressed pretty formally. I happened to look in the mirror just as the woman looked at the menu. I saw ... comments (7) | email this | print | permalink Seeds of Compassion, Buried but Not Gone--posted by Salin A. Dahlben, on Mar 26, 2007 Michael was 16 years old when his life changed. How much worse could it become? Mental retardation had allowed him only one great pleasure — his bicycle — and even that was taken away when he was hit by a truck while riding. The resulting head injury caused multiple behavioral changes. Once sweet and soft-spoken, he became disruptive and violent. No community environment could manage his repeated bouts of agitation, lack of control and aggression. I first examined Michael in the mid-1980s, when he was a 30-year-old patient in a maximum-security hospital for the criminally insane (though there were no criminal ... comments (21) | email this | print | permalink We All Have A Story--posted by hiloecho, on Mar 31, 2007 Last weekend I volunteered at our local shelter to serve meals to the hungry. I convinced a classmate of mine, a woman who is older like myself to come along for the experience. Her life consists of school, playing golf as a semi-pro, and generally living a very comfortable and protected lifestyle. I assume everyone has seen the hungry, the needy, the homeless, the less fortuanate in our society but the assortment of folks at the shelter seemed to trouble my friend. She was aprehensive about getting physically too close when she was serving meals and she was also full ... comments (23) | email this | print | permalink Free Pizza For Class--posted by SmileMU, on Apr 4, 2007 I always wanted to try this. I talked to a buddy of mine and he reminded me of a night class that he had. I always wanted to tag a group of people and so I decided I would tag his class. Everyone knows from student life that when you have a night class, for some reason or another, you always get hungry! So this class was from 7pm to 9pm, with about 25 students, and I decided that I would buy some pizza for the whole class. I walked in after the class had started and delivered the pizza. A bit puzzled, the teacher asked the class who ordered pizza and I explained that I was bringing it on my own will. Everyone looked a little bit stunned, in a good kind of a way. :) She really wanted to give me a tip, but I told her that the only tip I would accept is if they all did something nice for somebody else. I also made sure to leave them Smile Cards and they were all definitely moved by this gesture. comments (14) | email this | print | permalink Helping Sally Swim--posted by optimist, on Apr 12, 2007
comments (10) | email this | print | permalink Befriending a Bully With Kindness--posted by sparticus, on Apr 16, 2007
comments (22) | email this | print | permalink 87 Year Old Woman Named Rose--posted by Monsieur, on Apr 10, 2007
comments (138) | email this | print | permalink Wandering Around an Albuquerque Airport Terminal--posted by Naomi Shihab Nye, on Apr 26, 2007
comments (56) | email this | print | permalink The Waffle House Waitress--posted by Paul, on Jun 19, 2007
comments (18) | email this | print | permalink Five Year Old Jacob's Chocolate Cookies--posted by brighteyes, on Jul 11, 2007
comments (22) | email this | print | permalink A Compassion Buddy Overseas--posted by kylierose16, on Jul 26, 2007
comments (16) | email this | print | permalink Snail Mail Surprises--posted by brighteyes, on Jul 29, 2007
comments (29) | email this | print | permalink My Nurse's Special Birthday Gift--posted by kylierose16, on Jul 30, 2007 Last month it was my nurse's birthday. She has been caring for me since August 2006. Through the months, we have built an amazing bond. She has been there for me, and has helped me over so many hurdles its unbelievable. She's my rock in every way. I wanted to do something special for her birthday, to show her how much she means to me. Being confined to my bed, I can't go out shopping for a gift. So I was left to use my imagination and the materials in my room. But I was determined to make an unforgettable gift. I found ... comments (21) | email this | print | permalink Tire-It-Forward--posted by keymaker, on Sep 26, 2007 One of my friends, let's call him Jose, is one of those guys who doesn't even need to say anything and people will just feel comfortable in his presence. He is an amazingly compassionate guy, who will flat out tell you that his purpose in life is to bring more beauty on this planet. No, if's, and's, but's ... clear and simple, unwavering in his life mission. He doesn't need to convince anyone and he can't be swayed from it by anyone else. It's a funny story about how he learned his initial lesson of compassion. He was madly in love with ... comments (38) | email this | print | permalink Miracle Man's Wedding Proposal--posted by Pete, on Oct 3, 2007
comments (13) | email this | print | permalink Love "Seen"--posted by PamelaJo, on Oct 12, 2007 I had a friend that every time you walked in her door for a visit, her greeting was "Hi Honey". She had a way of saying it by dragging it out as she said it, that made me feel like she was so glad to see me. We met several years ago when her husband was admitted to our Hospice program. I got in on that admission as I was on call the Saturday he was admitted. We hit it off right away, and my friendship with her continued even after her husband died. We visited together once or twice a ... comments (21) | email this | print | permalink
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A good friend of mine lives about 1 hour away. I called her last week and found out that she wasn't doing too well. Nothing big, but just bummed because a lot of things fell through which would make the following year a little more challenging. After hanging up with her, she was put on my smile list, but I couldn't think of what to do, but opportunities present themselves when you're not even looking.
When my father married my mother in 1943 he gave my mother a 1937 crown coin and told her to keep it in the back of her purse and not spend it. This would mean that she always felt that she was protected and would always have money if she really needed it. 
A dear friend was only weeks away from death from cancer. She said she was sorry she wouldn't be able to see the ocean again and get her toes in the sand. We live in Central Virginia and she was unable to travel so the trip to the coast wasn't going to happen. Some of us decided the solution was pretty simple. We would surprise her and bring the beach to her.
She recognized my face, but didn't know my name. It didn't seem to matter though. For me, it had been more than two years since I saw her, but my guess was that this had nothing to do with me. She had gone through a lot, that much was clear. In the past, it was tough to tell if her continual distress was a result of on-going chaos or the residual mental effects of prior suffering. Not only was she not open about this, but found ways to inappropriately interject her own issues into any conversation and lead it down a negative path, which ... 
Last week, my friend was leafing through a bunch of clothes when he found a crumpled up note. Right then, he turns to me and says, "I don't know what amount this is, but it's yours. Pay it forward, leave 'em a smile card and lots to smile about." That bills ends up being a ten-dollar bill. 
My niece was away from home for a student camp, which was part of preparation for our country's Republic Day celebration. The camp was conducted at a local school and children were put together to stay in groups of 10 in each room for their stay until the completion of the camp.
It was the rainy season, which brought a lot of infections and health ailments. Some children suffered from fever due to the chillness, some got throat infections and just one had the most odd infection - an eye infection. While fever, cough and cold were not too contagious, the eye infection was. ... 
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.
She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose.
I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.
"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.
She jokingly ... 
After learning my flight was detained 4 hours, I heard the announcement: "If anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic, please come to the gate immediately."
Well -- one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there.
An older woman in full traditional Palestinian dress,
just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly. "Help," said the flight service person. "Talk to her. What is her problem? we told her the flight was going to be four hours late and she did this."
I put my arm around her and spoke to her haltingly. ... 
I keep scissors handy on my sofa side table to clip interesting articles and coupons that my friends & family may like.
Once a week, I sort them into different piles and send it thru the mail to distribute.
I received many thank you's for the interesting articles, so I started to clip out funny cartoons, inspirational stories, share poems and pick up stick-um's and other surprise goodies too! I stuff them into the letters especially if I know the person needs a pick-me-up ... it's fun and not expensive at all ... and everyone loves the "snail mail surprises."
Lastly, when I ... | Home | About Us | Our Friends | Get Involved | Contact us |  |  |  |