Stories Matching 'Small Acts of Kindness' Tag (260)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 Carnations with a Smile at a Supermarket--posted by Kat C., on Mar 23, 2006
comments (25) | email this | print | permalink Three Homeless Men--posted by mike adams, on Mar 24, 2008 A friend of mine in Chicago sent me an e-mail with her description of an uplifting event that she witnessed... "And talking about beautiful...yesterday I was witness to such a heartwarming random act of kindness. It will forever be imprinted in my mind. I had to run downtown to help Bonnie out for a few hours (it was not part of my original plans for Monday). On my bus ride back to the train station, we were in gridlock traffic right by the opera house. As I stare out my window a handsome young man (25ish to 30ish) walks out of ... comments (37) | email this | print | permalink Something Warm--posted by Anonymous, on Mar 28, 2006 A few years ago, this southern Alabama town experienced unusually frigid weather, cold enough to knock out the power for days. My husband, braving the cold, was on the way to the grocery to resupply our perishibles, and passed a police officer. He was standing in the middle of a fairly remote and windblown intersection, directing traffic. He thought of the officer again when he'd completed his errands, thinking of how cold he must be, stopped at a convenience store and bought a large cup of hot chocolate or coffee, it escapes me now. But, when passing the officer again, he rolled down his window, passed the cup to the officer, and thanked him for his help. My husband's description of the expression on the officer's face was that he was surprised, and grateful. What a simple, easy way to practice these thoughts we have. comments (5) | email this | print | permalink A Loaf of Bread--posted by Anon, on Apr 3, 2006 When I decided to be a part of the smile card experiment, the first person that came to mind to target was Lara, a fellow member of my research group and a mentor. I couldn't think of the perfect thing for her yet and on top of that found out that it was her birthday 2 months back. The next day, at a local deli, inspiration struck when I saw their freshly baked honey wheat bread. I picked up a loaf and headed to lab. Unfortunately or fortunately, Lara wasn't in her office, so I put a note on the loaf ... comments (6) | email this | print | permalink An Old Friendship--posted by ram mohan, on Apr 15, 2006
comments (11) | email this | print | permalink A Christmas Gift For A Six Year Old--posted by Brendan Moran, on Nov 29, 2007 When I was 21 yrs old, I was dating a girl whose parent's friends were going through a divorce. They had a 6 year old daughter and unfortunately their separation was just before Christmas and we both knew how upset the little girl was. Her dad was not living in the house and wasn't planning on spending Christmas with them. So my girlfriend and I wrote little notes like, "On the first day of Christmas, my secret Santa gave to me...." and put a gift each night on their porch for the little girl. We started this about 2 weeks ... comments (14) | email this | print | permalink London Cabbie's Payment-in-Kind!--posted by T.S., on Apr 25, 2006
comments (7) | email this | print | permalink The Karma of Kindness--posted by VM, on Apr 28, 2006 My wife and I were at the bookstore the other day and we were helped by a young woman in finding a book, and something about this woman just told me she needed to get tagged! So my wife wrote a beautiful note addressed "To the woman in the light green sweater and curly, brown hair" with a quote that said "Sometimes our joy is the reason for our smile, and sometimes our smile is the reason for our joy," along with a small box of Godiva chocolates ... We gave it to another employee who read the whole thing and left it for her to come back to. Now they say that in giving we receive, and maybe it was a coincidence, but minutes later, I ran into one of my best friends from high school, who I hadn't seen for about a decade! comments (10) | email this | print | permalink One Size Fits All--posted by Camilion, on May 1, 2006
comments (3) | email this | print | permalink Flowers That She Couldn't Smell--posted by bluebuddha, on Jul 1, 2011 “Everyone says the flowers smell good but I don’t smell anything. Nothing. Do you smell them?” she asks, in her heavily accented voice. After walking around a busy street looking to do a random act of kindness, I had stumbled into this flower shop. Even though my mind was busy devising possible scenarios, I had a gut feeling that something was going to present itself. A little startled by the flower lady’s question, I tell her that “the flowers smell ah-mazing and perhaps you should take a break once in a while so you can enjoy them too.” Before ... comments (70) | email this | print | permalink Christmas With My Son--posted by Anon, on May 5, 2006
comments (11) | email this | print | permalink Gift of Motherhood, Gift of Kindness--posted by VM, on May 18, 2008 Two days before Mother's Day, I was at a Walmart with my wife, getting some gifts, and I saw a nice gift set of lavender-scented lotions and other stuff (Hey, I'm not supposed to know exactly what all comes in those sets :-)) And so I thought what the heck, I'll get one and we'll find someone to give it to. So we're paying for everything, and the woman behind the counter is this cheery, middle-aged woman who remarks "Getting a gift for Mother's Day, huh? Nice set," or something. Somehow that set showed up for only half of the price, ... comments (5) | email this | print | permalink Roses and Newspapers--posted by Tamara, on May 19, 2006
Hi I'm 12 years old and I recently saw a movie called 'Pay It Foreward'. It was all about doing random acts of kindness. comments (4) | email this | print | permalink My Most Prized Possession--posted by Anon, on May 22, 2006
comments (4) | email this | print | permalink Thankfulness Chocolates--posted by VM, on May 26, 2006
comments (3) | email this | print | permalink Wear Smiles--posted by JZ, on Jan 26, 2008 In the middle of lunch, we get a phone call. "Sir, I've got a special package for you." "Special package? Um, ok, I'll come down to get it." "This is for you," the slim, twenty-something guy says with a mischevious smile. "Who is it from?" "It's from an anonymous friend." Actually, in all my excitement I couldn't tell if he said "friend" or "friends" but it didn't matter. With radiant joy for having kind friends, I took a peek inside the box. "Thank you." The kid rushes off as if ... comments (17) | email this | print | permalink Good Foods, Good Smile Tags--posted by Anon, on May 27, 2006
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. comments (2) | email this | print | permalink Do Not Fear, Smile Retrievers Are Here!--posted by anita, on Jun 28, 2008
comments (9) | email this | print | permalink Survivor Flowers--posted by Kat Callaway, on Jul 3, 2007 A few weeks ago, my mother, brothers and I went to Wal-Mart to get some things for my upcoming trip. It was pretty late, and the store, although huge, was very empty. However, as we approached the checkout lane, I noticed a lady wearing a baseball cap over her bare head. She looked tired, and it was pretty obvious that she was going through chemo.. .that, and my mother approached her and asked her. You see, a few years ago, my mother was also diagnosed with breast cancer. It was really hard for all of us, exspecially since we were in the ... comments (12) | email this | print | permalink A Pair of Sunglasses--posted by Joy, on Jul 12, 2006
I always seem to lose or toss sunglasses in my car. I noticed I did the same in my boyfriend's car recently. We both joked about them, but then we pulled up to a man at a street corner. It was a bright day and he was hoping someone would offer him some food or a bit of change. Instead, we gave him a pair of our sunglasses - the sun was so bright and he looked like he was a regular there. comments (7) | email this | print | permalink The Dusting Lady In My Hospital Room--posted by Maureen Flanagan, on Jul 20, 2006
When I was in hospital and just given birth to my first child a lady use to come in and dust and sweep. I would say 'Hello' and she would never answer. comments (24) | email this | print | permalink A Pen With A Smile--posted by Kat Callaway, on Jul 29, 2006
I recently went to the bank to cash a check that I had. I really didn't want to go, but I knew that I had to so I decided that I would make the trip to the bank worthwhile and fun! comments (5) | 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 The Almond Paw--posted by twocents, on Aug 11, 2006
I had to come on to UC Irvine's campus to accompany a friend to a meeting. In the parking lot, I enlisted him in my scheme with a Smile card and short explanation. We were each supposed to make 1 person smile, pass on the card, and meet up to share the story of what happened. comments (6) | email this | print | permalink A Cup of Chai At 3AM--posted by MS, on Aug 22, 2006
comments (3) | email this | print | permalink A Little Time On The Elevator--posted by Star, on Aug 26, 2006
I was at a business meeting, and I had to run downstairs to pick up some documents. As I was hurrying to catch the elevator back upstairs to my meeting, an elderly woman stopped me and asked me to go on the elevator downstairs with her. comments (7) | email this | print | permalink Thirst Quencher On Busy Day--posted by ganon, on Aug 28, 2006 I was leaving my office late Saturday morning...a little bit grumpy because I had to get up early and go to work on the weekend, and was now running late for the next of my zillion obligations for the weekend...and the worst part was I had no time to eat a proper lunch. I was complaining about all of this to my husband on my cell phone, while I turned around from locking the door behind me, and then I spotted him. A man lying in the grass asleep. I said to my husband, "I'm sorry I've just been complaining. ... comments (4) | email this | print | permalink Encouraging a Pirate--posted by Roger, on Sep 3, 2006
My wife and I were at Disneyland taking the shuttle back to the hotel, when this boy -- I guess he must've been 4 or 5 years old -- gets on the shuttle bus with his pirate sword and eye patch. comments (12) | email this | print | permalink Parle-G Biscuits and Grains--posted by Raghu, on Oct 7, 2006
comments (10) | email this | print | permalink Tins of Chocolate with a Smile...--posted by sonrisa, on Sep 20, 2006
comments (5) | email this | print | permalink
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Every since I was little I loved doing things for other people. As I got older I began doing random things for people. For example, during holidays, such as Christmas, I would make out an extra card along with the ones for my relatives. Then I would go and find someone in the grocery store and just hand it to them and walk away! It was so much fun. Although I admit, the first time I did it I was so nervous. I didn't know who to give the card to. So I said a little prayer and knew that ... 
This is about an incident which took place couple of years back.
Last week, I was running a little late on my way to my first day at a new job in East London. I had injured my achilles heal a couple of days before and didn't want to put too much pressure on it by running to the tube station so I decided to jump in a cab just to get to the station. 
We were recently at a concert. The young artists were playing their hearts out but unfortunately, the audience was largely empty.
I have a five year old son and two 18 month old twins and especially at Christmas time I wanted them to truely understand what the act of giving was all about. So I made a list of people that were less likely to recieve gifts or love and let my five year old chose who we would give gifts to. 
We recently bought some furniture from a shop, and they really worked hard to make sure it reached us within 2 days. So I just thought I’d buy a box of chocolates for the salesman, who really did a good job on selling us on it. 
Last-weekend, my kids along with few other kids from the neighborhood volunteered to help me wash my car. We embarked on our car cleaning mission when my 10 year old came up with the idea of washing other people's cars as well. It was pretty hot outside and I had no plans to continue being in the bright sun. She further wanted to give lemonade to passerby's for free. I had seen little kids serve and sell fresh lemonade for a small cost (may be 25 cents) but not free. I felt fuzzy and decided to help her out. ... 
The third round of flooding came at night. Residents kept vigil all night, waiting and watching the water level rise. Would it enter their home? As the water rose, people moved to the street, but still they wouldn't sleep. The water level continued it climb upwards, displacing more people as the hours passed. The stores were closed and traffic on the street minimal, but activity was in the air as people moved to help their relatives and neighbours.
A distance away, a man heard the news. He jumped on his scooter and instead of heading to the ... 
We live in a small flat in Ranip (in India). While all the families in the society live in flats, many families’ economic prosperity is not much better than many living in slum. One such family lives behind us. A couple lives with their son and the husband’s brother and mother in a small inherited two room flat, that is 8 feet by 15 feet in size. The entire household subsists on the daily wages of the daily wages the male earns from doing labor work (20 – 50 rupees/day). 
Recently, my Mother underwent a surgery to repair a valve in her heart at UCLA Medical Center. During the first couple of days she was in the hospital, my Dad was telling me how wonderful the nurses were in the ICU and how they took such great care of my Mom and made sure she was comfortable at all times. | Home | About Us | Our Friends | Get Involved | Contact us |  |  |  |