What has been your act of Kindness Lately

[street]

The stories of all of your volunteering and acts of kindness just make a person's day. It is up lifting to hear stories of giving back versus all the bad news in the world.

It really can be contagious event. Kindness is free and helps so many people each day. With out people helping people there would be more sadness/struggling in people's lives.

 

[ychuck46]

In line yesterday at Wally World with my wife. The young woman and her child in front of us had part of her bill on WIC and the rest on something else. The second part was screwing up somehow so my wife jumped in and put her credit card in the reader for the $50+. I've done the same in the past. We can afford it and the woman seemed like a nice young lady; maybe she can pay it forward somehow down the road.

 

[street]

In line yesterday at Wally World with my wife. The young woman and her child in front of us had part of her bill on WIC and the rest on something else. The second part was screwing up somehow so my wife jumped in and put her credit card in the reader for the $50+. I've done the same in the past. We can afford it and the woman seemed like a nice young lady; maybe she can pay it forward somehow down the road.

Wow!!! That is great!

 

[Ian S]

We have great neighbors, all retirees, and all of us are happy to help out the others. Our one neighbor is not tech savvy and has called on me occasionally for help. Earlier this week, she emailed me that her cable TV was acting up. She had called the cable Co. and they would have a tech out the next day so I said I'd be over to see if it was something simple. It only took me 10 minutes or so to take care of the problem so she was able to cancel the appointment - which, because it wasn't the cable company's fault, she would have likely been charged for the repair visit.

I should mention that last month, this neighbor organized a small potluck lunch for a young couple who recently moved in up the street. Everyone had a great time and the young couple mentioned that it was the first time anyone had done that for them after past moves.

 

[jollystomper]

Since retiring, I have just tried to make time for others, and be available if needed. Even if this pulls me off of the golf course in a middle of a round .

No more than 2 weeks go by without DW deciding to cook one or more meals for someone in some type of need, I get to pick out/make the desserts and help deliver the meal.

If I am approached for someone needing money for a meal, I offer to buy them a meal. If someone asks me for gas money, I offer to fill their tank. This seems to screen out a lot of scammers, but the ones who are not are incredibly grateful, many times asking my permission on what food they can buy, or trying to figure out exactly how much gas they need to get where they are going and only wanting that amount.

There are also the small everyday things. Like leaving a gap to allow someone to pull into heavy traffic. Or letting someone go ahead of you on a shopping line. If they are unsure, I joke with "hey, I'm retired, I am not in a rush", or, if in Walmart, "I own Walmart stock, so I want to make sure you get to buy something" .

At times we have paid someone's rent or a bill when they were in a situation through no fault of their own and needed help for a short time.

We try to keep the spirit of Matthew 6:1-4 when we do these things.

 

[Gremlin]

I received a surprise bonus at work so I sent my brother money to help his son buy a new (used) vehicle. My nephew has a young family and his wife is expecting a (surprise) fourth baby. They need a larger vehicle!

 

[CaliKid]

Not exactly on point but I try to always over-give to musicians playing in public. That is, at a bar, restaurant or street corner. Throw them a twenty and their eyes light up! It means nothing to me but might mean a lot to them. I like music and I like people that are trying to make money.

 

[FREE866]

Not exactly on point but I try to always over-give to musicians playing in public. That is, at a bar, restaurant or street corner. Throw them a twenty and their eyes light up! It means nothing to me but might mean a lot to them. I like music and I like people that are trying to make money.

Same here. Some of the saxophone and trumpet players in NYC are especially amazing and I always give. I also get so much satisfaction from giving back. Win-win.

 

[upupandaway]

We are in a new small group and one of the couples who thought they were done raising kids suddenly found themselves in the permanent care of their 2 grandchildren, a 3 and 4 year old. We were at one of our meetings and they seemed stressed about the size of their condo and space to have a birthday party for the eldest child. I texted them later letting them know that we have a large space we entertain in and I own a bouncy castle that I could setup. Their expression of gratitude was astounding and made me feel great as well.

 

[kgtest]

Last week, I was walking downtown and a man approached me and asked if I could help him. He said he had an interview and needed to get cleaned up and look presentable. He was living in a homeless shelter and there was limited resources.

I asked him to go with me inside a local grocer and we shopped for deodorant shampoo, soap, clothes soap etc. I probably spent $25. He said that he would pay me back, but I told him to get the job he was applying for and that would be enough for me. I wished him good luck .

Had an oddly similar experience while visiting a friend downtown. Was approached by a guy who was crying, had an interview the next day but missed the bus out of the city for the night. I told him if he could sit tight when I am done visiting my friend I would give him a ride home.

He was grateful and I ended up dropping him off at a friends place to sleep for the night. Picked him up the next morning and gave him some nice clothes to wear. He went to his interview and got the job.

I kept in touch to the point I wanted to see how the interview went. He continued to need things but I had been grateful and humbled to be able to help him how I did.

He was my age, kids similar age as mine. I asked how he ended up down on his luck on the drive, and he said he just never had much luck with steady employment after immigrating from Africa. His wife got sick and the little savings they had went to her care until they could no longer afford rent.

I help my neighbors all the time. They are older, some widow'ed so it depends on what they need. Helped a neighbor place a small counter for their wine cabinet last week.

I help my parents a decent amount and they help me.

I send money to the church, donate time at non-profits and to friends in need.

It's a balance to make sure I am good and then I can help others. I don't feel good about helping others when my plate is really full for some reason, selfishly.

 

[Souschef]

I read that a local small synagogue needed restoration work done on their 3 torahs which would cost about $18000. They had a fundraiser, and I donated the difference between the $18K and what they had raised.

 

[StillFiguringItOut]

Dropped off a deposit check, 20%, for an orphan disorder event. It’s a chance for those affected to get together once a year with their families, ask questions, get answers, and meet others sharing similar journeys. This will be the third year, (and the third year I’ve sponsored) and hopefully, there will be more attendees.

 

[Koolau]

I was pretty proud of myself today. A young girl (maybe 19) hit my car - fender bender - and I comforted her as she cried and told me 12 times how sorry she was. No thought of telling her to watch where she's going instead of talking on her phone (what good would it do?)



Ooooopss! I just dislocated my shoulder, patting myself on the back. Next time - I'll just turn my halo up to bright instead.

 

[TickTock]

Not a recent act, but a memory was jogged by a ksr post:

My kitchen is original to the house (40 years). The refrigerator was 40 years old and the stove was 33 years. I hung on as long as I could but the stove finally gave up. I went ahead and bought new fridge, stove and dishwasher and just had them delivered on Friday. Honestly I felt a little sad about the still-functional refrigerator, and I am sure the new one won’t last nearly 40 years.

DW and I bought two nice white leather couches early in our marriage. After 20+ years they were not so new, had Labrador claw marks on them, and didn't fit our current decor as well. We determined to buy new sofas.

What to do with the old ones? A minister lived across the street from us at that time. Nice guy, always trying to foster better community ties in the subdivision. So we told him the two old couches were his/the church's if he wanted. He said, "Are you sure you want to donate those?" I answered, "If you don't, they're going into a landfill where they won't do anyone any good."

It ended up that one went to the rec area downstairs in his church and the other went to a family. This family, who were not well off, nevertheless donated generously to folks who were struggling more than they were. They had recently donated their couch and didn't have money for a new one. So they ended up with the second couch, which the minister said was nicer than the one they donated. It made us feel good that a family that generous received something better when they donated their couch with no thought of receiving something in return.