Forget money - Kindness is what really makes the world go round.
Have you ever realized how much a kind gesture can change the world? Your kindness and goodwill may not seem like a large scale contribution to society, but that one decision to help another person can impact their entire life. With so much uncertainty in the world, and the lack of control we seem to have over most things, the least we can do is be kind to each other.
Redditor u/4reddityo asked people What is the kindest thing you've done or seen?, and heartwarming and wholesome stories of good deeds poured in.
10. Mom's uniting
"When my wife gave birth to our firstborn, the woman she had shared a ward with while in the early stages of labour had a stillbirth.
After giving birth, rather than spending time bonding with her newborn, my exhausted wife gave me our son and spent 3 hours comforting and consoling this woman. Something about the bond of mothers seemed to connect them.
The woman and her husband have since become close family friends and had two beautiful children after this - they still credit the support we (mostly my wife) gave them in the period of time after the stillbirth, especially in those three hours, with helping them get through their grief."
9. Servers supporting servers
Giphy
"I was a server for a while and my coworker was pretty new. They'd sent most staff home because it was late and, how it always happens, we got super busy. My coworker was struggling and got a terribly rude table. They didn't seem to understand that they weren't the only customers in the restaurant and we were understaffed. They made her cry and have a meltdown. We've all been there, so I took over the table and, after they left, put $15 on the table so she would see she got a 'tip' from the table. I never told her I put money on the table for her, and seeing her confidence grow from that was what I was hoping for (her response after was something like 'wow! I must not be as terrible of a server as I thought I was! Maybe I'm getting the hang out it after all')."
8. This stranger kept cool during a freak accident
"I broke my foot while bouldering a week into my semester abroad. I had never been out of the country before, so I was absolutely panicking. A total stranger came right over after I fell, recorded important info for the paramedics, and spent the next ten or so minutes while waiting for the ambulance asking me questions about my studies and my research (I'd mentioned I was a student). He asked such thoughtful questions and was so kind and able to calm me down even though I was absolutely freaking out."
7. Being able to see the impact your donation has is eye opening
"I donated stem cells to a stranger. I matched with them almost a year ago and the procedure was completed in December. It's a very impersonal experience because of the anonymity of it. I didn't know anything about the patient I was donating to and they knew nothing about me.
It wasn't until I received a letter from her (this morning no less) that it really hit me how much of an impact it had on her life. For me it was a cheek swab I did in college four years ago and then a random email saying that I had matched with someone. It was eye opening to read her letter because after the pandemic I hadn't really thought about it for awhile. Of course, it was a profound experience donating lifesaving stem cells to someone, but not knowing where those cells were going after the procedure left me feeling sorta empty."
6. This amazing gift idea requires kindness from many
"I reached out to dozens of people my dad has known and told me stories about throughout the years - cousins, relatives, coworkers, groomsmen, friends throughout his adult years, friends from childhood, and even from his recently-deceased dad before he passed away. I asked them if they could share a memory or picture they had of him.
I was overwhelmed by the responses! So many people wrote back, even people I had missed but had heard about it through the grapevine! It was so kind of those people to dig through their archives and spend the time to do that.
I compiled them all into a box and gave it to him for his 60th birthday. My dad and the rest of our family all really enjoyed reading the letters and seeing long lost photographs."
5. This heroic bus driver
"In 6th grade, it was 2 stops away from my stop a man was just laying on the sidewalk, our bus was stopped for a long time, I noticed the bus driver wasnt on the bus and I looked outside and the guy was just laying there, our bus driver is rlly nice so her being the nice lady she is she rushes out of the bus, check his pulse and calls an ambulance, the bad part was some people on my bus were talking ***** saying 'I bet he overdosed on something' and almost after that my mom comes to pick me up, turns out the next day our bus driver said 'The man from yesterday didn't overdose, he went into diabetic shock (or I think that's what she said' but she basically saved someone"
4. This is why "If you see something, say something" works
"An older gentlemen tried to ship an envelope to his 'grandson' from a shipping company I worked at. The way he acted and the things he said threw up too many red flags in my head, so (against company policy), I opened the envelope after he left and inside of it was 5 figures in cash. I called the cops and told them to get in touch with the man and try to figure out what was going on. As it turns out, someone had called the older man and said his grandson was in the hospital and if they didn't send the money he would get a surgery that was badly needed. The older man couldn't get in touch with the grandson by phone so he panicked and sent the money to the address they provided. We were able to stop it from happening and get the money back to him. He said it was basically his life savings.
The story kind of got big and the news ran a story on it and apparently its a scam that happens to a lotttt of old people. We started this kind of club to reach out to nursing homes and try and educate people about it, and a lot of people were not aware of anything like that happening. A lot of good came from me just being nosey."
3. They went above and beyond for a stranger
"I was talking to some random guy in the bar, and he said he was having surgery the next day and didn't have someone to pick him up after. I ended up driving him there, sitting with him before he went back, calling his parents when he got out, sitting with him in recovery, picking up his post op meds, driving him home, and making sure he was okay before I left. Never saw him again, and that's okay."
2. Even after so many years, this dad was a great friend
"My Dad ran into an old high school friend he hadn't seen in years. He learned that the man had cancer, that he had no family except a son in college in another state and that he was basically dealing with it all by himself. So my Dad started taking him to his appointments and out to lunch. He even organized how to take his crazy number of prescriptions since it was confusing to figure out when to take them when they all had different times and requirements (There were about 18 of them I think he said). Then, when his friend died, my Dad helped his son do all of the end of life arrangements. My Dad is my hero. He is such a giving person and I strive to be like him."
1. This hoop found the perfect home
Giphy
"I saw a neighbor boy practicing his jump shot into some tree branches in his front yard. I had a portable hoop in the back from when I moved in that was taking up space. So I walked over and offered him the hoop for free. I only lived there for the next year or 2, but it was almost non-stop basketball dribble next door after that. I saw him, his sister, parents, aunts, uncles, even a grandparent or 2 all take a couple shots at the hoop over time. It felt good to know his family got so much use out of it."
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