Search Results for 'popular' (3007 matches)

Secret Santa for a Family in Need

I have always hated how Christmas has become more about the commercial side and less about the giving.  So, a few years ago, I was without a job (between jobs, but not working none the less)  but knew I wanted to give something to someone that needed things more than I did.  I searched around and found a local community centre (this isn't my home town, so I wasn't familiar with the area yet) and asked if there was anything I could give to help someone else.  Well, it was just a couple days before Christmas and the lady there told me that there was a family in need, who had submitted their names, but had somehow gotten lost in the system.  They didn't know what they were going to do about it, so, my boyfriend and I decided to take them on and be their Secret Santa.  All we ... Read Full Story >>

An Act Of Kindness Kept This Homeless Man From Stealing

The other day I was doing some grocery shopping and a man, who was unkempt and spent most of the time talking to no one in particular, walked toward a group of us at the checkout stand. I overheard him say to the man in front of me, "I don't wanna steal from this store...would you buy me some food?" The man in front of me pretended not to hear him; it was as if he were invisible. I waited patiently for my turn to be questioned, but it never came. So I asked him, "Can I buy you something to eat?" He gladly accepted. The man got a bag and began putting samosas in the bag. As my items were being rung up I watched the man put the samosas into the bag; 1, 2, 3... He finally stopped and I asked him how many he had got and he replied ... Read Full Story >>

Folded Napkins For Stevie

I try not to be biased, but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His placement counselor assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy.  But I had never had a mentally handicapped employee and wasn't sure I wanted one.  I wasn't sure how my customers would react to Stevie. He was short, a little dumpy with the smooth facial features and thick-tongued speech of Downs Syndrome.  I wasn't worried about most of my trucker customers because truckers don't generally care who buses tables as long as the meatloaf platter is good and the pies are homemade. The four-wheeler drivers were the ones who concerned me; the mouthy college kids traveling to school; the yuppie snobs who secretly polish their silverware with their napkins for fear of catching some dreaded "truck stop germ" the pairs of white-shirted business men on expense accounts who think every truck stop waitress wants to ... Read Full Story >>

Tomatoes for the community

Last year I grew tomatoes and like usual the bad one's that the bugs ate and the bird's nibbled i threw back into the dirt and covered them over, well the next spring i had tons of tomato plants blooming all over the place. My Mother asked what could I do with them and I took a day to think it over. As hard as times are now, I try to find ways to " Help others and Pay it Forward", so i decided to re-pot each plant into it's own paper cup and place an ad on( www.MyFreeCycle.org )where people can place items for free to help others and the items wont go to the land fill and create waste. Paper cups from the local dollar store and a brick of CoCo Coir ( a miracle compost/ potting soil retains 80 to 90% water retention) Dehydrated from the local hydrophonics store. I ... Read Full Story >>

How John Touched My Life

I met him on his birthday when he truned 20 years old.  He was very pleasant and had outstanding, loving eyes.  He reached out his left hand and said, "Nice to meet you."  Nice, indeed. This young man touched my life as well as my heart in the most profound way.  When my husband met him, he felt the same way.  I got to know him very well over the next year as I had the privilege of "working" with him.  See, he got around using a walker or was in a wheelchair and when it was time to get down, or out of his wheelchair he would crawl! John is a shining star to me.  My family just adores him.  He loves talking on the phone, singing, "dancing", noise of any kind, toys that wind up, wiggle or glow, music, cheering, "holding" me while watching tv and his never ending collection of keychains.   It broke ... Read Full Story >>

Learning Life Through a Garden

   Years ago in Connecticut I began a garden.  I have always found growing things a wonderful form of therapy for me.  I was in recovery from alcohol/drug addiction and had begun to look at my spirituality.  I had a hard time back then turning things over to something bigger than me.  Most especially I was angry at my daughter for not having sought recovery from her own addiction, and the kind of life my grandson was exposed to.     One day, I just started a garden bed, and then another.  I wound up surrounding our land with gardens, and in doing  that, found out that I couldn't control lots of things.  I planted stuff the deer didn't like to eat, and then there were some insects I began to try and deal with.  There was too much rain, or not enough, rabbits, squirrels, you name it.    Of course, anyone who gardens ... Read Full Story >>

Emergency Rescue by a Father and His Sons

A couple of days ago, we were in Edmonton helping one son move there to live with his brother.  As we were leaving from their apartment complex, we noticed a man driving by very slowly.  We commented how weird it seemed and as we looked back in the mirror we saw he had run off the road into a tree. We quickly whipped a u-turn and jumped out of our vehicle.  Our younger son reached in and turned off the man's vehicle and my husband and older son tried talking to the older gentleman but got no response.  Fearing he might have choked, they struggled to get him out of the vehicle.  I quickly threw a blanket from our car onto the wet ground.  As soon as they got him out, they laid him on his side where he started choking and spitting up.  My younger son was on the phone to 911 ... Read Full Story >>

An Anonymous Wedding Gift

When my sister got married some time back, we were all excited.  After her honeymoon she invited me over to her house to help her unwrap the gifts and send some thank you notes to all the people that came to the wedding party.  As a side note, my sister works at Standard Bank in Malawi. Going through the gifts, we came across this precious exotic ice bucket in silver and gold.  I had never seen such a beautiful ice bucket.  Inside it was a note that read, "When I heard you were getting married, I asked around for the details and somehow managed to get here.  You might not know me but I know you.  I am a regular customer at Standard Bank and you helped me a lot when I was applying for a loan.  I will never forget what you did, God bless you.  -- Anonymous" When I showed my sister the note, she couldn't remember who the person ... Read Full Story >>

An Extra Hug

    This morning when I dropped off my daughter in her day care class, I had the chance to make a difference for her best friend, if only for a bit. Her friend comes to our house and I play with them both, giving them “horsy rides” and chasing them around. Her dad is not around very much so I know it means a lot to her.      My daily ritual is that I always give my daughter a big hug and kiss, tell her I love her and wish her a great day.  While I was hugging her today, I noticed that her best friend who, was sitting at her table, had gotten up and was right behind us watching closely. I could tell by her face that she really wished she could do what we were doing. I quickly pulled her in for the “hugfest” and squeezed them both. ... Read Full Story >>

Paying it Behind At a Coffee Shop

A couple of times a month I play a game in the Starbucks drive-through lane. When I get to the cashier I pay for my coffee and the coffee of the person in the car behind me. The configuration of the drive-through makes it easy to hear the car behind me call their order into the speaker phone so I don't risk paying for a dozen caramel macchiatos and a pound of Sumatra. You may be saying that it's not technically a "game"; it's more like a "stunt". Well the game part of it comes as I try to get away from the store and into traffic before the person with the free coffee can catch up to me and get a look at me. I want to stay anonymous and leave them guessing; I think it gives them a longer lasting impression. One time it was friend of mine but ... Read Full Story >>

Growing From A Rescue Opportunity

We had a marvelous 10 days in Idaho and were driving home a day earlier than we'd planned. We just wanted to have a day to rest and prepare for our work weeks ahead. Little did we know the impact our leaving early would have on someone else. We left Caldwell, Idaho at around 1pm and went through a small town called Marsing, population 790. They have a volunteer fire department, a couple of gas stations and a small market. About 10 miles on the other side of Marsing, we saw thick black plumes of smoke miles down the road to where we were driving. It didn't look good at all. We got to where the smoke was, and discovered a Big Rig (18-wheel truck) on fire and the driver was sitting on the side of the road. Another car pulled over to see if everything was okay too. We pulled up to assist ... Read Full Story >>

Welcome To The Kindness Game

I am a member of a blogging site and through sharing my stories and commenting on other people's I have made a few good on-line friends. 

One of my friends wrote a blog about an unexpected electricity bill she was struggling to pay. She said her kind-hearted daughter was prepared to give up most of her wages from her summer job to help pay it off. 

I decided that this deserved a reward! 

I sent my friend an email asking her to trust me with her address. She did and I sent a little gift box filled with goodies for her daughter, and a card to let her know that she was being rewarded for being awesome! 

Today I found out that she received it and wants to join in the game of random acts of kindness - even though she's been doing it already!

Kindness Runners

I used to live next door to a wonderful old couple, Mr Mitchell and Mrs Mitchell.  They used to love gardening and had planted a beautiful garden.  Sadly, Mrs Mitchell died and Mr Mitchell's health began to deteriorate and he wasn't able to garden much anymore. Over the years their carefully tended garden became a jungle. One day, Mr Mitchell's health took a sudden downturn and he was taken into hospital.  I wanted to do something for him so I decided to tend his garden.   I wanted to get it nice again for him so that when he came back home he would have somewhere to sit in the sun while he was recuperating.  So I went into the garden armed with saws, a spade and clippers.  Over time my gardening trips became a regular thing and Mr Mitchell's garden begun to take shape again. Mr Mitchell never came back home.  He ... Read Full Story >>

Blankets And Warm Clothes For The Homeless

Years ago, a local man (vancouver BC (canada) named Gregory Ould encountered a homeless man, and approached asked him if there was something he could do to help him.

Greg was expecting the man may want something like cigarettes, but the man in need said he could use a blanket to make it through the night on the cold streets.

Greg went and got a blanket for him, and since then, Greg and his young son started an organization called Blanket BC, which collects blankets and warm clothes to be distributed to shelters that help the homeless.

An annual Drive on the Line event was held this past Friday and Saturday, with “Blanketeers” collecting the donations at select Canada Line stations (our local version of a subway) .

I have been a Blanketeer in years past, and dropped off 2 warm jackets on Friday.

Info: www.blanketbc.org
 

Thankful for a Mother-In-Law's Advice 9 Years Later

When my husband and I became engaged some nine years ago, I felt slightly perplexed when my mother-in-law  offered us the following advice: "Be kind to each other."

I thought that was so obvious at the time, but over the years it has stuck with me and I have realised that it is one of the best pieces of advice I have ever received.

It is all too easy to take our nearest and dearest for granted and not show them the appreciation that they deserve.

I recently thanked my mother-in-law (mummy 2, as she prefers to be called) for those words.  It was nine years late, but I always think: better late than never. I told her just how much I still appreciate her words of wisdom that she shared with us all those years ago. I could see that I made her day too! :)

Live As Though Everything Is A Miracle

The following passage is a healthy prescription of how we can approach life. It is not about being famous or being wealthy or about our good looks. Truly, it is all about love. There are times when we feel as if we are separated from the rest. This illusion creates a mental prison. Hence, we should strive to internally liberate ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living things. "Open your heart to others and try to understand, When someone reaches for you, hold out to them your hand, Follow your heart, no matter what other people say, Do things that make you able to smile throughout your day, Treat other people, the way you would like them to treat you, Do what you know is right and to your heart and self stay true, Remember what life is all about, it is how you make people feel, What you do, where you go, and making dreams become real, Helping people through, in hard times of ... Read Full Story >>

Tuning 'Possessions' Into Inventory to Share

Ever since my new laptop arrived, I held on to my older one thinking it would serve me some day. In the last few months, every time I opened the closet and saw it, I felt depressed. Here was a perfectly good laptop gathering dust, and I had turned it into inventory. Cutting-edge inventory control systems encourage us to shed our inventory because it  takes up space without creating any value. :)  I got the chance to change that a few days back, when we had a visitor who was having a crummy time in life. After helping this friend with ideas on how to start a massage business and spread the word,  I suggested, "You need to get out there on the Internet and set up your homepage." My friend replied, "For that, I need a good machine. My machine is so slow that I can't really do anything on it." ... Read Full Story >>

A Story Of Four Siblings Who Wanted to Go to School

I usually get up late when I am home  because I work until midnight. A couple of days ago, my Mom told me that 4 kids had come early in the morning for the last 2 days  asking "Is Shan bro up?" and when she replied and asked if they had a message for me, they said "Nothing" and left. I told  my mom if they come again then wake me up. The next day, they came again but a little later. Mom woke me up and this is how I met these sweet kids. They just said " We want to study in your school", I smiled and said, "Kids! I don't have any school, but I will enroll you in a good school". I went to their home and met their father. He told me that his kids: (Aneela, Shahzad, Saad and Nawab) want to get to a standard school but ... Read Full Story >>

Greeting Cards For Those In Prison

I send a variety of greeting cards to a niece who is in prison so she can re-use them for her friends inside and outside. I write her name, a few words and then my name in small letters on the edge of the card so it passes inspection in the mail room. She can cut that off and use the card again. I buy cards in bulk (Current) and go to the dollar store. She so appreciates this as cards are expensive to buy. I also include articles, jokes, or pictures each time for her. She often shares these with her 'roommates'. She keeps the pictures of the ones she really likes. She can do a drawing or write something more on either or both sides of the other half if she wants to. 

A Little Help for a 5 Year Old

I went on to this web site that I am part of where everyone tries to help each other.  There  was a special request made for a five-year-old year old on her birthday.  The request was for a dress, a birthday card and some bows.

I made contact with the mom, got her information and mailed out a box to the little girl. I sent a dress, bows, and a birthday card with $2.00 in the card for her. Her mom was happy. I just got the email from her and it bought a smile to my face knowing that she appreciated it.  It said: "Thank you so so so much for the card and the bows and the shirt! Savana loved them! You are a blessing! I hope you have a wonderful week ahead! Thank you again!"

Her statement made me smile. And, I am glad that she got her little ones package before the birthday this month. At times our funds run a little tight and you need some help. But, I felt good knowing that I contributed to a little one's smile on her face when she received these things from me.  This alone is special to me.