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Minty Smiles

It's great fun showing people that they are important through random acts of kindness. In addition to Smile cards we found some smiley face butter-mints at our local Dollar Tree. We attach them to the Smile cards with a decorative paper clip.   Our youngest daughter handed a Smile card with mint attached to an elderly lady waiting at the doctor's office. It brought tears to her eyes. The lady stood up and said, "That deserves a hug!"    Our daughter passed out five more "minty" Smile cards at the doctors office that day.   Our oldest daughter made some whoopie pies and bagged them up with Smile cards attached for her aunt and her aunt's 90 year young neighbor. They both were over-flowing with excitement!   We gave a Smile card to a lady we saw at Wal-Mart and she said that she really needed the Smile card after a rough day at work.   Our family went to Pizza ... Read Full Story >>

The Ripple Effect From One Little Trip To The Store

I wrote a story yesterday about, my 11-year-old daughter, her friend, and I stopping to help a man yesterday.  Well, after stopping and talking with him for a minute, the girls were buzzing with ideas of how to help this man, and possibly other needy people as well.  We came home and they shared their ideas with my 6-year-old son.   The three of them started getting out craft supplies and making things to raise money to help this man and his family.  Well, I talked with a friend and she shared a wonderful idea with the kids.  She told us about an angel we can make and  sell for $1.00 to  our family, friends, and church family.  The kids were so excited that they couldn't wait.  In the meantime they made some clothespin butterflies. Today, they came into the adult's Sunday school and told them their idea.  They were very pleased ... Read Full Story >>

Letters to Brighten the Day!

According to my Special Days Calendar, December 7th was Letter Writing Day. But everyday is a perfect day to send a hand written letter and brighten someone's day.

Here are a few reasons you should send out a letter today. Or even better - get in the habit of regularly sending out letters!)
Letters are tangible and can be kept to be read and re-read
Handwriting is personal.
Mail makes everyone smile.
Writing a letter shows you took the time.

Giving from the Heart Always Works

I work downtown and every morning, when I walk from the SkyTrain Station (our version of a subway) to the office, I usually see people who are sleeping outside, in business doorways and on sidewalks. It is truly heartbreaking to see so many people who are homeless. Most people will just walk by and few will stop to offer a kind word or any help of any kind. When I talk with others about the homeless situation, most people will tell me that most of them are drug addicts or dealing with mental illness. While some of the homeless are suffering from an addiction or mental illness, many may have become homeless due to an illness or sudden job loss. Today, I brought a bag with a toque (warm knit hat), pair of socks, bottle of water and a mini first aid kid with me. I saw someone sleeping outside of the Tim ... Read Full Story >>

Just A Simple Thank You

Perfect Dresses For Prom Princesses

The Mud in My Car

Two months ago, I was driving my new car for the first time.  As fate would have it, it started raining very hard.

A few blocks later, I came by a bus stop. Standing there was a young woman who was being drenched. She had no umbrella and all her belongings were wet as well. To make matters worse, she had mud on her shoes. But, like we all know, the universe is funny. The light turned red, causing me to stop directly in front of the young lady, so I rolled the window down and screamed over the thundering rain for her to get in. She was hesitant because she didn’t want to get my car wet and dirty. Nevertheless, I insisted, and she got in.

Twenty minutes later, I dropped her off at her destination. My car was dirty and muddy and needed to be taken to the car wash to have the mud removed from the rugs. But I was glad to pay for the service because I had made a big deposit into my personal bank account for random acts of kindness ... and that by far was more rewarding than having a clean new car!

Power of Kind Words

Sometime back, I was at a meeting at my church, and I was not particularly in a good mood. I was neither happy nor unhappy, and in a very indifferent frame of mind. Deep down I was restless.

Then I overheard someone talking about me to another person. It went something like, "He is a great guy and very often misunderstood..."
That was all I needed. That comment lifted my spirit, and suddenly brightened my day. It was like finding the rainbow in a very unexpected way.

They're just little things--small compliments or kind words of encouragement. But they can completely change our world.

Returning a Lost Phone Found in Taxi

On Tuesday evening I boarded a taxi and sat in the extreme corner. Arriving at the destination, I was the last to get out of the taxi and I realised someone had left their phone on the seat next to me.

I picked it up and waited for the owner to call, which he did later on. I told him I had gone with the phone to my home but would deliver it to him the following day.

So on my way to work the following day I delivered the phone to him. He was so delighted, wanted to give me a reward, but I refused and told him it was okay. He was so excited. I thank God I was able to deliver his phone at no cost.

Helping A Stranger In Need

During the holidays my sisters and I were walking through town when we noticed that a lady was struggling so much to try and carry her groceries..far too much to try and carry them by herself. People were passing on by without taking a second look. All at once together my sisters and I all said to ourselves "lets go help out this lady" without giving it a second thought. We carried all her groceries to her car which was parked about 5 minutes walk down the road.

She was so happy and as she thanked us, you could see the happiness across her face.  It didn't cost anything nor did it take anything out of our day..only those few minutes but let me tell you...it was the best time during the entire day...helping a stranger in need :)

Smiles all round :)

Coffee is Out of My Comfort Zone

Earlier today, there were some men removing my the backyard fence. I was surprised to see them working even though it was cold and raining.  As I stood in my warm home watching them, I heard a family member say to me, "Nicole, go out there and offer them a coffee or a warm drink."  I didn't want to, and thus made up a bunch of excuses. Underneath the excuses, I was afraid. I had never met them and was scared to start up a conversation and face possible dismissal or rejection. Going out to them was completely out of my comfort zone...which is exactly why I did it.  I asked myself, 'Nicole, are you a kind person? Or are you only kind when it's easy and makes you feel comfortable?' I knew this would be good for me to grow as an individual, so I went out there.  Guess what? They said no. ... Read Full Story >>

Helping My Brother Not To Stumble

I told my brother, who has been struggling with illness that I would support him as long as he helps himself, and ever since, things have been looking up for the better. I must have awoken something in him I guess because since that day, he has really been taking care of himself: eating right, maintaining personal hygiene and having a positive outlook for himself. (I think a positive outlook on life helps to when working through all obstacles.) While my parents go to work, I stay and take care of my brother.  I’m already used to it now since my parents and I have been taking care of him for 5 years since he was diagnosed. I want to help him as much as I can so that our parents can take it easy. They rely on me to help even though I’m the little sister (I feel so honoured). This ... Read Full Story >>

Lillies And Baby Breath For A Stranger

Yesterday, after finding this site, I enrolled in HelpOthers!   Some really great stories got my own creative juices flowing. Living near a hospital, I decided to give flowers to one of the elderly people I often see there.     I hopped on my bicycle and did not let the hesitancy I felt overcome me. I was going to do this - period!     There she was, an elderly woman in a wheel chair with a man sitting beside her on the low stone wall around side of the hospital building. I zipped on over to a flower stall in the nearby market and bought a bunch of pink lilies and some baby breath. The kind lady wrapped  them up and off I went.     The elderly couple were still there when I got back. But they looked like they might be about to leave.    I approached them. The woman, with her gray hair cut ... Read Full Story >>

Moved by a Meaningful Act of Kindness

Our extended family had spent a beautiful vacation together last summer. I had rented a beach house from a woman and before we left, we all signed the guest book thanking her.   Well, it turned out to be the last time the whole family was together.  My father in law passed away this May rather suddenly.  One of my sisters-in-law asked me some time ago if I could write to the woman whose house we stayed in and ask if she could send us a photocopy of our "guestbook" comments.  She said she had never gotten to read what her father wrote. I wrote a letter to the woman and didn't think about it afterwards. You won't believe it - today a package arrived in the mail and not only did this angel make copies of our comments for all the siblings, she framed the original page with just my father ... Read Full Story >>

Creating a Tidal Wave of Influence

Hi, everyone! I am doing 92 acts of kindness this month in memory of my Grandma, who passed away a few days before Christmas. It is deeply meaningful for me to see the ripples of kindness and love making a positive impact in the world in her name. It feels like she can still do good in the world even though she is gone, I have read so many of this community's updates and am inspired by how many creative and actively kind, world-changing people are sharing stories. I am writing to request help in reaching my goal of 92 acts of kindness -- one for every year of her life. I am asking for those of you who are willing ... would you please do an act of kindness in my Grandmother's name? It doesn't have to be big. Just a small act of love. And comment to tell me about ... Read Full Story >>

More than Money at the Bus Stop

A story a friend shared with me: While going to the office, I found an old man lying by the side of the bus stop. He seemed very sick and poor. Instinctively, I gave him some money. After a few minutes, I realized that he was probably too sick to get up and buy something with that money. I was thinking about how to help him when my bus arrived, halting my brainstorm. I quickly got on and rode off. However, that night I couldn't sleep. I felt very angry at my own heartless and selfish behavior. How could I just walk away from that man without a thought for his suffering? I felt restless and very upset.  The next morning, while waiting at the bus stop, I hoped to run into him again. But he wasn't there. I thought he may have gone to the sidewalk to sleep for the night. I ... Read Full Story >>

RV For Free

A fire completely destroyed my mobile home last year, just four months after I had paid it off!  I had, wrongly, assumed the insurance was still good until the end of the year and so had to rebuild with what little I had saved. I knew what I had in the bank would not be enough so I began to rent out my RV (recreational vehicle) as a way to help ends meet.  One woman who had reserved a week in the RV called and told me she just found out from her doctor that she had cancer and that her husband thought they probably should not be spending unnecessarily right now but saving for doctor bills. He felt that they should cancel the trip.  I could hear the disappointment in her voice as she told me how she had thought the trip was just what she and her family needed. Then she ... Read Full Story >>

Coffee on the House

I was sitting in a cafe with my wife on a rainy afternoon when the pleasant, cozy atmosphere changed. A man came in. A man came in, unshaven, unsteady, soaked through with some blood on his face. He seemed drunk or stoned and hardly able to walk.   Still, he managed to get himself to a table and sit down, almost falling asleep before the waitress took his order. The cafe fell silent. Everybody waited to see what would happen next -- would the man create a scene, could he even pay for the coffee he'd ordered, would the owner have him thrown out? Meanwhile I was making a rookie Good Samaritan mistake. I stayed in my seat regretting that I didn't have any money to help him, forgetting that money was not the only way to help. Then instead of the waitress returning to the table, ... Read Full Story >>

Where, O Where, Did the Smile Cards Go!?

They went on top of my dresser.  About four weeks ago.  Some went in the console of my car.  A couple were swallowed up in my wallet which I'm quite certain still has my high school ID card.  I'm 35. And there they stayed, all around me yet somehow completely hidden.  Which, of course, they weren't.  I just wasn't looking.  I had forgotten to look.  More truthfully, my "looking" had shifted from "how can I help?" to "what do I need?"  I need more money.  I need gas for my car.  I need a job.  I need some clothes.  Some new running shoes.  I need fulfillment, dammit!   O, Happiness, where have you hid?   Just when I am most in need, most lost, most miserable, you go and hide, Happiness!  How dare you!  I NEED these things, material and otherwise and they will deliver unto me joy, freedom, ease and happiness for all ... Read Full Story >>

En Route to Ubud

I have been living in Ubud in Bali for the last 9 months, and am really loving it. One of the many things I enjoy about it is that I get to travel without going anywhere, because friends regularly fly in from different parts of the world to visit. When I happen to be the one traveling places, I love being welcomed at the airport, and so I try to do the same for friends whenever I can.   Two days ago, I headed to the airport to pick up a friend who was flying in from Paris to visit for three weeks.  I don't own a car so I hired the services of my friend, Wayan Yoga, a really sweet Balinese driver. Wayan is also my informal Indonesian tutor, so I always look forward to riding with him.  We had a wonderful chat on our way to the airport about what ... Read Full Story >>