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"Because You Are A Giver"

Many winters ago I was working at a community college when a homeless woman came in wearing only a slip on and a hospital bracelet. She started coughing as she laid back on a sofa in the student lounge. Clearly, she wasn't well.  Without thinking too much about it I went to the Student Affairs office where I knew I could find clothes in the "Lost and Found" bin. I gathered her up an entire outfit and made my way back. That's when a co-worker told me I should not help this person, as it would only lead to her wanting more help. I ignored her and carried on, despite the warnings. Two weeks later a lovely elderly man came to my office and asked to speak with me in private. Curious, I gave him my full attention. He proceeded to tell me that he had overheard the conversation with the co-worker ... Read Full Story >>

50 Acts Of Kindness in 15 Days

I had decided to do as many acts of kindness as possible during the month of September, and I must say that I have surprised myself. I I never thought that I would get that much done in such a little space of time. I haven't done anything  extra-ordinary, but I have been making sure to keep doing them. For example today is the birthday of a friend from HO and also from a very good friend (almost like a sister) from PT so I decided to top up their birthday presents by donating a small amount to a charity on their behalf that is going to allow 1 child to have clean water for a year, and 1 child to have medical care for 3 months, that didn't cost me the earth and I think it gave their birthdays a RAOK touch.  Other things I've done include: sending a card to a ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness Doesn't Stop Even At Age 80!

I'm part of a social action group of eight inspiring women (men didn't want to join our group!) and we are looking at a response to homeless women in our city. At present men are catered for in a very small way. We met with an 86 yr old woman, who was asked by the Police to accommodate a single homeless woman, and there was nothing suitable for her.

We have Women's Refuge, but they only accept women with children. This 86 yr old woman now runs a home with 6 beds for single women in need. How amazing is that? Her message to us was "One person CAN make a difference"

Smile Cards in Action at School

I've mainly been using my smile cards in paying for the person behind me at the Burger King and McDonald's drive-thrus that I go to.  However, sometimes I find myself yearning to be more creative with them.  I have over 250 of them to distribute since I "made" my own and ordered them through a website that prints and ships out custom cards.  I have decided to bring kindness to the staff and students at the school where I work.  I will keep my eyes and ears open to see whose day could use a smile.  I'm sure I'll get to everyone sooner or later or better yet, everyone who receives smile cards will eventually be able to help out and spread the smiles with me.  Today, I enlisted another co-worker to anonymously deliver a smile to my first recipient.  She was more than happy to be included and said she just loved things like ... Read Full Story >>

An Old Habit and Ten Bucks

As I was sitting outside on the bench in front of the thrift store, a car pulled up and a woman stepped out with donations for our small mission. I got up to help her carry in her gifts.

As I helped her, I noticed two $5.00 bills laying in the street.  You see, it has become a habit of mine to always for trash around my small space because I like things neat and clean.  I think it shows respect for the people who shop at our thrift store.  But as a result, I always look to the ground and that's how I saw the the two five dollar bills.

In a flash, I remembered a yound woman who had went into the beauty shop next door and I remembered her because of her shoes. So I just opened the door and asked if anyone had lost some money.  This yound woman looked down and asked if I had found two $5.00 bills?  Sure enough, she claimed it.

The young woman thanked me and told me it was her lunch money. 

I was really  glad I had this habit of keeping an eye on the ground. :)

Kindness Tuesdays

Every Tuesday, my daughters have two hours of softball practice.  This is when I head around the corner to the library and work on my weekly class newsletter, grade papers and visit HelpOthoers.  I also do acts of kindness.  I have put homemade smile cards in library books and also left money with a 'please enjoy this random act of kindness' note at the reference desk to pay someone's late fines. Tonight, I attached a homemade smile card and Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) card to a small bag of Lindor chocolates.  As I walked into the library, I headed to my usual area near the reference desk and placed the bag on a table.  I sat in a comfy chair near the table and did some work. It was so interesting how quickly the library staff noticed! I heard at least four different workers say something like, "Hey, did you see that?" as they ... Read Full Story >>

The Madrone Seedlings!

I have a strong affinity for madrone trees. Though they grow along most of the west coast, their abundance at sea level and especially on islands in the Pacific Northwest is such that I feel they reflect the soul of this place. Their nonconforming and sensual nature has a way of attracting artists to their midst. In my immediate area, they grow in a few coastal places on the mainland and especially on the nearby islands. My dream is to live among them, but the real estate prices on the mainland where they grow is astronomical and living on an island cuts you off from your family. So instead I have been studying their very specific growing conditions and learning how to propagate them myself to plant them where I live. Last year I purchased 150 seedlings from a native plant sale at the community college in Bellingham. About 25 of these trees ... Read Full Story >>

Carrying a Load With A Big Smile

It is a terribly rainy wet winters day here in Tauranga. While I was walking from the library after getting together my University applications for next year at the end of my lunch break, a man was walking towards me with two HUGE boxes of pamphlets. I thought, "What on earth is that man trying to do? Carry all that stuff?"  Then all of a sudden he dropped it all!!!!!!  It was a terrible mess with hundreds of brochures all over the path in front of me! "Oh no," I thought. The man sat down and started trying to pick all of the brochures up. I couldn’t believe how many people walked on by without even caring in the least. I thought, "I’m not going to be one of those people who don’t care about this man. I’m going to help him."  So, even though it was the end of my lunch break ... Read Full Story >>

Like The Flowing River!

[ One of my favorite stories from Paulo Coelho’s 'Like the Flowing River', in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro.]


My wife and I met her on the corner of Rua Constante Ramos in Copacbana.  She was about sixty years old, sitting in a wheelchair, lost in the crowd. My wife offered to help her and the woman accepted the offer, asking us to take her to Rua Santa Clara.

There were a few plastic bags hanging from the back of the wheelchair. On the way, she told us that they contained all her belongings. She slept in shop doorways and lived off handouts.

We reached the place where she wanted to go. Other beggars were gathered there. The woman took out two packets of long-life milk from one of the plastic bags and gave it to the other members of the group.

“People are charitable to me, and so I must be charitable to others,” she said.

Running On Empty

Not so long ago on my half-hour commute to work, I passed by a large white van stopped at the side of the road.  At first, I didn't think too much of the situation as it's not out of the ordinary in this area to see vehicles temporarily abandoned while the owners decide what should be done with them. Inside the van was a girl looking obviously distressed.  She sat in the passenger seat with her eyes fixated forward, ignoring everything.  Up ahead I noticed the only thing she could have been looking at -- about 300 feet up the road was a fellow about my age walking towards town with a red plastic gas can in his hands. Within a split second, I realized that he had run out of gas and was trying to fill it up.  While the drive to the nearest gas station was only about 5-10 minutes, ... Read Full Story >>

Teenager Fills a Neighbor's Empty Cupboards

When I was 13 years old I used to babysit for the lady next door. Every 2 weeks she would pay me $80. I always looked forward to getting paid so I could go to the mall with my friends on Saturday and spend my money that took me two weeks to earn. One Friday evening I heard my Mom on the phone with our neighbor  and I heard her say a few times, "Oh that is horrible,"  After my Mom got off the phone I asked what was wrong. She said that the neighbors had no food in their house and the she didn't know what she was gonna feed her daughter.  Her husband had spent their money on beer and got angry after he came home because his wife asked for money to buy groceries.  He began to pull dishes out of the cupboards and threw them at the wall. So, on top of not having any groceries, ... Read Full Story >>

A Letter to My High School Teacher

  Jeff Rupp, beloved teacher at Fullerton High School, and his daughter Sarah Dear Mr. Rupp, The day I met you was the first day of high school. I walked into your class with a t-shirt that said, “supermodels suck,” and you were rocking a ponytail and had your Harley parked next to your desk. We liked each other immediately. You gave me a lot of advice over the next four years, like how I should get my ass to Berkeley where I belonged. I’m still there, by the way. I wish you were still around too. I remember your full-sleeve tattoos, which the school made you hide even in the blazing heat of summer. They were always there under your blue denim shirt and leather vest combo, and you were more than happy to tell us the story of each one, like constellations etched in ink instead of stars. I remember your laugh, which ... Read Full Story >>

Surrending My Want To Another's Need

I had been feeling a bit blue and alone, so I thought I'd treat myself to something I wanted.  I went to the grocery store to pick up some items I needed to make some chili bean soup. I had a hankering for it and felt like I'd treat myself to something I wanted. I could almost taste the soup.  I had the beans the onions, the ground beef, my mouth was watering. Then out of nowhere a thought of my sister came to mind. We had spoken via email just the day before. She told me that she and my 13-month-old nephew had been battling a virus all week and feeling pretty tired. As I thought of this, I  thought that I should bring something over for dinner.  She loves my Mexican meatball soup (Albondigas), but I wanted Chili soup, and so the battle within began. I already had everything for ... Read Full Story >>

Teaching English Helped Him Be Seen Again

  I am an Iranian man who has been battling cancer for the past two years. A transpant has meant things have been better over the past six months. It means I have a lot more time to spend online learning new things.   I have a friend in England who is really feeling home-sick. It's making him quite depressed. He would tell me that he didn't want to do stuff, he just wanted to be left alone, and so on. But I didn't want to leave him in his depression.   So, I asked him if he could teach me English! Even though we were far apart we could communicate by Skype. He jumped from his seat towards the computer in his enthusiasm! "Yes! I'd really like to do that! Can I do that? Please?"   Now, after a few lessons, I can see him becoming happier and more energetic again!   In am sixty-two years old and ... Read Full Story >>

Offering More Love, Less Fear

I'm sort of new to this small acts of kindness game, so I'm not sure how people feel about picking up hitchhikers. I've always felt that as long as you don't put your self in a completely unsafe position, it is an OK thing to do. But I'd never done it before until this week. It was about 9pm and I was walking in my school's campus from my office to my car. On the way, I ran into an fellow who was obviously lost. He asked me for directions, saying he needed to get to East Palo Alto. But the problem was he was walking in the complete opposite direction! I pointed him in the correct direction, but warned him it was a long ways off. He didn't speak English very well, and generally seemed disoriented. I quickly felt like helping him. Though he was a big guy, the vibe I ... Read Full Story >>

The Little Girl Who Changed Me

At first, I didn't know what was happening to me, I started feeling sad, bored and empty. I told my mom about my feelings and she suggested that I should start helping others. I was confused because I didn't get how by helping others I could start feeling full and happy. So I thought I should give it a try. The next day, I went to a house called "Las niñas de Jesus". This house is a catholic house for young women that were abandoned or taken by the DIF. When I arrived I didn't know what to expect, I didn't know how to talk to them or what to talk about. I started helping them to do their homework. I started going very often and really enjoying it. One day, I met this little girl in the house of las niñas de Jesus, she started asking me about my parents, my ... Read Full Story >>

World Kindness Week Day 3- A 100 Days Of Kindness

Yesterday I made a decision to do an act of kindness every day for 100 days and write it on a chart.  It can be something really small.  No sooner had I made my decision than an opportunity came along.

I saw a little girl lose the ribbon from her hair.  He mum didn't notice.  I ran over, picked it up and went running after them.  I gave the mum the ribbon and she gave me something - a lovely smile.

I think it will be fun looking for opportunities to be kind.

Finding Happiness Through Helping Others

I have just found that a small article I wrote about this site, and my own experience of it, has been published on the letters page of a UK magazine.  The magazine is called 'Natural Health'.  I was so shocked when I saw it there. If it interests just one person, then that would be fantastic! Here is the article: Finding Happiness I want to share how my life has changed for the better: I thought happiness came from buying a new dress or lipstick, but no sooner had I bought one thing than I wanted something else.  Life felt like I was forever seeking something, but never finding it.  Then, one afternoon, I was at my computer and I remembered a postcard called 'Random Acts of Kindness'.  I typed 'acts of kindness' into the search engine and found a site called 'helpothers.org'.  This was the beginning of my journey into happiness. The site is ... Read Full Story >>

Oreo Smiles

I work in a busy department store. With the seasons changing right now the women's clothing department has been extra busy and our fitting rooms are loaded with clothing to be returned to the racks. 

I am like a "mom" figure to the girls and am always reminding them to stay busy and keep smiling when the going gets tough.

Today I wen out and bought chocolate covered Oreo cookies individually wrapped in bright colored foil. Towards the end of our day I went to my locker and got the cookies. I drew smiley faces on the foil and wrote Thank You on them. 

I gave each girl a cookie and  let them know that I appreciate them trying hard to keep everything neat and clean with a smile on their faces! 

I am not their manager, just a co-worker, but I know it made them feel special and appreciated. They couldn't wait for their shift to end so they could go eat their special treat.

Little things mean a lot. 

A Powerful Tool

One of my next-door neighbors is a sweet and frail-looking grandmotherly 92-year-old Polish lady who lives with three cats. She is a Holocaust survivor (and with due respect does not talk about that traumatic time), and has a daughter and grand-daughter who visit her every week.  She oftentimes brings us cherry tomatoes, comes over for chai, loves mangoes, and is in general a very sweet person. A few months ago, my friend and I drove down to LA to attend a dear friend's wedding, and came back home to the Bay Area the next evening.  As I was unpacking my clothes in my room, I heard a persistent, frantic knock on the door.  It was 10:30pm, and I wasn't sure who it could be.  I went downstairs and looked through the peephole, and saw that it was our sweet next-door neighbor. I quickly opened the door, and she seemed really distressed and kept ... Read Full Story >>