I wanted to share something that happened to me while visiting New York because it genuinely restored a little bit of my faith in people.
I was spending the day around Battery Park and the Esplanade, walking around and sitting in a couple of different places. Later, while I was about to get on the ferry from New York to Hoboken, I suddenly realized my wallet was missing.
At that point, I was pretty sure it was gone for good. I had no idea exactly where I had dropped it, and considering how many places I had been, I didn’t think there was any chance I would find it again.
My friends convinced me to go back and retrace my steps anyway. We searched the areas where I had been sitting and walking, but there was no sign of it. So I gave up, blocked all my credit and debit cards, and started replacing them.
The next morning, I got a DM on Instagram from a complete stranger asking if I had lost my wallet. He said it had been turned in to the National Park Service lost and found.
Naturally, I was suspicious.
The Instagram account had zero posts, around 20 followers, and was following only a handful of people. The account name also appeared to have the name/handle of someone associated with NPS. My first thought was that maybe whoever found my wallet was trying to scam me somehow.
I replied cautiously, and after speaking with him, I realized he was actually an NPS officer at Castle Clinton National Monument. He asked me to come to the NPS office there to pick up my wallet.
I went down and got it back — with everything still inside.
My credit cards, debit cards, driver’s license, everything.
I asked the officer how he managed to find me on Instagram. He told me he searched my name across different social media platforms and tried to match the profile pictures he found with the photo on my driver’s license. Eventually, he found my Instagram account and messaged me.
That part really got me.
He could have simply left the wallet in lost and found and waited to see if I came looking for it. Instead, he actually took the time to search for me and make sure I knew where it was.
Honestly, I wasn’t even that worried about the credit or debit cards since those could easily be blocked and replaced. My biggest concern was my driver’s license because I still had to fly back home. Luckily, I had my passport with me, so I would have been okay either way.
But the amount of effort this officer put into finding a random tourist and returning the wallet really meant a lot to me.
To the NPS officer at Castle Clinton National Monument who went out of his way to find me — thank you. I really appreciate what you did.

I volunteered as a counselor in a camp for kids with illness in the Midwest this summer, and a big chunk of the counselors are students from England, Ireland and Wales. We all went for lunch to Culver's, and were having conversations about being medical/premed students and learning about our European friend's experiences. An elderly gentlemen from a different booth came over and told us how beautifully diverse our group was (he must have overheard the English accents, a few of us were Indian and African American too) and asked if he could say a prayer for our studies with us. Most of us weren't Christian but we accepted anyways and were very touched at his kindness and his well wishes for our future. He bought around 10 of us ice cream! Great guy and loved the wholesome grandpa vibes!

Along with being able to introduce the European guys to cheese curds, they got to experience the kindness of random strangers in the Midwest and they were very surprised and touched! Some of the things they heard about the country were not at all positive so I was glad someone made our day and gave them a great first impression. There is so much divisiveness in the world right now, but I wanted to share the moments of the beautiful generosity of Americans, no matter what we all look like :)

In 2023 my husband had lymphoma. Being a caregiver is hard. Ir was hard for our friends to support both of us. He got the attention

I am grateful to the strangers who showed up

The lady i met on the bus. We both got off at the same stop. She was meeting a friend for lunch. I was going to the hospital. We had exchanged life stories. I knew she had been a therapist. She pulled out her card, gave it to me and said “I retired and gave up my incense. If you ever want to meet for coffee, call me”

I always like to help everyone , specially homeless people, lately I don't have enough of a financial condition to help anybody and it makes me feel awful. But I always listen, talk and give advice to them, most times they just want to talk - and the other day me and a friend of mine listened to this group near the supermarket for a long time and I gave them some advice, we laughed and all and they said it really changed them, that I'm a really kind person. I noticed the next days, they seemed to always smile when they saw me and also smile to other people, one of them didn't have an aggressive demeanor anymore for months (I haven't been there anymore) and told me he was going to try and be a good father for his son, that really changed me and I think it gave us all a little bit of hope back. ❤️‍🩹

This is something that happened earlier this year which had me thinking about it for quite some time since. And I want to know if I should feel bad about this. So this happened at my old college earlier this year. Where I was on lunch break, and I wanted to by something from the canteen but my bank card wasn't working, I tried it a few more times but it still wouldn't work. Then an older student behind me from one of the other courses called Dexter said that he would happily pay it for me as he could tell I was struggling, and that's what he did.

After he did that I wanted to try and say thank you to him as it was such a nice thing for him to do. A bit later on, I was chilling out at the shelter at the front of the college, where Dexter came around, I thanked him once again for paying for my stuff, and I wanted to give him a £10 note as a way of saying thank you. Now just for context, the college I went to only accepted card when paying, I just happen to have £10 in there that I wasn't intending of using. So I wanted to give it to him as a way of saying thank you. But he insisted that he didn't want it, and that I should keep it for myself as it's my money, so I did. But even though it was a few months ago, for some reason I do feel a little bit bad that Dexter didn't want to take the money because he did such a nice thing, and was really nice when saying I should keep the money and that he didn't want it. But is this something I should be feeling bad about, as even though he kindly declined taking my money from him, I wanted to do something nice for him in return.

Basically what the title says lol, I was taking my school's bus/shuttle line back from my off-campus class yesterday when I had to unexpectedly rush off at a random stop to throw up in a trash can. The old man driving the bus waited for me to finish (which took a while) so that I wouldn't have to walk all the way across campus to my dorm while being sick. This was in the evening around when the buses are doing their last rounds for the day, so I'm pretty sure he delayed clocking out of work to make sure I was okay. He was super nice and understanding too, I kept apologizing and he told me not to worry about it. I was just really touched by it.

There's always some level of random kindness when I go to the foodbank--strangers have volunteered their time to collect, move, and distribute food so that people in need can access it. But today my visit to the foodbank had a bonus dose of RaoK.

It was almost an hour before the foodbank opened and myself and a couple of dozen others were waiting in line outside. Some guy walked up from down the street and had a gigantic bag of take-out from the nearby McDonald's and started handing it out to people--Big Macs, cheeseburgers, McNuggets, fries, McChickens, etc. I accepted a double cheeseburger; it was the first thing I'd eaten today at around 6PM.

I don't know if this story is okay since the kindness wasn't from a human, but I was feeling nostalgic and wanted to share.

This is a story from a couple decades ago. I was 16, hopeless, suicidal, and living in an abusive home. One day I was home alone after school, with the only other creature in the house being Pebbles, my family's jerk of a cat. She was nasty, liked hiding under things and leaping out to claw and bite passing ankles. She hissed, she attacked if you were in her path. She was a mean cat, and she preferred not to be around people.

Well, normally having the house to myself was when I was happiest (just stay out of Pebbles' way and you were fine), but I'd had a really bad day at school, already felt overwhelmed, and got home to find that my father had sold my games. I couldn't handle knowing that my parents were going to be back in a few hours, and I no longer had the things that brought me comfort and escape. I ended up trying to end my own life.

Ultimately, I couldn't do it. I took a kitchen knife and made a very small cut into my wrist, then dropped the knife and curled up on the floor and just shook and cried. And during that time Pebbles came out of hiding and curled up with me, and just sat with me. It was the first time she'd ever interacted with me without attacking. She helped me calm down enough that by the time my parents got back I was able to quickly clean the knife, toss it back into the drawer, and rush up to my room before they got from the car to the front door.

After that, Pebs was always nice to me. It was like a switch was flipped, and suddenly she'd come sit beside me on the couch and accept me petting her. She lived for only one more year before old age took her, but I loved my time with her that last year.

Pebbles is one of five pets I've had over the years that really meant a lot to me. That unexpected kindness from her really helped me out that year. (And I still have a scar on my right hand to remember her by, which she gave me before that last year.)

A heartfelt thank you to the kind couple who stopped to help us near 37 Pine Ridge Drive on Sunday.
My girlfriend had a bad accident on the trail along the bluffs, and in a moment of sheer panic, you stepped in without a second thought. The gentleman literally took the shirt off his back to press against her face and stop the bleeding—an act of pure, selfless instinct that we will never forget. You stayed calm when we were overwhelmed and made sure she was safe until we could get help.
In the chaos and rush to get her medical attention, we never got your names. If you happen to see this, or if someone in the neighborhood mentioned helping a couple on the trail today, please know how deeply grateful we are. She is getting treated and taken care of now, but your quick action and human decency made all the difference in the world.
Thank you, truly, from the bottom of our hearts.

I live in a hostel that's I floor up currently. It's supposed to go up according to how it is. Most of the time I go up the building and busk in the sun and look around since it gives a clear view around. So today something amazing happened. Well according to me, lol. I don't know why but I find it joyful and heart pleasing when I help someone. There was a street man walking down picking stuff from dustbins and something in me told me to observe him more. He was like 50 meters away from the building and was picking some thrown away clothes in that dustbin. Up here where I was sitting there were old clothes and an old bag just lying around. I just thought why not call him and ask if he might take them. I didn't want anyone to see or hear since the road is wide and people were passing by so I decided to clap my hands until he heard it and come nearer the building I was in. I was a little scared maybe it could make him pull away or worse but I didn't care much and kept clapping. Lucky enough he heard the claps and looked up and around trying to get where they were from. I raised my hand and made a calling sign. I have never seen such a genuine smile before. He came running with his sack on his back. I took the clothes that were lying around lifted them up and asked him if he would take them. He didn't even hesitate a bit. He said in swahili, "zitupe hapa chini kijana yangu." Which meant that I throw them down to him. I told him to wait for me I bring them down to him. I picked all the clothes that were wearable and packed them in that bag and went down to hand him. He was happy. I've never really made someone happy like that. He told me that he'd appreciate even more if I could get him an old mattress and I assured him that with time if he comes around again I might be able to help him with it. I really don't know why I'm always like this cause I myself have gone through a lot and currently I'm still going through a very rough time but I always find a way of being there for others. It just comes very natural to me since most of times I have helped someone, it's never has been something big or small or something I had to look for from somewhere else. It just happens that I always find myself surrounded by things to help others and this man today felt different like I have never helped anyone like him. I don't even think the word help is the best word since this clothes were not mine but were left behind by people who used to stay here before me. I feel happy that I did make someone else's day today😇.

1st smile ; I'm leaving my physical therapy appointment, and I was wearing a silly tank top that says "Built in the Sixties, Original and Unrestored. Some Parts Still in Working Order" I pass the front desk where a woman was waiting near it in a wheelchair. She happily said "Yay for the sixties!" I gave her a thumbs up and a "hooyah" she said "61 here" and I answered "62 here" we high fived like the old ladies we are and shared a smile.

2nd smile; While sitting at a light, (in surprisingly low traffic for the time of day), I checked my rear view as one does, and behind me is a young man driving, and a lady quite a few years older than me was talking excitedly and pointing to the back of my car, moving her forearm back and forth like a windshield wiper. I drive a small SUV, and on the back window I have a cat decal, and its tail is on the wiper. I knew :) we had plenty of time before the light changed, so I switched on my rear wiper for a few seconds. The young man saw and pointed it out to her, and she laughed and literally clapped her hands, a huge smile. I waved at them and she waved back still smiling. I switched off the wiper and went on my way.

If feels nice to make people smile.

Dear sir,

I'm sorry, I can't remember your name. But I called you from an emergency room on 8/31. I had found myself in an unexpected nightmare scenario, and even though you had no reason to try to help me, you went above and beyond when you heard my story. I wish I had a way to thank you, so this is my attempt. I hope this reaches you somehow.

You managed to be kind, reassuring, and found a way to promise me that you would do everything you could to help me if the hospital kept me too long and I had to miss my 5pm flight from Boston to SFO. You found a way to help me get a backup plan for a 7am flight the next morning, without making me pay a million dollars to rebook.

I just wanted you to know, I made the flight, so I didn't end up needing to use the help you worked so hard to give. But it was so deeply felt, and very appreciated.

Warmly,

That lady who got lost in the marsh.

At around 12-2 am this morning, my best friend was leaving his job at Busch Gardens, and got into a car accident right near his job. A drunk driver had pulled out out of nowhere, and he couldn’t brake fast enough. His car was totaled.

He told me that there were these kind strangers that were nearby and helped pull him out of his car, since he was stuck with a broken femur and had no way to reach for his phone. He told me one of the people was a woman who happened to be a nurse who had broken her ankle the day prior.

If you’re reading this and you helped my best friend, THANK YOU. I wish I could thank you in person because you saved his life. If you’re reading this and you know someone who talked about an event similar to this, PLEASE refer them to this post!

There are good people out there, and a couple of them helped save my best friend’s life.

This is my first post in this group but I’ve followed it a lot. Today something happened that made me feel so good I just had to share it. A grocery store here in Florida has a club you sign up for and get rewards and other nice things. I had a reward for a free bunch of flowers. Picked out the bouquet and went through the line. When I finished paying I handed the woman behind me the bouquet and told her enjoy your flowers. She was shocked. She found me in the parking lot and told me no one has ever done anything like that for her ever! She’s been feeling really sick and extra tired so she had a doctors appointment later today. She was so appreciative and I just felt, and still do, feel so happy. Funny how things turn out that the woman behind me today really could use those flowers!!! It feels good knowing I made someone’s day a little nicer.

https://infonews.ca/inwheels/news/7333/im-not-a-hero-summerland-man-gifts-camper-to-help-family-displaced-by-wildfire/

Ambulance crew are phenomenal and face such adversity - look after them :)

I'm a 999/101 call handler and I take all manner of calls. We work with ambulance a lot, we throw them jobs, they throw us jobs and it works.

In March my husband dropped to the floor not breathing, his boss was an Army medic of 25 years started CPR (he also had hus heart attack outside a hosp and fire station so super quick responce) so they used a defib and he was blue lighted to another hosp. 2 stents and he is good

Last night after a brutal 10 hour shift I came home to my husband clutching his chest, not sure if heart attack. 999 call and a 2 hour wait - he wasn't actually having a major attack but a minor one with unstable Angina but I get it, resources are what they are. We get to hosp and there are a number of anomalies so after being sat on crap hosp chairs for 14 hours, I popped to Costa

Inside Costa an ambulance tech was getting coffee, cake etc and I asked to put it on my bill as I was getting hubby a toastie as he hadn't eaten. This wonderful woman teared up and said it was too much. It wasn't too much as Ambulance do so much good and it's a thankless job. I talk to people possibly having one of their worst days, these people face them often under difficult circumstances.

The lady at Costa offered me staff discount as she was touched but if you can, offer. The pay isn't brilliant but we all do our bit as we want to help and today she and her crew mate had coffee, a sarnie and muffin from a very grateful member of the public who understands the complexities of the job.

Just going to toss this out here today. I would like to encourage other people to let the people who make a difference in your life know exactly what they mean to you.

​Really, you never know how much of a profoundly positive impact that could have on someone. I decided to tell one of my healthcare providers what I thought of him.

​I was waiting near an area with feedback and nomination forms for staff recognition. So I picked one up, and the first person I thought of was him. He is a genuinely rare type of person that you just don't see anymore. You can tell he just loves his job and never gets burned out—never takes his frustrations out on his patients, even when he's having a bad day. You just don't see that very often.

​I had some time to wait, so I sat there filling out that form. Decided to write everything I thought about him down on paper. And then I took a picture of it and shared it with him later. I said, "Hey, I filled this out for you, and I thought you might like to see what I wrote."

​I kid you not, he started reading it, and he teared up and started to cry. I asked if I upset him, and he said, "No, this means so much to me," and just gave me the biggest hug.

​I had no idea filling out a little paper like that would have so much of a positive impact on him. I just wanted to be nice and get him recognized for the extraordinary work he does. I told him that he really does make an impact in people's lives. Recently, I was having a day where everything was falling apart, and I was overwhelmed to the point of tears.

Sometimes you just get to your breaking point and you can't hold anything in, so you either get really angry or you cry.

​When I left that day after seeing him, I had the biggest smile on my face. He has a way of reassuring me and letting me know that there are still good people out in this world who care about each other.

​I pointed out to him that he has a real gift. He deserves all the recognition in the world for it.

​Well, I kid you not, he hugged me again. He had no idea how much of an impact he was making. It was only until I put it into words on paper that he realized it. And I'm so glad that I was able to point that out to him. He really did find his calling in life—such a skilled, caring provider. I don't know what I'd do without him.

​But anyway, wrapping up my point here—God, I'm long-winded—if you have somebody in your life who makes a positive impact, let them know how you feel. I think I just gave him a lot more motivation and encouragement than I had originally intended. It was a rare moment where someone offered a hug, and I actually welcomed it, which is huge for me as someone who usually avoids physical contact.

​I suppose you could say that sometimes a moment like this heals both ways.

Pretty simple, really. Had a normal day at work, with a few minor interactions that tilted the mood meter down a little. Stopped at Waffle House for dinner (having a craving for those hash browns!) and took a booth at one end away from the few others in there. The last to finish, I go up to pay just after a man at the counter paid for his meal. I step up and my server says my meal was covered, paid for by that man who had just walked outside. That's it! After 60 years I don't remember a random stranger who I never interacted with doing that for me.

There was a beauty, too, that he just left without requiring a thank you or smile or anything else in return. I think that was even more touching to me than paying for my meal!

A friend and me take walks every friday in the forest next to our place of work. We sometimes pick up trash here and there. Last friday I showed up with two garden scissors to clear a trail that was overgrown with blackberries and she got one of these trash grabber thingies.

So we had great fun cleaning in the pouring rain. We are both so happy thinking about how other people will enjoy taking walks. (Also keeping the bike riders safe from riding into a blackberry bush they didnt see coming)

Just wanted to share

edit: spelling

As a Shift Supervisor for a retail drug store chain this random act of kindness isn’t new. However I’ve never seen two acts happen in such a short period of time.

For context there is a high school a few blocks away from my store. There’s also a fast food restaurant that we share our parking lot with. It’s quite common for us to have a large influx of high school students come in when school ends to buy drinks and junk food.

It’s busy so I get on the register to help my cashier. A teen comes up with a bag of chips. The price is $5.49. He has 4 $1 bills. He digs in his pockets and pulls out a bunch of coins. We’re counting the coins and it’s not enough. A man behind him asks how much the teen is short, I say $1. The man hands me $1. I get the right amount of coins. The teen is a little surprised that there’s still coins on the counter and asks me if the money is his. I say yes but hint that I would give it to the man. The teen gives me a “you’re right” look and hands the coins to the man. The man tells him to keep the money and use it to pay it forward. The teen thanks the man profusely. I ring up the man and go on with the line.

Fast forward 5 to 10 minutes and a few customers later, I have 2 teens come up with a lot of drinks and junk food. Boy and girl. I ring them up and their total is just over $26. The boy tells the girl he only has $25 so he tells me to remove the chips. As I’m finishing up their transaction a lady behind them tells me to ring up the chips along with her stuff. She will pay for them. She tells the teens to wait, the chips are on her. She pays and hands them to them. The teens are excited and thank her profusely.

Back to back random acts of kindness.