Sometimes, the tiniest act of kindness can brighten an ordinary day in ways we never forget. It’s often those little gestures that end up leaving the biggest impact on our hearts.
Today, we’ve gathered 15 touching stories that prove small acts of compassion can have a big impact. These moments remind us that kindness is all around.
Story1
On Halloween night, I had a car accident. My husband rushed to the hospital. Later, he realized he’d left the door open. We live in a busy area with two cats. He hurried home and saw the door was still wide open, just as he’d left it. But inside was our old neighbor, watching the cats for us. She had just returned home, saw him take off, noticed the door was open, worried about the cats, and decided to stay a while, waiting for us to return.
Story2
A man in a full business suit with a briefcase handed me an umbrella in a torrential rain storm and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I still had to walk through Times Square to get to the train, and I’m sure he got soaked going wherever he was going. A couple of weeks later, I gave the umbrella to a lost girl in my neighborhood when it started to rain, and she didn’t have one. Felt like the universe wanted it to happen.
I’ll never forget that man, though.
Story3
We were a poor family. My mom had made a point of saving up enough once to take my sister and me to the zoo & museum. We had a great day, even ate out. Then, on the way to the bus stop heading home, she realized she’d overspent & didn’t have enough to pay for all three of us to get there. We were looking at a 6-mile walk, and it had just started snowing. We duck into a small Chinese restaurant & ask if we can use the phone (mom was going to ask someone for a ride). The owner asks us why we needed the phone, and after mom explains, he not only gave us the money we needed to get on the bus, but also sent us home with enough food to feed 6 people. My mom told him we’d try to pay him back one day, but he asked us to pay it forward instead.
It was the first random act of kindness that I’d ever received & sticks with me 30 years later.
Story4
I was homeless about ten years ago. And I got my things stolen. I had one night in Portland where I was very cold. I was shivering on a concrete bench. Another homeless guy comes up to me. We talk for a while. And then he gives me a nylon shirt. Not much. But he knew I was hurting from the cold. And he did that. I still have it. It saved me.
Story5
When I moved to a new state and started seventh grade on February 13, I didn’t know anyone at my new school. By Monday, a girl named Eileen handed me a Valentine. She told me she wanted to make sure I got at least one in my first week. I still think about that small act of kindness. © MeganMess / Reddit
Story6
I was crying in an airport and this lady gave me 40$. She said that she was about to head home after a very long and stressful day of traveling and overheard that we were stuck in the airport after a flight cancellation. She was so grateful to be home, and when she saw me going through the same thing, she wanted to buy me some breakfast. © kittyqueenkaelaa / Reddit
Story7
When I was 20, I ran out of gas and had my young sisters in my car. Some random lady helped me out and paid for gas for me to get home. I hope she is living her best life and wish nothing but good things for her.