To ask you to share some acts of kindness?

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Inspired by another lovely thread where OP finds it ridiculous that society would pay to help someone who broke their leg.

Can we share some acts of kindness we've done or witnessed to reassure each other that there are kind people out there?

During the heatwave I gave ice lollies to the staff at our nursery to eat on their breaks, and bought lots of sand so the children could use the sandpit which they couldn't afford to fill.

My husband accidentally drove our little car into a ditch in a country road with our 2 year old (slowly, small ditch, no harm done but car was stuck). I posted on a local Facebook group asking if anyone could help as our roadside rescue said they'd be 3 hours and my 2yo was in the car. Local man immediately came out, towed them out of the ditch and wouldn't take a penny for it.

I paid for a young teenagers food at pleasure beach yesterday as he couldn’t get his card to work and was getting upset in the queue

I regularly go looking for the homeless man in my local community. I stop and chat to him for 5 minutes or so then give him a tenner. He doesn’t know I look for him he thinks I just happen to pass by.

One time DP was in hospital with a life-threatening bleed so I stayed with him overnight. I was lying across two hospital chairs pushed together at his bedside, not really sleeping because of all the adrenaline and general hospital noise. By 4am I was starting to drift off but I was freezing cold, half-awake, when I realised an HCA had appeared with a blanket and was gently, wordlessly tucking me in.

It's for some reason one of the stand out moments of tenderness and kindness I've ever experienced. She didn't need to do that—it wasn't her job, I didn't ask her to, and she'd been rushed off her feet all night, but she saw me there and thought to do it anyway.

This week: I was low on petrol in an unfamiliar rural village with no internet signal. I asked a random man in a car park where the nearest petrol station was. He gave me directions and offered me a top up from the can in his van to make sure I wouldn’t run out before I got there. He wouldn’t take any money from me.

While he was topping up my car, a woman stopped to check we were OK and didn’t need any help from her.

I noticed one time a near neighbour had put out the wrong bin, I knocked on the door to let them know it was actually black bin that week. I would want to know, especially black bin!!

I'm a signwriter. I was working on a window (on the inside) today, when a woman pushing a buggy uphill paused outside the window. The occupant of the buggy, about 18 months old, was having a massive tantrum, had managed to escape, and was lying on the floor in Absolute Refusal mode. She also had a little girl aged about 3, and I amused her by painting mice and ladybirds on the window until tantrum monster had been coaxed back into the buggy. (It wipes off easily when it's fresh).

A few months ago I was in my friend's van, we were looking for somewhere to park in a hurry because we were late for her private view when we spotted a guy with his bonnet open desperately looking for jump leads. My friend chucked him hers and shouted the name of the gallery at him, in the full knowledge that she might never see her jump leads again, then we sped off. Jump leads magically appeared at the gallery reception desk before the end of the evening 😊

My DS had a friend whose family couldn’t afford for him to go on a school trip it was £500 . I paid for him. I’ve never told anyone except his DM.

My late Mum used to knit outfits for the premature baby unit near us. She’d even knit a matching hat with a flower on. They went in little gift bags with a tag that she wrote “never too small to be stylish” 🥰

A long time ago, when we were in our early 20s, my BF (now OH) and I landed in Manchester Airport at 1am after a long delay to most flights, and all the trains had gone, and we were looking to get back to Newcastle. We were trying to hire a car, but because everyone was in the same boat, no cars were to be had, no hotels and it was chaos (and before the time of the internet). A family (mum, dad and daughter aged about 17) who were paying for their car parking overheard me pleading with car hire people, probably thought I was on my own (and I looked young), and said, we are going there, we can take you, and I had to say "it is very kind, but there are two of us" , and he said, it's OK, we will take you both back. They did, and it is a long way, and their poor daughter who was probably fancying a snooze in the back seat, but they took us to our door. We were not difficult passengers, we ended up having a good chat, a laugh with daughter who was not much younger than us, and a nice journey. The next day we went to their local pub and took a gift, and the whole story was re-told to their friends with some amusement. It is a long time ago now, but I have never forgotten how kind they were. It has shaped how I have turned out as an adult about kindness. x

Good thread. I got told by a young woman the other day that the colour top i was wearing suited me well I didn't know her. Random compliments from people you don't know stay with you.

I was in our local supermarket at the self checkout with my girls, and a woman next to me was visibly distressed as she couldn’t get signal on her phone to pay for a couple of bits, including flowers. I could see it was about £6. The staff were trying to help her but she just couldn’t get the wallet function to work. So I told her I was happy to pay and swiped my card. She couldn’t get over it and kept saying “I’ll pay you back, what’s your address?” I told her, no need, please just pay it forward or donate to charity. The flowers were for her Mum at the local care home.
Both my kids said they knew I’d do it as soon as the lady became distressed. I hope they do the same for someone in future.

I’m divorced and not particularly flush but I would rather help people. I also used to pay extra on school trips so that other children could attend.

I’ve received many kindnesses from others over the years, counting most from nurses and HCAs with small but precious acts and I have a very loving, close family who go out of their way to be kind.

I fell down the stairs at a train station. Slightly but not seriously injured, just clattered, shocked and embarrassed.

Some older teenagers rushed over to help me up and dust me down and make sure I was OK. Gen Z get a bad rap but I really appreciated their kindness that day.

I regularly give delivery drivers cans of drink / water. Not just when it is hot but when you can see the driver had 100 stops to make and is now late.

I've given strangers a lift home. One was when I was leaving a supermarket, a lady with three children had divided her shopping between them.

The smallest had a carrier bag with cereal in it but if he lifted it so it wasn't on the floor he couldn't see where he was going. They were only 5 mins away.

My dad went to a relative's wedding. He went by train and then got a cab to the venue.

5 mins later the taxi driver turned up with my dad's wallet that he had left in the taxi.

Over the last year I have had a few medical investigations, CT, MRI, X-ray, colonoscopy - I have taken a packet of nice biscuits to the different departments.

I live on a large council estate with an unsavoury reputation. When I have been out on my mobility scooter or being wheeled in my chair the local kids have been great at getting out of the way, pulling their friends out of the way, generally being polite and considerate.