“I had a white best friend I had known since 5th grade. When we got to high school, her mother figured we were old enough to hear the truth: ‘She’s black. You can no longer be friends.’ We snuck around town stealing moments of friendship when we could. I want something different for my 7-year-old daughter.”
‘Her mother told me she could no longer be friends with me because I was black. We snuck around town, stealing moments of friendship when we could.’: Woman says ‘you can change the world’ in wake of Ahmaud Arbery death
‘I heard him say to his sister Ellie, ‘I’m going to save these for you. We can all have chocolate for my birthday!’ I swelled with pride.’: Mom explains why teaching kids to share is a ‘priority’
“Today my son woke up to birthday presents. Right away, he gave out his chocolate to his siblings and his mommy and daddy. Next, he gave his sisters a balloon for their bedroom. We have never FORCED them to share. We’ve just always modeled it.”
‘Last week the exact thing we’re all trying to prevent happened to me. I ‘did things right’ and came down with all the symptoms.’: Woman grateful for acts of kindness during pandemic, ‘They showed up’
“I expected the coughing, the fever and the low energy that makes you want to give up. What I didn’t expect was the flood that absolutely surrounded my family. Friends I don’t even know well offered to run errands.”
‘I know this may sound strange, but you can drive my car to work. We won’t need it.’ My car battery was dead. I was already late to the hospital.’: Nurse vows to ‘pay it forward’ after stranger’s act of kindness
“I’m standing there, irritated, overwhelmed, and in scrubs, and the man says, ‘So, you’re a nurse?’ This man literally handed me the keys to his Prius. I drove his car to work crying most of the way.”
‘I told her I was feeling really low and just didn’t have the energy to even go to the store. The depression of being inside set in.’: Woman says friendships are about people who say ‘I’m here for you’ and prove it
“A short time later, she came to my house with a shopping bag. From 6 feet away, she placed a bag of groceries and masks on the ground. I was an emotional wreck.”
‘Today I received disappointing news. As a wife and mother I dropped the ball, and I failed.’: Woman says ‘our mental health is just as important as our physical health’ after friends’ act of kindness
“My husband works long hours at our local hospital. I haven’t seen another human being besides my stir-crazy toddlers in a long time. Before I knew it, I had comfort food, a bottle of wine, and two very missed faces on my lawn. They only stayed a few minutes and well over 6 feet away, but those few minutes gave me what I desperately needed to continue moving forward.”
‘Your colleague that keeps sharing memes, making light of the situation? They’re scared, grounding themselves through humor.’: Woman says ‘social distancing doesn’t mean turning our backs on one another’
“That mom upset about the playground closing? Those 30 minutes re-energized her. Now, she doesn’t know how she’ll make it through the day. The father with the overflowing cart? He’s not hoarding. He’s picking up groceries for his elderly mom and sick neighbor. We understand the importance of staying home, but we don’t understand what others are going through.”
‘Kinsley always stood up for me.’ Ava came from the playground, upset another little girl called her stupid. ‘Where’s Kinsley when we need her?’: After loss of child, mom urges others ‘Enjoy the moment’
“The instant someone or something reminded me of her, I was ready to lose my sh*t. At that moment, I took a breath. I leaned down to let her look through the necklace and whispered, ‘See, she is here too.’ Let’s face it, everything reminds me of her, and I don’t want to change that.”
‘If you could, can you give my bonus points away to whoever scores the lowest?’: History teacher touched by student’s act of kindness, ‘Oddly enough, I was the one taught a lesson that day’
“It’s a mild, dreary February day in southeast Kentucky. It’s WWII exam day. 50 multiple choice questions, 100 points. Exams are distributed, students read and bubble, time passes. One student hands me his answer sheet and turns. As he walks away, I notice an asterisked note across the page. ‘Wait, what?’ So many questions rush in.”
‘Our waitress says, ‘Your bill is already covered.’ Who would pay for a family with a whining baby? She points to a couple inches away.’: Mom ‘astounded’ by strangers’ Valentine’s Day act of kindness, ‘Thank you for restoring my faith in humanity’
“This was our first Valentine’s Day as a family. Our 10-month-old instantly starts whining. He begins throwing rice everywhere. Sitting next to us is a young couple. They look so in love and my anxiety quickly sets in. I sense a meltdown coming on. The last thing I want to do is ruin this nice couple’s dinner.”
