Random Acts of Kindness

[oldr_n_wsr]

Play nice or don't play at all.

Outside the church that we have our AA meeting at there is a guy who sleeps on the stoop. He's mostly hidden as it's the back door of the church. I got him a Mcd's meal, brought him a coat I had no use for and a pretty heavy blanket. I asked if he would like to go to the shelter, but he said he prefers being "on his own" that he would go to the woods if it gets any colder as then he coud lite a fire but he tries to avoid the woods as other homeless make thier camps there and he might get jumed for his cart full of stuff.

Sad really. I don't think he's a druggie/alchy but might have been.

I pray for him and others like him.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Not all cops shoot first.
https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/cops-ac ... 49522.html

Cop's Act of Kindness Toward Shoplifting Grandma
When Tarrant, Alabama Police Officer William Stacy was called to the Dollar General store on Saturday, December 6, he wasn’t especially surprised. “We get shoplifting calls at Dollar General all the time,” he tells Yahoo Parenting. “Usually people are stealing things like makeup or phone chargers – not things they need to get by.”

So when Stacy arrived to find 47-year-old Helen Johnson stealing eggs to feed her two daughters, her niece, and two young grandkids, he knew this incident was different. Johnson explained to Stacy that her family hadn’t eaten since Thursday. So instead of making an arrest, the officer, 23, bought Johnson a carton of eggs. “When she mentioned the kids and said they were hungry, that’s when I knew I wanted to buy the eggs,” Stacy says. “No matter what financial situation kids are in, it’s not their fault they’re hungry.”

Johnson tried to give Stacy the $1.25 she had in her pocket for the eggs, which cost $1.75 plus tax, but instead he asked only for a promise she wouldn’t shoplift again. Johnson told local news AL.com that she was shocked by the officer’s good deed. “I was like ‘Oh my God, thank you Jesus for this man,” she said. “He is my hero.”

The act of kindness was caught on video by another customer, Robert Tripp, and posted to Facebook, where it was been viewed more than 966,000 times and has received more than 22,000 likes. It has been shared nearly 13,000 times.

After letting Johnson go home, Stacy says his Lieutenant helped her sign up for the Tarrant Fire Department’s Toy Drive, which provides Christmas toys and food for families at the holidays. By that Wednesday, when Stacy returned to work, donations from across the country started pouring in for the Johnson family – a response to the viral video, which Tripp labeled #feelgoodstoryoftheday. “It took an entire shift to take all the stuff to her house and unload it,” Stacy says of the afternoon he spent delivering groceries to the Johnsons . “I’ve taken three Tahoe loads of food to her house, and I know a food bank came to bring her food, and they also got a Christmas tree donated.”

Stacy says he’s hoping this story will inspire people to donate to other hungry families as well. “It’s a rought city to live in,” Stacy says of Tarrant. “There are a lot of people who need food.” Stacy says the Tarrant Police Department is using this opportunity to start a fund to help feed the community as a whole.

On Facebook, users are calling Stacy “an angel in disguise,” but the officer says he was just doing his job. “There’s a real trust issue between law enforcement and citizens right now, but hopefully this shows we are not robots who just want to arrest people,” Stacy says. “We have hearts – you have to have a big heart and clear conscience of mind to do this job.”

Stacy says he still can’t believe the attention the story has gotten, since he didn’t know the interaction was filmed in the first place. “I don’t see myself as a hero. I’m not a big fan of cameras and the spotlight, I just want to do my job, do it the right way, and spend time with friends and family.”

The officer doesn’t have kids of his own, but says his fiancée has a 6-year-old son. “I’ve known him since he was one and I consider him one of mine,” he says. “I know what it’s like to have kids, and it’s tough. It’s the holidays, and I’m glad I could help this family.”

The Tarrant Police Department is still collecting donations for the Johnson family and other local residents

[Guinevere]

At 2am this morning the home of a local family of 5 (3 kids and a dog), caught fire. It burned to the ground, essentially. Luckily everyone including the dog made it out safely. The fire was out by 8am this morning as the news rolled through town like a tidal wave. A GoFundMe site was up by 9am with a goal of raising 10K for Christmas and interim expenses. By 5 tonight it had raised over 30K from 400 donors - gifts ranging from $10 to $1000, mostly local but some other more more "famous" names popped up too, as the fire made the mid day and evening news.

I'm very proud of my little town for being so generous. The local dry cleaners is accepting clothing donations, the local bank is collecting toiletries and dog supplies, others are helping find interim housing and filling other needs. I hope that the family is ultimately able to rely on their insurance proceeds and pass along much of the excess funds raised to someone else in need.

[Crackpot]

not meannig (ok maybe a little) to lay a guilt trip but I wish the same could be said for Miles family.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Even the animal kingdom has random acts of kindness. Sorry, I can't post the video but here's the URL.
http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/outposts ... -tortoise/

Tortoise comes to aid of overturned tortoise

With a single herculean push, a large tortoise at the Taipei Zoo managed to flip over its helpless companion, with visiting children cheering its every move
December 16, 2014 by Pete Thomas

Imagine being a tortoise and somehow finding yourself upside down, on your back, unable to flip yourself over to get back on your feet.

Such a plight befell one tortoise recently in front of a group of schoolchildren at the Taipei Zoo. There the large reptile rested, on its shell, with its stout legs facing skyward, as helpless as a critter can be.
But then something remarkable happened. The accompanying footage, which was captured three weeks ago but began to circulate widely on the Internet this week, shows a second tortoise investigating the situation briefly before playing the hero.

The tortoise companion ultimately positioned itself in a way to get the best leverage, with the kids cheering its every move, and with a single a herculean push, it flipped the overturned tortoise back onto its feet.

Both reptiles the wandered off as if this were no big deal.

The video was uploaded by a YouTube user named AuDi Yu, who was visiting the zoo with his daughter. “The smart companion has saved it,” reads part of the title.

Turtles/tortoises are my favorite cold blooded creatures.

[BoSoxGal]

That video made me smile all over, oldr! I'm a turtle person, too.

About random acts of kindness - are they only random if done for strangers on a whim? Or are acts of kindness planned for friends/family still considered 'random'?

I've always thought people should be kind to one another as a default, but I realize some folks don't feel that spirit except at the holidays.

The Bible says the good works done in anonymity are the only ones that truly count.

So, like the person going in and paying off all the layaway accounts; it's a random act of kindness, but not a very effective way to help the poor, as many folks who use layaway accounts can actually budget from their income for holiday gifts, whereas most truly poor folks either don't get gifts for their kids, or rely on Toys-4-Tots or some other charitable program.



Just some food for thought.

[oldr_n_wsr]

I think many in the lay-a-way program, while not truly poor, are living paycheck to paycheck, and are one broken down car, or even a minor ailment away from truly poor. (but I may be wrong about that)

are they only random if done for strangers on a whim? Or are acts of kindness planned for friends/family still considered 'random'?

For this thread, any act of kindness works for me.

As it has been told to me, and how I try to live my life, "how do you live your life when no one is watching you?"
and
"do the next right thing"

I was a little torn about talking about helping the vets at the VA hopital, but it started out as asking for suggestions on how to help during Christmas. <===minor rationalization.
I do get confused sometimes

[rubato]

I intervened on behalf of an emotionally immature and foul-mouthed college student who thought he could get the AAA dispatcher to send a truck to collect his broken-down car by swearing at her and being belligerent. He had spent 3 hours proving he couldn't. I took the phone from him and very politely pointed out that the car was a traffic hazard partially blocking one lane and that unreasonable delay in providing a service he had contracted for could make her personally liable for any unfortunate events leading to financial loss or injury. Truck came in 20 min.


It was not a pure act of kindness since I wanted the car towed anyway and would have called the police to do it if he were not there calling the auto club.


yrs,
rubato

[oldr_n_wsr]

Even those with next to nothing help when they can.

A homeless man has embodied the spirit of Christmas by offering a student his last $5 so she could get a taxi to get home safely after a night out.

Dominique Harrison-Bentzen, 22, was so touched by the man’s gesture of kindness, she is now spending 24 hours on the street to raise money for him to rent his own apartment.

Her campaign has been retweeted by former Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown.

The British beauty queen has already raised a staggering $20,000 for the good Samaritan, who is known only as Robbie.

Harrison-Bentzen told The Mirror the homeless man stepped in to help her after she lost her ATM card during a night out in Preston, in Lancashire, England.

The University of Central Lancashire student said, “I suddenly realized that I had no money and a homeless man approached me with his only change of £3 ($5).

“He insisted I took it to pay for a taxi to make sure I got home safe.”

Harrison-Bentzen, a finalist in the Miss Preston beauty contest, was so touched by his act of kindness that she ended up posting a status on Facebook in a bid to track him down to thank him.

“He has been homeless for seven months through no fault of his own and he can’t get work due to having no address,” Harrison-Bentzen told The Mirror.

“And I simply can’t just give him the money, I have to go through the right channels. So I will be spending 24 hours through the day and night as a homeless person to understand the difficulties they face each day.”

It turns out that Robbie’s good turn was not just a random act of generosity — the homeless man has come to the aid of many people in Preston, returning missing wallets to pedestrians and offering his scarf to keep freezing locals warm, The Mirror reports.

Harrison-Bentzen said she didn’t end up accepting Robbie’s offer — but wanted to pay him back for his generosity, to her and others who have since shared their stories.

[MajGenl.Meade]

A homeless man has embodied the spirit of Christmas by offering a student his last $5 so she could get a taxi to get home safely after a night out.

At least, that's what Gob told the judge he was doing...

[oldr_n_wsr]

At This Pizza Joint, the Homeless Always Get a Free Slice

By Kristina Bravo | Takepart.com

The neon sticky notes covering the walls of Rosa’s Fresh Pizza in Philadelphia were not the idea of an interior decorator, but they’ve become the restaurant’s trademark. Each one represents a credit for a slice of pizza that a customer has purchased for a homeless person.

Rosa’s owner, Mason Wartman, says that through this unofficial program for feeding the city’s poor, he has handed out 8,400 slices of pizza to the local homeless population over the past nine months.

“The homeless, they come in and say, ‘I hear you give out free pizza to homeless people,’ ” Wartman told NPR blog The Salt.

The 27-year-old Philadelphia native opened the pizzeria after three years working on Wall Street. A few months into his venture, a customer paid a dollar extra, asking to buy a slice for the next homeless person who entered. Wartman stuck up a note as a reminder. Word spread, and soon there were sticky notes covering the walls.

The practice has become part of his business model. About 30 to 40 people come in each day for a free slice. According to Wartman, the purchases account for about 10 percent of his sales.

He told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that people’s generosity doesn’t just fill empty stomachs.

“I knew it saved people money,” he said. “I hadn’t considered that it stopped people from committing crime.”

Wartman’s pay-it-forward program stands in contrast to many U.S. cities’ treatment of their poor and homeless population. Many continue to pass laws that criminalize living on the streets. In Arizona, a lawmaker is cosponsoring a bill that would prohibit the use of EBT cards, used by 46 million Americans, at fast-food chains.

Now only if policy makers could demonstrate the same generosity of spirit as Wartman’s customers.

“They’re just really nice people, you know?” he told The Salt. “Sometimes homeless people buy them for other homeless people.”

[oldr_n_wsr]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/1 ... lp00000592

When Tommy Adams noticed an elderly man with a walker clearing snow, he knew just what to do.

According to WTVR CBS 6 News, the Nottoway High School senior was on his way home from the DMV when he told his mother to stop the car. He then approached the man and proceeded to shovel his driveway for him.

"I told him to get back into his car because it was cold," the Virginia teen told WTVR. "Other people who saw him in the snow should have had the decency to stop."

Tommy's mother, Teresa, captured the sweet moment on camera. "I was so proud, I started to cry," she said to WTVR.

[BoSoxGal]

Nice story!

I was a road warrior today - 5 hours on the road for a 45 minute hearing in Deer Lodge, Montana.

Stopped at the Helena McDonald's for coffee and a breakfast biscuit; the lady in the car ahead of me paid for my meal! (Maybe because my vehicle looks so pathetic? Her was very shiny!)

Just a random act of kindness, I think. Anyway, I paid for the people behind me, and put the change in the Ronald McDonald House box.

I was already having a pretty great morning, but that really set my happy mood for the whole day. And I won the hearing for my client, who was very gratified.

[Gob]

for Tommy Adams, nice one kid.

[wesw]

well, I agree that anonymity is the way to go as far as acts of kindness, but since this one has the opportunity for humour and to annoy some people at the same time, I ll make an exception....

yesterday, as I was taking holly to work, we stopped by a convenience store for her coffee and breakfast burrito. in the parking lot I noticed a lightly dressed pair of fellows attempting, struggling would be more accurate, to change a tire. they had a piece of crap jack, placed wrongly, no coats and the one trying to do the job had sandals on. well they were black, and obviously a bit fruity, but I didn t care. I got out, looked over the situation and told them, that I would return in ten minutes with my good jack in case they couldn t get the tire changed, if they wanted. they thanked me and said sure. well it took me about fifteen minutes to get back, and they were just finishing up as I returned. the one guy said that after he got warm again he had some energy to get it done. he was grateful that I returned tho.

so in conclusion, I really did nothing but ride around with my jack, but I still felt good afterwards. and as an added benefit, I got to annoy some people here by pointing out that they were black and fruity!!!!

[MajGenl.Meade]

Just jacking around then...

[oldr_n_wsr]

To Serve, Protect and Help.

Michigan Police Officers Buy Family a Car Seat Instead of Issuing Ticket

Two Michigan police officers are being hailed for making the decision to buy a car seat for a family in need instead of citing the child's parents.

Officers Jason Pavlige and James Hodges of Fruitport Township, Michigan, responded to a dispatch call reporting a woman at a local McDonalds holding a baby in her arms in a car’s passenger seat.

The officers observed a minor traffic violation and pulled over the driver, also the father of the 10-month-old girl, on the violation, Hodges, 26, a nearly two-year veteran of the force, told ABC News.

When the officers spoke with the parents, who were not identified, they quickly realized they did not have the resources to purchase a car seat for their daughter.

“They had just recently moved to the area,” Hodges said. “We tried to have them contact family but they don’t have anyone close.

“There were no co-workers, no one who could help them out,” he said.
Instead of issuing the parents a citation, Pavlige and Hodges decided to take action in another way.

“We spoke with each other and made the decision to go get them a car seat so we’d know the kid was safe and that this issue wouldn’t come up again,” Hodges said.

While Pavlige stayed with the family, Hodges went to a local Walmart and purchased a new car seat with money from his and Pavlige’s own pockets. They then installed the car seat and gave the family instructions on how to properly use it.

“The father was, I think, almost in shock,” said Hodges, who declined to say how much the car seat cost. “They didn’t say much but were just very appreciative.”

Hodges and Pavlige’s good deed occurred in February but was publicized just last week after a Walmart employee called the police station to report what the officers had done.

“It was only brought to our attention by a clerk at Walmart who saw it and thought they should be recognized,” Fruitport Township Police Lt. Bruce Morningstar told ABC News. “They were doing it on their own without any recognition.”

Hodges says the incident was just another day on the job in the life of a police officer.

“We made the decision that was what we needed to do to solve the issue,” Hodges said. “When we left we went onto the next call.”

“It’s just part of what police officers do on a daily basis,” he said.

https://gma.yahoo.com/michigan-police-o ... 17907.html

[Gob]

That's a very good story.

[oldr_n_wsr]

This Girl's Small Kindness For My Special Needs Kid Was Major

Posted: 04/02/2015 5:40 pm EDT Updated: 2 hours ago

ELLEN SEIDMAN

In the last couple of weeks, I haven't stopped thinking about this one thing a friend's kid did for my son, Max. Maybe it won't seem like a big deal to some. But if you have a kid with special needs, you'll know how major it is.

Our family was at the bat mitzvah party of the daughter of one of my best friends. She has three girls, all of them awesome. There was a whole lot of dancing going on as a DJ spun tunes. Max wore his headphones (loud sounds unnerve him) and for a while, he wandered around the dance floor, taking everything in and charming the photographer. A couple of times, Sadie -- the middle child-- came over and started dancing with Max, waving her arms and grinning. He just stood there, amused (I think he could really get used to having girls dance around him).

Other kids treated Max with the usual mix of reactions. A couple of boys his age standing nearby stared at him until I said, "Hello, this is Max," upon which they waved then walked away. Some girls his age smiled at him. Little kids gave him curious looks.

And then, a bunch of kids jumped onstage, mostly girls. Max asked me to help him up there. He stood smack in the middle of the stage, looking around. He wasn't really dancing, though I knew he was grooving in his heart.

Happily, I watched him enjoy himself. And then, this: As Sadie danced she leaned over, picked up Max's bib and dabbed at his mouth like it was the most natural thing in the world. It happened in three seconds, Max didn't even notice and they all kept doing their thing. I felt even happier.

Max drools because of the cerebral palsy, which causes oral-motor control issues. He isn't aware of the sensation, so he often neglects to dab himself with one of the cotton bandanas he wears unless one of us reminds him, "Max, wipe your mouth!"

Kids tend to gape at the drool. Some seem grossed out by it. But Sadie, she just matter-of-factly leaned over and dabbed. The sort of thing you'd do for a younger child who had something on his face, only she didn't hesitate to do it for an older kid.

"Girl dabs boy's drool" isn't one of those occurrences that would make Internet headlines, unlike the stories of, say, teams letting kids with disabilities make touchdowns at football games. Grand gestures are rare, though, and just that: gestures. Small, everyday, no-biggie acts of consideration are exactly what kids with disabilities need, coming from peers who don't think twice about it.

As social and personable as Max is, he doesn't easily fit in with other kids. I always hope that there will be at least one child who makes an effort to talk with him, to draw him in, to include him. I certainly don't expect personal care, exactly why I was so pleasantly surprised to see Sadie lending Max a helping hand.

It was a small act of kindness. But it felt gigantic to me.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-sei ... lp00000592

[oldr_n_wsr]

Pennsylvania Police Officer Helps Stranger With Cancer
By KATIE KINDELAN

A Pennsylvania police officer and a stranger with cancer say they will now be “lifelong friends” after the police officer’s generous act bound them together.

Mike Bauman, a 40-year-old father of three kids under the age of 10, was eating lunch with his wife, Kelly, at Eat'n Park in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, Tuesday afternoon when they met Officer Garret Lukacs.

Both the Baumans and Lukacses are regular customers at the restaurant and began talking over lunch through their mutual friend and waitress, Lindsey Cox.

“Lindsey and I were just small talking and she walked away and we [Lukacs and Bauman] started talking,” said Lukacs. “We just got on the topic of his family and that he had three small children.”

Bauman has a 9-year-old daughter and two sons, ages 7 and 5, with Kelly, a chiropractor. The former medical sales professional told ABC News he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in early March after severe stomach pain led him to undergo a colonoscopy.

He underwent surgery on March 3 to remove two tumors from his colon, he said, and is now awaiting lab results to determine whether his treatment plan will include chemotherapy or an alternative cancer treatment.

In order to help cover his medical expenses, Bauman and his family are organizing a spaghetti dinner and happened to have just-printed flyers for the fundraiser when they went to lunch on Tuesday.

“After we were done talking, I leaned over and asked him if he’d be willing to take the flyer and show it to the guys at his station,” Bauman said of Lukacs. “He looked it at and saw my picture, and said, ‘This is you.’”

Bauman explained his diagnosis to Lukacs, they had another short conversation and then Lukacs left while the Baumans finished their meal, Bauman said.

Lukacs only made it to the restaurant’s cash register, however, before he said he knew he had to help.

“I went up to the waitress and asked if I could cover their meal, and she said, ‘I already have it covered,’” Lukacs told ABC News. “I wanted to do something for them, so I went and got a gift card and asked her to just give it anonymously.”

Cox waited until Lukacs had left the restaurant and then gave the Baumans the $100 gift card to Eat’n Park.

Bauman realized it came from Lukacs. He said he and his wife were blown away.

“I think my wife summarized it best when she said we feel like we were touched by an angel,” Bauman said. “We didn’t know him at all, and a 20-minute conversation led to this generous donation and what I perceive as a lifelong friendship.”

Lukacs said he wanted his gift to remain anonymous, but he is now glad that his generosity was made public because it has “created a friendship” with Bauman.

“You just feel for them, that they have such small children,” he said. “I’ve had family members fight cancer and I have a general understanding of the struggle.”

Bauman and his family are optimistic about his recovery and putting all their focus into raising money to cover his medical expenses and creating Cancer Battle Wear, which Bauman describes as an online community for “cancer warriors" and survivors.

“I really want to have an opportunity to reach out to people with cancer, colon cancer specifically,” said Bauman, who added he is also currently seeking assistance to set up a non-profit foundation to “pay it forward” to other families with cancer.

“This can happen to anyone. I’m 40-years-old,” he said. “I want people to know to not be afraid to have a colonoscopy and to get treated if your stomach hurts or if you have any other symptoms.”

https://gma.yahoo.com/pennsylvania-poli ... 00237.html