10 Random Acts of Kindness That Prove Heroes Walk Among Us

In a world where kindness is often taken for granted, there are those who make extraordinary efforts to create positive change. Today, we celebrate touching stories of bravery, generosity, and selflessness. Whether in large gestures or small acts, these examples of kindness remind us that goodness can be found in every corner of life.

• I was just a struggling artist, barely scraping by and watching my dreams slowly fade as bills piled up. Then, one night, after a frustrating day, I found an envelope under my door. No return address, no name—just a sum of money and a note: “For your next project. Keep going.” I was in shock, but the mysterious gift wasn’t the strangest part. As I worked on my project, I began to notice little things: someone fixed the leak in my roof, anonymously delivered art supplies to my door, and even paid for my studio rental. All of it was happening behind the scenes, and I had no idea who was helping me—or why. It felt like a fairy tale. And the strangest part? I realized that the help didn’t stop when I finished my project—it was setting me up for something bigger, something I hadn’t even considered yet.

• When I was about five in the mid 70’s, I was sitting on one of the mechanical horses that rock back and forth outside of a Woolworth’s (i think) and playing while I was waiting for my mom who was in the store. Some lady walked by and put a quarter in to make it go. I was over the moon. It is a moment of pure joy that I’ve remembered vividly. I still even remember what that glorious kind stranger looked like. © bland300 / Reddit

• I was a freshman, and it rained like crazy on my way home from school. I forgot my umbrella and decided to walk through it.
  This old woman, probably in her 60s, walked up to me and shared her umbrella with me. She walked with me until I got home, sharing some life lessons along the way. It was around a 10-minute walk. I wish I could see her again and thank her. © Unknown author / Reddit

• I can’t swim. One time when I was a little kid (around 6) my friend took me to her local pool. It was great when we were in the shallow end, but she thought it would be a good idea to jump off of the diving board and she made me do it too. I landed in the water and realized “wait this is terrible I can’t swim at all” so I latched like a parasite to the closest grown up and shouted “TO THE SHALLOW END!” They swam with me on their back until I could stand up in the water. © idgapho / Reddit

• I got back to my desk after a meeting to find a paper on my chair. It was a printout of an email chain between my boss and a colleague, discussing plans to fire me. At first, I thought it was a prank, but the emails included exact dates and plans to redistribute my projects. I checked the sender’s name, but it had been printed anonymously. Two weeks later, a round of layoffs was announced—mine included. I never figured out who left that paper, but it gave me just enough time to line up a new job before the axe fell.

• I was really depressed after having a baby and starting a new job. I was having a hard time catching on to how the return system worked and had a really impatient customer who was getting snappy with me. I was still really emotional and started crying.
  The next customer in line left the store, and I thought she was upset too. But she came back with cookies. She went and bought me cookies. And I just started crying all over again. © Unknown author / Reddit

• When I was a kid we didn’t have a lot of money, so we often shopped at thrift store. What I loved about that was that you could get 10 books for a dollar, so I would plant myself in front of the book section and make piles of which ones I wanted to get and then decided on 10 after I’d gone through them all.
  One day an older lady saw me sitting with my piles and asked if I liked to read. I told her I did and showed her a few of the books I found that I liked. She smiled and then pulled a dollar out of her purse, handed it to me and said, “Promise me that you’ll keep reading.” I was so happy and immediately stood up and thanked her while nodding my head. She smiled again and walked away and I went back to my piles, now able to pick out another 10 books.
  This was probably about 20 years or so ago, but I still think of her whenever I buy a new book. © -eDgAR- / Reddit

• I lost my tickets to the 2012 NBA Finals on my way there. I got to the gate and saw that my tickets weren’t in my bag or pockets, and I felt so bad for myself and my brother, who could now not get in.
  I walked away from the gates and just stood, watching hundreds go in for the game. A guy and his girlfriend came up and asked if we were okay and if we needed any extra tickets. We explained what happened, and he explained that he had gotten extra tickets from a friend and had nobody to give them to.
  So, to the guy and his girlfriend—thank you so much!!! © Er**t__*** / Reddit

• I was in Tokyo about two months back, traveling on my own.
  I was sitting in a park under a tree having a cheap lunch from a convenience store when an older Japanese woman came over to me and offered me some newspaper to sit on. I gratefully accepted and she then proceeded to sit down next to me. She knew a few dozen words of English and I spoke a similar amount of Japanese but we managed to have a basic conversation. I even managed to convey that I was taking the bullet-train (shinkansen) to Kyoto that evening.
  She then reached into her purse, took out a 1000 yen note and pressed it into my hand saying, “Shinkansen... bento!”. If you’re not aware a bento is a sort of boxed takeaway meal you can buy in Japan.
  So I was alone in a foreign country, pretty clearly a young person trying to see the world on a shoestring budget, and a complete stranger made an effort to keep me company for a bit and then gave me money to buy dinner on the train.
  I kept the note that she gave me. I intend to frame it to remind myself of just how good people can be. © shelteredsun / Reddit

• I was on a date, and he was so sweet. When the bill came, the waitress looked at him and said, “Sir, your card was declined.” He turned pale. I smiled and paid.
  As we left, the waitress grabbed my arm and whispered, “I lied.” Then she slipped the receipt into my hand. I turned it over—and in frantic handwriting, there were 2 words: “Google him.” The moment I got home, I searched his name—and my blood ran cold. He was a fraud.
  Apparently, he had a pattern: he would date women, gain their trust, and then start stealing from them. He had been in prison multiple times for theft, mainly from his previous jobs. One of his ex-girlfriends had even written blog posts detailing every step of their relationship, including how they met—and it was eerily similar to how he had approached me.
  I couldn’t be more grateful to that waitress. Her courage, kindness, and quick thinking saved me from something terrible. I realized she had staged the declined card incident just to have an excuse to slip me that message.
  She didn’t just serve a meal that night. She served a warning.

• One day, a long time ago, I was crying for whatever reason on the front steps of my school. When a strange girl came over and sat down beside me, put her arms around me, and just stayed there in silence until I stopped crying. Then she took my hand, looked me dead in the eyes and said “everything is ok”. She waited another minute until I seemed better, gave me a big, bright smile and then just went away. I had never seen her before that, and I never saw her again. I still think about her sometimes. It seems simple, but when somebody cares about you when they don’t have to, for no personal gain, when they have no attachment to you.. It’s an indescribable feeling. © Wrathgore / Reddit

• I boarded a last-minute flight to my hometown, not knowing if my brother was going to be alive when the flight landed. I was sitting in shock, thinking about how this was going to be one of the longest hour and twenty minutes of my life, and it must have been written all over my face.
  This particular aircraft had two emergency seats, then a space before the door (no window seat), giving the person who sat in the window seat behind a huge space for legroom. A guy sat down and commented on how he loved to get that seat—extra legroom, etc.
  Then he leaned forward and said, “I saw your face when I was walking up the aisle and can tell you could really do with talking to someone to take your mind off something, so I’m just going to talk. At any point you want to talk about it, you can; otherwise, I’m just gonna chat to you.”
  I don’t know if that guy will ever have even the tiniest bit of understanding of how deeply he touched me with his actions or his parting words. Six years later, I still think about what a touching thing he did by just chatting with a stranger who looked like she was going through hell.
  My brother is alive and well, but for the duration of that flight, I had no idea if that would be the case. © PollyannaToothpaste / Reddit

We often underestimate the power of kindness, but these 16 heartfelt stories reveal how simple acts of compassion can heal wounds we never knew existed, showing us that kindness is more transformative than we think.