15 Times People Stepped Up to Prove They’re Always There for Each Other

Studies from Harvard Health show that random acts of kindness can lower stress levels and even ease physical pain. In this collection of stories, people went above and beyond to remind you that no matter how chaotic life feels, there’s always someone out there ready to lend a hand or change a life.

• When I was 9 or 10, I missed the school bus. This big guy picked me up and ran towards the bus, screaming to try to make the bus stop. It eventually did, and he put me inside of it, and then dipped; I couldn't even say thanks. And I was a chubby one, no less. @sowydso / Reddit

• My flight was canceled while I was standing in line at the gate to board it. The next day was my son's first birthday. I needed to be home. I went to the desk, and they refused to help me in any way.
  Not only could I not get another flight that day, but nothing the next day either. Despite the fact I was internetting the heck out of my phone and showing them all sorts of flights, direct and connecting that would get me there, they were refusing, and I just didn't have money to go buy something else. I was starting to lose my cool.
  A guy in line stepped out after hearing me. Told them he was some crazy status and asked to speak directly to the manager. The next thing I knew, he was transferring his own ticket on a direct flight to me so I could get home to see my boy.
  I tried to thank him in every way I knew how, and he refused to take anything from me; he just told me he knew how it was when he was younger and would have wanted someone to do the same for him. @billbapapa / Reddit

• I took my prom date to an insanely expensive restaurant. The two of us were over $200. The place was gorgeous; we were out of place with all of the rich older people there, but it meant a lot to me that I could pay for all of that with money I earned from my first job; I even bought her prom dress because she couldn't afford it.
  Well, when I got the check, it only said $100, so I asked our waiter if they missed something, and he said that a couple saw us and paid for half of our meal before they left and said, "Have a great prom!" @Napthali / Reddit

• I was at the grocery store, struggling to carry way too many items in my arms. I was balancing a loaf of bread, a couple of apples, and a carton of milk when, predictably, everything came crashing down. Apples rolling everywhere, a milk carton leaking—total disaster.
  Out of nowhere, this guy swoops in, catches the runaway apples like a ninja, and even manages to grab the milk before it completely empties. He hands me everything back and says, "Looks like someone’s going for the ‘no cart challenge’ too." We both laughed, and before I could even say thank you properly, he disappeared into the next aisle, leaving me smiling and feeling like I’d just been saved by a grocery store superhero. @Pink-Toyz / Reddit

• Was getting divorced, and instead of my best friend seeing it on social media from my ex, I called him. We talked, and he could tell I was devastated. He asked me if I wanted him to come into town, and I told him I'd be fine, but thanks.
  Noon the next day, there was a knock on my door. He got the first flight out the next morning; he flew 1500 miles because he knew I needed a friend. @JohnnyBrillcream / Reddit

• Once, I was carrying my sobbing infant in the grocery store while waiting in line to check out. I was super overwhelmed (it was my first trip out after my son was born), and a kind older man said, “One day, you’re going to look back on this with happy memories and even miss these moments.” He then insisted that I cut in front of him in line, and bought all of my groceries.
  Man, that made a huge impact on me. What a wonderful man. @Unknown author / Reddit

• I took a course in college, and the grading structure was basically that they took the best 5 out of 6 tests, including the final. I really enjoyed the subject and aced the first 5 tests and was going to take the final for fun, just to see what score I would get.
  A friend I made in that class was going through some personal problems and was demoralized because they didn't think they would pass the final with a high enough grade, so they didn't show up to the final.
  I finished my final, wrote their name on it, and turned it in. They posted on Myspace (yeah, that long ago) that they didn't know how they passed, but they were thankful for that miracle. I never told them what I did. @Filet-Mention-5284 / Reddit

• I drove my child to the hospital, but in my panic I got to the wrong entrance, missing the ER. I was already at the closed door, holding her in my arms, when a delivery guy told me to just climb on his truck and he’d take us to the ER entrance.
  He then asked for my car keys and brought my car to the ER parking lot and left them with the reception desk. That man was our hero that day, and I never got to properly thank him. @Incompletecharacter / Reddit

• A guy boarding a subway dropped unstamped letters he wished to send (I hope) on the platform unknowingly. The train departed with him in it; I picked up the letters, bought stamps, and mailed them. @Kipsydaisy / Reddit

• I went to IKEA one night. I put my items in the car, and as I was about to leave, I noticed a guy struggling to put his items in his car, so I went over and spent 40 minutes or so helping him. We tried loads of combinations, and we essentially played Jenga for a while, bouncing ideas off one another. He kept saying he was sorry for keeping me and that he would just return some items, but we eventually got all the items to fit.
  The sense of joy and accomplishment was amazing. He offered me money, but I just took a handshake. We didn't exchange names, and we went our separate ways. I hope he's doing well. @Forceptz / Reddit

• My ex-wife left a few weeks before Christmas. I had twin toddlers and a 5-year-old to suddenly look after. I enrolled them in daycare, and it immediately consumed 60% of my total income. I was broke as a joke by Christmas.
  When my buddy found out on Christmas Eve I barely had any presents and didn't even put up a tree, he drove an hour in a storm with a sack of wrapped gifts and a whole decorated Christmas tree in his truck.
  Pulled in after the kids were in bed, we hauled in the tree and gifts, and my kids had a great Christmas morning. Thinking about it still brings me to tears. @Time_Effort_3115 / Reddit

• Got on a bus reeeeal slowly when I saw someone running towards it. He gave me a nod when he got on. @Livid_Lengthiness_69 / Reddit

• I was using a restroom, extremely bored-this was before smartphones existed. The guy in the stall next to me, who was reading a newspaper, flushed and, on his way out, beneath the door, just handed me the comics page of the newspaper. No words exchanged. Forget about the hygiene part; that was a bro moment. @oAgK / Reddit

• Back in the day, I worked in Labor & Delivery in a regional hospital on the overnight shift. I was the tech for the floor, assisting with births and acting as a scrub for C-sections, but I also did the billing, which, at the time, was all still done on paper.
  One night a couple came in and, once I got the mom checked into their room and all set up, the husband took me aside and began pulling things out of the bag they had brought. They wanted us to use their items during the delivery so that they wouldn’t get charged for them because they didn’t have health insurance. They had things like packs of 4x4s and a thermometer—we couldn't use any of them because of sterile procedure rules.
  But, for some reason, the pair of scissors that they brought to cut the umbilical cord pissed me off so much that I made a decision right then and there that these nice people without health insurance were getting their baby for free today. When I explained to the man that we were not allowed to use outside materials, he was crestfallen.
  I looked him right in the eye and said, "Sir, right now, I want you to worry about your wife and baby. You let me worry about the charges." And, yes, those fine people without health insurance got their baby for free that day. And the pair of scissors used to cut that baby’s umbilical cord? I still use them as my embroidery scissors to this day (after autoclaving them, of course). @aerofreek / Reddit

• Thanksgiving Day, 2003. I was driving down to my parents on Long Island from Buffalo, a 7-8 hour drive. As I'm about halfway, I get a blowout. The tire is just shredded. I managed to get the donut on and slowly got into the next town. (Most of New York state is just... farms and nothing.)
  I stopped at every store that would conceivably have a tire, but nothing was open. I stopped at a police station; they told me to get a hotel until tomorrow. So I hop back into my car and try to make it to the next town; try there. That's when my donut went flat. So I get out and start walking.
  It is 2003; I don't have a cell phone, so I knock on the first house I can find, hoping they'd let me use their phone so I can call my parents. The lady who answered the door invited me in, let me use her phone, offered me food, and then, to my complete shock, called her friend who owned a used car dealership, had them tow my car to the dealership, and put on a new tire, free of charge.
  I went from completely missing Thanksgiving and having to spend the night in some hotel outside Binghamton to being back on my way within 2 hours. I'll never forget that lady. @-Words-Words-Words- / Reddit

Kindness alone can spark change, but when paired with love, it becomes unstoppable. These stories will remind you how powerful that duo truly is. 💛