kindness

After helping to rescue a young woman who had just escaped her kidnappers, this 65-year-old man then handed over his $7,000 reward because she was “the real hero”. Earl Melchert first saw 15-year-old Jasmine Block when he returned to his home in Alexandria, Minnesota last month in order to retrieve a diesel can that he had forgotten to grab earlier that day. The teen had only just escaped from a nearby abandoned house after her kidnappers had gone out to eat. After knocking on the doors of several neighboring homes without any luck, Block swam across a lake and started trekking across Melchert’s field when he spotted her. Melchert brought Block back to his home where they called the police and organized the arrest of her kidnappers. Ever since Block first disappeared, law enforcement officials had been offering $7,000 for any information on her whereabouts. When they handed Earl the check for the reward earlier this week, however, he immediately gave it to Block. “Today we witnessed an incredible example of kindness,” says Alexandria Police Chief Rick Wyffels. “Earl Melchert, the man who made the call everyone was waiting for … was presented with the reward money that had been offered by the Sarah Block family and an anonymous source.” “What no one expected was the kindness and generosity that came straight from Earl’s heart today. He believes that young lady that came running towards him that September day is the real hero and without hesitation, Earl handed the reward over to her, followed by a big hug.” “The family needs the money,” Melchert told the New York Times. “To me, yeah, that’s a lot of money, but they need it way more than I do.” How beautiful it is when we think kindly! How truly exhilarating when we learn to think selflessly.

Brennon Jones loves cutting hair, but there’s one thing he loves even more: cutting hair for the homeless. He’s been at it for a while now and knows how much of a difference it can make in each person’s life. In fact, he gives much more than haircuts as part of his Haircuts for the Homeless campaign in Philadelphia. According to News Outlets, Brennon says his haircuts are totally free. Additionally, he gives them food, clothing, and toiletries. The barber describes it as a makeover for the inside and outside, giving each homeless person a new look and newfound confidence. When a stranger named Sean Johnson found out about Brennon’s mission and the trouble he would have continuing into the winter, he decided to sacrifice the expansion of his own barbershop and opened up a new one — just for Brennon. In an interview with the news outlet, Sean explains: “It wasn’t about me giving a barbershop. I looked at it more as I built something and I want to see it keep going and I want to see it do a great thing.” Now, Brennon’s barbershop will feature days set exclusively for his homeless customers to come in and get their haircuts.

Some days unfold in unexpected ways, yet that shouldn’t excuse our emotional insensitivity towards the struggles of others. One man found himself having a particularly rough morning, consumed by self-pity. After running errands in Liberty, Missouri, and feeling overwhelmed by his ever-growing to-do list, he was leaving a store when something caught his eye. He noticed a woman, likely in her 60s, sitting in her car engrossed in a book—and she was bald. As he drove out of the parking lot, an overwhelming urge struck him to turn around, go back inside the store, and buy her some flowers. Despite feeling cranky and pressed for time, he decided to act on that impulse. He returned to the store and purchased a bouquet. Approaching the woman, he shared that he felt a “crazy urge” to bring her flowers, as if she “needed a smile.” To his surprise, she began to cry. As he drove past her car one last time, he glanced over and saw her in tears. Things may not be as dire as they seem. Let’s strive to cultivate a positive aura that can illuminate the lives of those around us.

You know those projects that make you feel as if you’re spinning your wheels and you’re going to lose whatever hair you have left? Cheryl Rice was working on one of those projects at work. She was frustrated. She felt stalled. She was dejected. Then a colleague gave her a card that changed everything. Often when we’re going through a rough time, we feel alone, and just having someone notice and understand makes all the difference between feeling invisible and feeling loved and supported. For Cheryl, that card bearing just two little words is what made her realize she wasn’t alone. The two words? You Matter. Cheryl couldn’t help but tear up when she read the message. “I’ve struggled at times with my own self-worth, and when I received the card, it felt like a question I carry around with me had been answered. I matter. That expression from her to me filled me up.” Cheryl was so touched by the gesture that she ordered 100 of her own cards to give away, first to family and friends and then to acquaintances. Eventually, she also started leaving cards in strategic locations to brighten strangers’ days—in the credit card holders at gas pumps, in library books, on car windshields. In these challenging times, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. However, instead of directing our frustrations toward those around us, we should take this opportunity to recognize and appreciate the people in our lives. Let’s open our hearts and lend a listening ear to others, offering comforting words and support. After all, just as we matter, so do they. Together, we can navigate these turbulent waters with compassion and understanding.

Jessica Bell, an attorney and advocate in Chicago was riding the subway home late one Friday evening when she witnessed a spontaneous act of kindness that brought tears to her eyes. A homeless man, who later said he was from Louisiana, pulled his swollen feet from a flimsy pair of running shoes that were clearly not intended for a Midwestern winter. The shoe backs were folded down like slippers to leave enough room for a thick layer of socks to fit inside. “I don’t know how many pairs of socks he’s wearing in an attempt to keep his feet warm but there is blood seeping through,” she wrote on Facebook. 38-year-old Maurice Anderson was traveling back to his hometown to visit his daughter, like he does every weekend, when he saw the same heartbreaking scene unfold in front of him. He suddenly wanted to give his own boots, but started arguing with himself: He’d just bought the boots a few weeks ago, and paid $260 for the pair. But within 30 seconds he was unlacing them, and asking the man what size shoes he wore. Size 12, was his answer—Maurice is a 12-and-a-half. Bell continues, “Quietly in-a-blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fashion, the younger man takes off the boots he’s wearing and passes them to the old man… He opens his suitcase and gives him a pair of socks as well.” Maurice then pulls out a spare pair of shoes from the suitcase. “These shoes are nice too, but not as nice as the boots,” Jessica stated. “They would have fit the old man just as well, but they were not what this old man needed.” Especially because he believed his feet might already have frostbite. “If you’ve got 20 pairs of shoes, you can only wear one at a time,” Anderson told Good News Network. “I wished I’d had more socks.” “The reason I posted about Maurice is because we’ve all given, or see people give food, or money to the homeless, but I have never seen someone give the clothes off their back so unselfishly and so humbly,” Bell told Maurice said that when he was exiting the subway car, Jessica, who is the founder of Project Bleeding Love, which supplies homeless women with feminine hygiene products, approached him and almost burst into tears, saying, “I’ve never witnessed anything like that.” She gave him her card so they could keep in touch. Anderson, who had tried to find a job as a laborer with the city, finally needed to move to Cincinnati because he found work there. It would seem like a man with his integrity (and dedication to his daughter), would be a welcome addition to many companies in the Windy City. Maybe his newfound fame will land him a position with good pay, and he can continue warming the hearts of people in this icy town.

Ella Johannessen was overwhelmed by financial difficulties when a stranger learned of her troubles and decided to leave a little gift for the 23-year-old student while she was asleep. Johannessen was on a train from London King’s Cross Station to Leeds on Saturday morning when she called her mother and started venting about her money problems. As a Leeds Beckett University graduate, she reportedly fell into debt during her final year in college when she had to drop her part-time job and focus on her studies. “I was rather stressed and upset over my financial situation and was trying to locate what had happened to £35 that had been sent to me over a bank transfer,” Johannessen wrote on Facebook. “I spoke to her about how little money I had, how worried I was about my finances and I got upset.” After hanging up the phone, the 23-year-old fell asleep in her seat. When she awoke a half hour later, however, she found that someone had left her £100 ($141) tucked into a napkin on her lap. “I started to cry,” said the student. “After a terrible 18 months where I lost my father and both of his parents, it showed me that there is kindness and good people in the world.” According to the BBC, the money will keep Johannessen’s bank account from being over drafted. She hopes that her thank you note to the compassionate stranger will reach them on Facebook, and she plans on paying the good deed forward by volunteering for a charity in Leeds.

This Jewish nurse wasn’t about to let religion get in the way of a baby boy’s livelihood. The baby’s mother was injured in a head-on car collision in Jerusalem on Friday, while the father was killed instantly. The boy, Yaman Abu Ramila, was then taken to the hospital by paramedics for his lighter injuries. The aunts of the 9-month-old baby went to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital to claim Yaman – but when he cried for several hours, refusing to eat from a bottle, the women were distraught. Finally, a Jewish nurse named Ula Ostrowski-Zak volunteered to breast feed him herself. Since Ula has an 18-month-old child of her own, she said that it was like “feeding her own son”, even though the aunts were taken aback by her kind gesture. “His aunts were surprised that a Jew agreed to breastfeed him, but I told them that every mother would do it,” said Ula, according to News Outlet. “His aunts embraced me and thanked me.” Until the boy’s mother is fully healed, he will be staying with his grandparents in Hebron. When we’re determined to show compassion neither religion nor political differences would stand in our way.

Sometimes all it takes is a little reality check to put things in perspective. A home nurse Amanda Perez made a Facebook post about how the misfortunes of one of her clients made her appreciate how lucky she was to have food on the table. “Lately I have been so upset because I wanted the materials in life,” wrote Perez. “New car, house, more clothes, shoes, etc.” While she was working at the home of one of her male patients, the man asked if Perez could clean his fridge. She was shocked to open the door and see nothing inside. Upon asking him where his food was, he “looked down as if he was ashamed” and said that he bought groceries whenever he had money to do so. “I have never seen a fridge so empty in my life,” said the home nurse. “All of a sudden, I realized how my needs are wants and his wants are needs.” Despite not having a lot of income of her own, Perez drove to the grocery store and used her income tax money to buy a cart full of food and stock her client’s fridge. “This isn’t a post to be noticed, this is a post to show you that there are so many people out there that have it worse than we do. I opened my eyes and realized I need to stop being so mad about what I don’t have and start appreciating what I do have.” At times, our feelings of depression stem from our attachment to our desires. By cultivating gratitude for what we already have and being willing to help others, we can significantly lighten the burdens of life.

Officer Jordan Gaiche was patrolling the neighborhood on a chilly Monday night when he saw a man walking down the sidewalk in a tee-shirt and shorts. Since the temperature was only 7º Fahrenheit, Gaiche pulled his cruiser over and asked the man if he needed any help. To his surprise, the man said that he was on his way to help a senior neighbor who had gotten stuck in his chair, “as he had done many times before.” The man asked if Gaiche could help them, and the Wausau, Wisconsin police officer readily agreed. “The elderly gentleman had gotten stuck in his recliner and appeared to be immobile and on oxygen,” says Gaiche. “It was evident that this chair was the place this man spent most of his time.” After he and the neighbor fixed the senior’s chair, Gaiche lamented the debilitated state of the recliner. “It had become more of a trap for injury rather than an assistive device,” wrote the police officer. “The neighbor looked up at the man’s wife and said: ‘I think it’s time you guys got a new chair.’ The wife sadly replied that she knew they needed a new chair, but could not afford one, as they [cost] around $2,000.” Upon finding out that the elderly man was also a Navy veteran who had served two tours in Vietnam, Gaiche was spurred to help. He told the vet’s wife to pick out a new armchair and he would cover the bill. Once she picked out a new recliner model, Gaiche made a quick post on Facebook to see if anyone would help him buy the chair. To his surprise, he received dozens of donations from folks all over the country. “Some of the people who donated, I have not seen for a decade… some I have never even met,” says Gaiche. “The amount of compassion that was displayed for this elderly veteran was so incredible,” he added. “The moral of this story is to look around you and see all of the great things that people are doing. This world is a good place. Turn off the negativity and focus on making the world just a little bit better.”

A father was prepared to return to Cleveland with his newborn daughter, but unforeseen circumstances left them stranded in Phoenix, Arizona. Fortunately, a compassionate stranger stepped in to assist. Rubin Swift had traveled from Ohio to Arizona to pick up his 4-day-old daughter, Ru-Andria, after gaining custody. Before embarking on the journey home, he contacted Frontier Airlines to confirm that his daughter could fly. The airline representative informed him that he needed to present her birth certificate and a doctor’s note from Banner University Medical Center, which confirmed she was fit to fly. However, upon arriving at the airport, Swift was informed that infants must be at least 7 days old to board the flight. With no funds left for a hotel and a refund for the tickets taking several days to process, he reached out to Joy Ringhofer for help. Ringhofer, a volunteer at the hospital’s NICU, had cared for Ru-Andria and felt an immediate connection with Swift. When he explained his predicament, she offered her home to them. “She opened her door without hesitation,” Swift recounted. “My color was never an issue. She loves my baby and held her all night. Who does that?” Ringhofer expressed her strong intuition to help, stating, “I knew he was a kind and safe man to have in my home, and he has been a perfect gentleman.” Swift and Ringhofer developed a bond, and she has since become an honorary grandmother to Ru-Andria. “He promised to come back and visit me, and I’m looking forward to that,” she said. May we never cease being compassionate to others.