Anyone else do random acts of kindness?

[Snobdds]

Our oldest daughter teaches at a middle school in the next county. In one class she moved a student to the back of the room to move a 'talker' to the front. My granddaughter is in the class and afterward she told her mom that the kid could not see anything at the front of the room. So the next day my daughter questions the boy. He lives in a foster home and has never had his eyes checked. Tried daughter's glasses, she is nearsighted, and was amazed at how well he could see. She tells the story at Sunday lunch and I find a thirty year old pair of my glasses for him. The day after she gave the boy the glasses he came up to her and said she had changed his life. LOL. Those glasses had sat on my desk for months after I cleaned it out. Was going to throw them away but couldn't make myself do it. So now my daughter is working thru the school resource officer to find out if there are any groups that will pay for the boy to have his eyes checked and prescription glasses made for him. If not my wife and I are going to do it. The wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly but one way or another the boy will have new prescription glasses by the end of the year.

The wheel of poverty is generational for a lot of kids. Having access to a some basic medical care is a huge life improver for kids. The payoff is the confidence it brings and it's a stepping stone for future success. Good for you two. Some investment in kids has a huge payoff later on, even if we don't see it.

The old lady travels all over the world to some of the poorest places on earth to give free dental surgeries. The pain some of these kids have because of bad oral care is mind boggling. She is on a mission to help bring awareness and give some relief.

 

[Tinhack]

I was behind a well-dressed lady at the grocery store checkout. Her and the check-out girl were going round and round about the price of something. Worried my ice cream was going to melt, I asked, "how much do you need?" and had my wallet in my hand. They both stopped and looked at me and the checker rang up some price. The well-dressed lady left and never looked back. Turns out they were arguing over an expired 50-cent coupon.

I've done this many times at the store and paid for items of others that looked like they needed help--Especially when they're looking through their wallet or purse pulling out single dollar bills or telling the cashier to take something back. It was especially hard for some folks during the COVID times, but I've been doing this since I've lived here. I just tell them to pass the favor on to someone else.

 

[Jstpssng]

Turns out they were arguing over an expired 50-cent coupon.

Some people do that because they have to. Others don’t have to anymore, because that’s one way they were able to get ahead.

My 85 YO mother still picks up pennies. She doesn’t have to,*
but that’s how she was raised and how she and my father got ahead.

*(She showed us her finances once, just to shut my brother up.)

 

[Gee Ray]

Our oldest daughter teaches at a middle school in the next county. In one class she moved a student to the back of the room to move a 'talker' to the front. My granddaughter is in the class and afterward she told her mom that the kid could not see anything at the front of the room. So the next day my daughter questions the boy. He lives in a foster home and has never had his eyes checked. Tried daughter's glasses, she is nearsighted, and was amazed at how well he could see. She tells the story at Sunday lunch and I find a thirty year old pair of my glasses for him. The day after she gave the boy the glasses he came up to her and said she had changed his life. LOL. Those glasses had sat on my desk for months after I cleaned it out. Was going to throw them away but couldn't make myself do it. So now my daughter is working thru the school resource officer to find out if there are any groups that will pay for the boy to have his eyes checked and prescription glasses made for him. If not my wife and I are going to do it. The wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly but one way or another the boy will have new prescription glasses by the end of the year.

Lions Clubs International​

at one time was a big help with glasses for folks needing a hand. Goggle your local chapter.

 

[JasperFrank]

This, maybe doesn't qualify as a random act. Yet, the story is true.
I stopped in to a late night restaurant, and had a very nice meal. I was about 21, at the time and eating alone.
Was settling up the bill, an a waitress, and completely out of the blue, asked if I had ever been a dishwasher. Which I had been, several times, when I was a teenager. It was a strange question. She then told me their usual dishwasher, didn't show up, and the situation was getting bad, and they had no backup. If I was doing nothing else that night, for the rest of the grave shift, would I be willing to work at $$$$ an hour till the next shift. She said $400, cash. Which in 1980, was a bit of money for 8 hours. I said sure, and found all the equipment to be understandable and easy to use. Worked all night, and the rest of the staff was happy that they had clean plates and silverware and glasses to work with. As dawn cracked, the shift changed, the regular dishwasher person for that shift came in and took over. The Manager feathered out 4, $100 bills. And said "Thank You, You saved our butts, would you like a job here?" I had to explain that I was a computer programmer at the time, and this was just fun to do.

 

[Tinhack]

Others don’t have to anymore, because that’s one way they were able to get ahead.

I got ahead by hard work. I've never had to lie, cheat or steal 50 cents from a store to do it. The keyword there was "EXPIRED".

I've had store coupons rejected before. Typically, because I didn't pick up the right product or quantity. It's never bothered me. It was in my cart because I wanted it, not because of a coupon.

 

[Tinhack]

She said $400, cash. Which in 1980, was a bit of money for 8 hours.

You could buy a new car back then for 10 days at that pay. I know because I bought two Chevy Chevettes--One 2-door and one 4-door at the same time.

I was a dishwasher for a couple of months while in high school in the late 60s. I still have a scar on my right thumb from that.

 

[Yander]

Never!

 

[Rockbadchild]

This, maybe doesn't qualify as a random act. Yet, the story is true.
I stopped in to a late night restaurant, and had a very nice meal. I was about 21, at the time and eating alone.
Was settling up the bill, an a waitress, and completely out of the blue, asked if I had ever been a dishwasher. Which I had been, several times, when I was a teenager. It was a strange question. She then told me their usual dishwasher, didn't show up, and the situation was getting bad, and they had no backup. If I was doing nothing else that night, for the rest of the grave shift, would I be willing to work at $$$$ an hour till the next shift. She said $400, cash. Which in 1980, was a bit of money for 8 hours. I said sure, and found all the equipment to be understandable and easy to use. Worked all night, and the rest of the staff was happy that they had clean plates and silverware and glasses to work with. As dawn cracked, the shift changed, the regular dishwasher person for that shift came in and took over. The Manager feathered out 4, $100 bills. And said "Thank You, You saved our butts, would you like a job here?" I had to explain that I was a computer programmer at the time, and this was just fun to do.

I think it dose it just happen you got payed that time … you made 3 or 4 person happy just by saying yes

 

[Jstpssng]

I got ahead by hard work. I've never had to lie, cheat or steal 50 cents from a store to do it. The keyword there was "EXPIRED".

I've had store coupons rejected before. Typically, because I didn't pick up the right product or quantity. It's never bothered me. It was in my cart because I wanted it, not because of a coupon.

I understand that. Yet in some places those expired coupons are still honored as a matter of store policy, so maybe the clerk was being a D-head.
I have stood arguing with a clerk at the grocery store for 20 minutes because what the register rang up wasn't what the listed price was... and she kept digging out a calculator to show me I was wrong. (I wasn't, which was clear from simply looking at the receipt.) Meanwhile other customers kept coming so she would tend to them, then start all over again. I finally gave up, the aggravation wasn't worth sixty cents.

A few days later I was at the same store, and (once again) she was the only clerk. She rang me up, then I went someplace else... and realized she had given me $10 too much. What would you do?
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I felt pretty stupid under the circumstances but I drove back to the store, and it's probably the first and only time that I cut into the front of a line.
I interrupted the current purchase, told her she had given me too much change, handed her the ten and walked back out. I didn't say **** you but it was obvious that's what I was thinking. I'm sure that everybody in line thought I was a jerk but I didn't care. I wanted to give her $9.40, but it wasn't worth the aggravation. Thankfully she left or was fired not long after that.

 

[RSKY]

Lions Clubs International​

at one time was a big help with glasses for folks needing a hand. Goggle your local chapter.

I was told that the Rotary Club also helped kids needing eye care. BUT the president of the local chapter has had a downturn in his health and wasn't able to communicate with me. Gonna wait until this Sunday and find out what daughter has found out from the school resource officer. Will proceed from there.

RSKY

 

[oosik]

I don't know if it's an act of kindness or self preservation. I ALWAYS give way to those who seem to be in a big hurry. I prefer going a tad slower. I can smell the flowers and hear the songbirds.

I'm also retired.

 

[Alan W.]

A friend and myself have breakfast together at a restaurant once a week.
We had decided a couple years ago to do double tip for Nov-Dec to help the waitresses Christmas funds. Our usual tip is close to 50% before the double.

Today while we were having breakfast and enjoying our usual down the rabbit hole conversation, our waitress told us that the couple who had been seated adjacent to us had paid our bill.
Neither of us had ever seen them before and none of the waitresses knew them.

 

[California]

...daughter is working thru the school resource officer to find out if there are any groups that will pay for the boy to have his eyes checked and prescription glasses made for him. If not my wife and I are going to do it.

If you haven't discovered the mailorder glasses manufacturers - Zenni Optical is where I started buying recently. Under $50 for my complex bifocals in quality frames, antiglare, etc. Quality seems just as good as the optics and $180 frames from the local optician. I think Zenni prices start around $20 complete. I've read there are a couple of competitors with a broader range of quality frames, but haven't investigated that.

And kinda related: many of the real breaks that have gotten me ahead in life have been advice from people less fortunate, suggesting stuff it would have taken me years to figure out by trial & error. The sort of kindness described in this thread works both ways, in my experience.

 

[scaredychicken]

yes - all the time, randomly

 

[groundcover]

 

[m1garand762]

I am an hvac tech and used to help out some seniors in our church that were also ww2 and Korea veterans for free labor they just paid parts. I did that for years then others in the congregation including the pastor got mad when I asked for payment for work which they requested. My family left that church and found another one that we liked but I have been telling people I don’t do side work anymore so I don’t have to go through the nonsense again

 

[RSKY]

I have been trying to teach my six year old grandson to always open doors for ladies. Told him he would always be smiled at if he did that simple act.

RSKY

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I've seen random acts of journalism.

 

[Deere Dude]

I owned a house in the late 1990s and stored my old pallets (10 or so) and other junk a couple hundred feet off the highway. One day a truck pulls over and asks me if he could buy some pallets as his boss needed some. I told him these were spoken for but I could pick some up from work tomorrow. He said that would be great, what ever I could get.

I took my trailer to work at a factory the next day, 20 miles away, and scavenged around (2 hours or so) and eventually aquired about 20 nice pallets. I loaded them up and took them home after work.

The next day the guy shows up to my property and I met him. He asked what I needed for them. I told him nothing. He persisted in his cash offer and told me they were for his boss at a small manufacturing operation, and I told him to just take them. He wasn't going to take them for free so after a couple minutes I just told him $4 a pallet and then he was happy. I felt good about helping someone out.