Garth Poorman crossing the Bay of St. Louis

Garth Poorman hopes to get from New York to New Orleans by relying chiefly on the kindness of strangers for shelter, meals, and a place to stay each night. Embarking from his home in New York on August 29, 2009 with only an Iphone, laptop, a few snacks, three changes of clothing, some foot-care products, and a Steinbeck novel, Poorman began his trek across the country on foot. With nothing more than a positive attitude and a feeling that “something good will happen” Poorman must count on acts of kindness in order to complete his journey.

Each day Poorman enters his location and destination on Google maps and finds the shortest distance to get there on foot. Unfortunately, the site doesn’t offer him a place to rest each night. He must rely on a network of strangers, friends, and friends of friends of friends to provide him with a place to stay, regular meals, and other necessities for his journey. His goal is a study in the kindness of strangers and the extent in which they are willing to go in order to help a fellow person. Poorman never questioned his ability to physically make the walk, but rather wanted to find out if he could it with the help of people he didn’t know.

Poorman reveals the fact that connections with strangers is commonplace if there is a slight network already, another individual who knows one of the parties and can speak positively of them. He has illustrated that it is more rare among those with no connection whatsoever, but it still happens. After over 100 days of walking, he has had only one scary experience. Walking 18 miles a day, rain or shine, Poorman continues his journey which is nearing its end. Poorman has chronicled his journey on his blog www.PoormanWalking.com and overwhelmingly proven the kindness of strangers and how simple acts of kindness can make all the difference in the world.

I recently read a blog post pertaining to authorities in Newcastle saying that the kindness of strangers could kill. The Northumbria police force is cracking down on begging in the city of Newcastle with a campaign illustrating that most of the money given to the homeless is spent on drugs or alcohol. The authorities instead encourage people to give the money to charities made for the homeless.

As much as I can see the angle that authorities are taking in this stance, to me it somewhat defeats the purpose of random acts of kindness. Sure, there are people who take the time to give to charity and budget it out very carefully, but then again there are people who do not. Some individuals will give to those in dire need based on a whim with no prior meditation of doing so.

To me, scaring individuals out of performing kind acts is baffling. There are absolutely beggars who will spend the money on drugs and alcohol, but then again there are some who spend it on legitimate needs. Why should those who are stuck and doing all they can to better their situation be penalized for those who are using the money to buy detrimental substances. Besides, shouldn’t it be the job of the authorities to clean up the amount of drugs on the street rather than encouraging people not to give beggars money to purchase them?

I must say that discouraging random acts of kindness is a truly sad thing to preach. I would have to imagine that charities and organizations to aid the homeless do all they can, but couldn’t possibly reach everyone in need. Being a huge fan of random acts of kindness, I believe that it’s worth a few people, or even more to buy detrimental substances so that somebody less fortunate can buy a meal.

London’s Kindness Offensive has been gaining quite a bit of media coverage as of late with their approach to inspiring love and kindness in those around them. Their goal is simply to have as much fun as possible while spreading kindness and encouraging others to do the same. Both small and large scale random acts of kindness have been performed by the Kindness Offensive with the help of volunteers, companies, and charities in the London area and gained the organization quite the following.

In an attempt to sway the impersonal disregard for others that is present in the London Metropolis, the Kindness Offensive is well known for its experiment that awarded everyday people for acts of kindness. A member of the offensive would be bait, and pose as a common person in need of a helping hand. The rest of the team would lie in wait until someone came up to the stranger and offered a helping hand. The rest of the team would then out of nowhere come up to the person and begin praising their kindness.

The Kindness Offensive has been carrying out random acts of kindness over the last year in a bid to encourage good vibes in the capital. One of the most successful events took place on Shrove Tuesday, last February, when they gave out thousands of free pancakes from a diner in central London and they donated half a million more to charitable organizations. Being covered in the media quite frequently by London publications by awarding random acts of kindness with such items as medals, champagne, and flowers. The hope is that the spectacle will not only be fun for witnesses and participants, but it will inspire others to see the joy that kindness toward others can bring, and how quickly it can spread.

Donating over 25 tons of food to the needy and over 35 tons of toys to good causes, the Kindness Offensive has touched the life of countless Brits. Armed with a confetti cannon, the Kindness Offensive shows no signs on stopping in their quest to spread kindness all over London and eventually further.

Join the Offensive

A Random Act of Kindness Lands Ohio Man in Jail

What began as a random act of kindness for one person led to them being locked up for the night and facing charges. This person was trying to have a little fun while performing acts of kindness that for some reason local authorities didn’t find too amusing. A witness in the Akron, Ohio area saw a person dressed as a clown putting quarters in every parking meter on the street that had a car parked at it. He was stopped by police and when they found out what he was doing was arrested. He spent the night in jail and is facing charges of fines for his random act of kindness.

This generous act of kindness ended up with an arrest? Are you kidding me? What has the world come to when a selfless act of kindness ended up in charges brought by the city. Has our society become so jaded that a person simply acting out of the goodness of their heart should be arrested? There may be some law against putting quarters in parking meters, I don’t know, but it seems as though the least that the police could do is let the clown off with a warning. It’s up to bloggers and media to bring positive stories to the public so that kindness is not such an anomaly in society and stories like this don’t occur again. We are all pushing for the poor kindness clown and hope that too many stories like this don’t squash acts of kindness.

This story was taken from the Random Acts of Kindness Blog

Random Act of Kindness from an Unlikely Source

posted by Firecrystals, on Oct 12, 2009 from http://www.helpothers.org

My house is located on a very busy road.  There are frequently huge trailers whizzing by at high speeds, and it is virtually impossible to get across the street to the nearby hospital.

One evening, when I was coming out of the house with my 6 year old cousin, I saw a drunkard by the house, talking to himself.  I smiled at him and then proceeded to stand by the curb, waiting for an opportunity to cross the street.  This man then came over to us and started showering us with blessings for a long life and good fortune, all simply because I gave him a smile.

After wishing such kindness on us, he actually stopped the traffic on the road and helped us to get across the road without any difficulty.  As we parted, he simply smiled and waved at us as he plodded away.

Moral of the Story:  Never underestimate the power of a smile.

Helpothers.org is a site dedicated to spreading stories of kindness to their readers in hopes that it will impact people’s lives. You can read more stories at their site, contribute your own, receive some ideas on how to spread kindness, or order kindness cards to pass out to loved ones as well as strangers. A growing number of these sites will hopefully cause a shift in how we treat others for a brighter tomorrow.

Brighton Mechanics Help out Red Cross

Michigan mechanics were the focus of a breakthrough story in kindness when they helped fix a Red Cross van free of charge. Mechanics at A&H Transmission and Auto Repair in Brighton were the ones responsible for this incredible act of kindness.

Diane Serra, executive director of the Livingston County chapter, said the 1998 Dodge Caravan had been used as a secondary field vehicle for response to disasters and emergencies. However, volunteers hadn’t used the minivan for months because it made so much noise and the dashboard lights were always going on. The vehicle had 120,000 miles on it, and the organization didn’t have the money to fix it.

The van was primarily used to rush supplies to emergency situations before its problems. The mechanics performed over $1,500 in repairs including fixing the brakes, struts, sway bar link, and performing a front end alignment and oil change. During hard economic times, A & H has stepped up and performed a kind act for a good cause. This is not the first time they’ve helped those in need, though.

Two years ago, the mechanics at A&H spent their own time fixing up a donated 1995 Ford Escort station wagon that was given to a Livingston County woman who was a survivor of domestic violence.

Acts of Kindness that will Blow your Mind

Here are some of the latest acts of kindness that are truly out of the ordinary. Time is Love has covered some random acts of kindness and other stories of kindness, and find more extraordinary achievements in benevolence daily. Everyone is encouraged to do their part to make the world a better place for all. These stories are some of the most touching and memorable acts of kindness collected so far.

Darkness

79 year old Jo Parry had recently been diagnosed with macular degeneration and completely lost her vision. A widow with no children or family members in the area, Parry wondered how she would deal with her condition. But thanks to some generous people in her area, she is supplied with the necessities. Deli chef Mike Reed noticed her having trouble reading the menu and noticed how frustrated she became. He now delivers food to her once or twice a week. She call in her order and he drops it off at her house, claiming it’s on the way home.

“I tell her her house is on the way, but it’s not quite,” says Reed, who drops by after his shift. “It’s not too far out of the way,” said Reed.

Parry’s hairdresser also picks her up for her appointments.

Healing a Soldier

Inga Guen still recalls the day when her son supplied her with a life changing phone call.

Her son Karim is part of an organization that visits recovering soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and told her about one unforgettable victim.

Sergeant David Battle is a tank gunner who had been blown up in Iraq and lost both of his legs, an arm, and a hip. Battle was raised by his grandmother who had died while he was overseas, so he had no family left. He had woken up from a coma and didn’t want to talk to anyone. Karim thought that Battle would open up to his mother, so she nervously accepted and began visiting Battle. She now visits him once a week and brings him his favorite foods as well as new clothes that are easy to slip on. She had a ramp installed at her home and brings Battle to the beach. Guen continues to give Battle hope and encourages him to get an education, referring to him as her adopted son, one of her dreams for him is to have a car constructed so that when he leaves rehab he is able to drive.

When Guen visited Battle on Mother’s Day, he gave her a gift. “I opened the box,” she says, “and it was his Purple Heart.” With his good arm, Battle hugged her tight.

Sing me to Sleep

Linda Cassell had known Jumoke Adebimpe only a few weeks, but there was Adebimpe, curled up in a hospice bed next to Cassell’s one-year-old son, singing the boy to sleep.

Christopher Cassell, Linda’s son had shown signs of developmental problems his whole life, and at times woulds top breathing. An MRI showed that his brain had stopped growing, most likely from a mitochondrial malfunction. Adebimbe had learned of Cassell’s plight through Grace Community Church in Arlington. As soon as the Cassells were recognized by the church for outreach, people begun performing numerous acts of kindness to help them through their suffering.

In an e-mail Adebimbe learned that doctors had given Christopher only days to live, and he was being taken to Capital Hospice in Arlington. She hadn’t yet met the family, but the urge to provide any comfort she could was strong. She drove to the hospice.

When Cassell mentioned that her son loved music, Adebimbe began singing to him. Adebimpe, 29, has a beautiful voice—a contralto, she’d sung in an opera group at George Washington University. She would serenade little Cristopher; if he was restless, he would fall right asleep.

When Crisopher died, Cassell asked Adebimpe to sing the song “For Good,” from Wicked, at the funeral. Her kindness helped Cassell through an extremely difficult time and is still a large part of her healing process.

Housing Help

Julia Kramer and Tom Oberdorfe were looking for a better wedding gift that the conventional registry gifts. They decided to have their loved ones donate the money they would normally spend on gifts to a worthy cause. This came in the form of a non-profit organization Northern Virginia Family Service. The NVFS was created for single mothers and their children, offering not only housing, but education on parenting, job hunting, and budgeting.

Kramer and Oberdorfe have hosted 3 fundraising events for NVFS where over 100 friends and colleagues have dished out $150 each for a night of dinner and dancing. So far the couple has raised $65,000. They haven’t raised enough to buy a townhouse in Virginia for a needy family, but are well on their way. They continue to organize events in hopes that they can make a positive impact with their generous act of kindness.

The Kindness of Strangers

A cancer survivor in Ireland was recognized at the Quinn Healthcaresponsored awards in Dublin on Saturday for her selfless act of kindness toward another cancer patient who was also a complete stranger. Mother of two Ellen Thompson from Bay Estate earned a People of the Year Accolade for her selfless act of caring for cancer sufferer Kevin Kiely for the last two weeks of his life.

People of the Year Award Winner Eleanor Thompson and Kevin Kiely

Thompson met Kiely on a bus to St. Luke’s to volunteer and forged a friendship that lasted almost two years, and up to the day of Kiely’s death. During the time that Thompson was caring for Kiely, she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Putting her own suffering aside, she looked after his home in Muirhevnamor when he was in hospital and called to him regularly after he returned to Dundalk, helping him with chores and messages.

Eleanor also helped Kevin rekindle his relationship with his brothers and sisters which he had drifted apart from around 20 years ago. As a member of the Grace Fellowship Church in Dundalk, Eleanor also helped Kevin rebuild his faith in God before he passed.

When Kiely’s health took a turn for the worse, he actually moved in with Thompson and cared for him up to the day of his death.

‘I was humbled and delighted to win the award. It was a great honour and an opportunity to bring Kevin’s life into the limelight, as well as the work of Dundalk Simon,’ said Thompson.