12 Real-life Stories That Show Kindness Can Move Mountains

Sometimes, the smallest act of kindness can transform a moment of despair into one of hope, reminding us that good still exists in the world. In this collection, we share touching, true stories of people who experienced unexpected compassion from strangers or acquaintances just when they needed it most. These heartfelt moments are a testament to the power of kindness and are sure to leave you feeling inspired and uplifted.

My neighbor was a single mom with a little boy. She hardly made ends meet. I used to babysit him and feed him. Then one day, they vanished without a word.
20 years passed. I’m now a secretary at a law firm, and I saw her son’s name scheduled for a visit.
Later that day, he arrived. My hands started shaking when I saw him. He came in, and I was shocked when he started to walk straight toward me. He said my name and introduced himself.
He had become a successful lawyer. That little boy was now a handsome young man—6 feet tall and wearing an elegant suit. I learned that he was meeting with our head lawyer to join the firm. He was a bright attorney and, despite his young age, had already started to make a big name for himself.
He told me that he had just moved back to town and remembered me taking care of him. He thanked me and said that he and his mom had never forgotten my kindness. His mom was also back in town and excited to meet me.

I was in NYC taking a lunch break at a job I absolutely hated. I was sitting alone, eating at a McDonald’s, when after about 15 minutes, a man in his 40s or 50s walked up to me. (I was a 28-year-old male at the time.)
He looked at me and said something like, “Hey man, you look really sad. Things will get better,”and then shook my hand. It takes a lot for one adult man to offer that kind of support to another stranger. It really cheered me up. © Unknown author / Reddit

My alternator died while I was driving home from university. The engine gave out just as I exited the freeway in the middle of the night, in a not-so-pleasant part of town—back in the days before cell phones. As I was pushing my car out of the intersection, a guy in a truck pulled up and offered to push my car to my neighborhood, a good three miles away.
He did so, and as I pulled into my neighborhood, he simply gave a wave and drove off into the night. I never even had the chance to thank him. © KahBhume / Reddit

A man in a full business suit with a briefcase handed me an umbrella during a torrential rainstorm and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I still had to walk through Times Square to get to the train, and I’m sure he got soaked going wherever he was headed.
A couple of weeks later, I gave the umbrella to a lost girl in my neighborhood when it started to rain, and she didn’t have one. It felt like the universe wanted it to happen.
I’ll never forget that man, though. © im_not_bovvered / Reddit

Spring 2018. I accidentally stumbled upon a wedding dress I loved for $60 with only three weeks left until my wedding. I called around everywhere, and not one local business could fit me in for alterations.
I was discussing this with a coworker during our hospital lunch break in a quiet area when a….