Kindness Starts With One®

My father had a very Catholic sense of kindness towards other people that he learned growing up and then modeled for us as children. I recall, as a young boy, riding in our family station wagon after church on Sunday, slowing down as a man stepped out of the woods. He’d climb in the backseat with my brothers and me,...

When I graduated from college I dreamed of being a television news reporter. Having no experience I had to start small: at a dinky little cable station in Naples, Florida, a town I had never heard of before. I put my time in covering sea turtle rescues and unknown celebrities until I finally got my big break in the form...

My name is Madison Peach Steiner, I am the founder of Peach's Neet Feet, and after almost five years of running a non-profit based on the platform of kindness and the science of caring, I see the world through a lens of compassion. I believe one act of kindness can be the foundation for great change in the world. 
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My name is James, I’m 27 years old and I’m a Development Practitioner living in Mzuzu in Malawi. My work involves working with people in rural communities. Most of the people I work with are poor and live on less than a dollar. All my childhood life I wished to work as a Banker, however all this changed when I...

On a typical Saturday night, similar to most adolescents, I was browsing through the apps on my phone. Feeling cozy, I nestled myself under the covers of my bed in polka dot fuzzy socks, an over-sized Avengers t-shirt, and pajama pants that were adorned with green and blue stars. Needless to say, I would never face the humiliation of the...

My name is Nicole La Ha Zwiercan, and to me kindness is life changing.
 
Before getting into why kindness is so important to me, I'd like to first say sadly, I wasn't always
this way. By no means did I go out of my way to be mean to people, but I didn't go out of...

One afternoon, my friends and I were painting a banner for our high school homecoming in the hallway but kept having to go inside of the girl’s bathroom to wash off our messy brushes. I noticed a girl standing in the bathroom quietly sobbing to herself. Everyone kept passing this girl pretending she wasn't even there. I myself had spent...

My whole life has been dedicated to the search for meaning in chaos. A voyage for the one true way to enlightenment, to recovery, to being well, to find inner peace. To fit. It comes from growing up in a complex family dynamic (or to put it another way a family that was well...screwed up). It comes from knowing you...

My name is Peggy Filer and I’m a high school health teacher near Seattle, WA. Fifteen years ago two of my students asked me to be the advisor of their new Random Acts of Kindness Club and I said yes. I asked what we would be doing and they laughed and said they didn’t know – they were random! Perfect,...

I’m Lemeeze Davids, a 20 year old Blogger and Art Student at Stellenbosch University.

I live in South Africa, and we have this Zulu word, “ubuntu”, which is basically all about human kindness. The word “ubuntu” is about seeing yourself in your community and in others. I am, because we are. It’s about smiling at strangers as you pass them, it’s...

My name is Marceen Farsakian. As a first grade teacher, I try to center myself around kind, caring people. Teaching young children is my happy place. During my thirty years of teaching it has always been my belief to teach the whole child. To me, meeting the social and emotional needs of a child is just as important, if not...

I used to think that kindness was a word that wasn’t relevant in today’s adult world.  It had been very important in elementary school and, as I got older, it seemed too simplistic.  The adult world can’t be bothered with such childish concepts, I thought.  As I grew into my 30’s, the complexities of the world and the struggle...

When I was 12 years old, I already knew that my teen years were going to be the worst years of my life. I was right; I was a total outsider, bullied at school and neglected at home. I felt completely alone and isolated in my small town.

Turning my desperation for help into a passion for helping...

Hello, my name is Travis, and I am selfish! Yup, as the youngest of four growing up, I was spoiled rotten. If some was good, than more was better. A good friend of mine told me that I suffer from “Not Enoughness!” It’s true!

As an adult I have been better, but I still feel that urge inside...

Hello everyone! My name is Tyson Reed, and I am the Communications Director at Imagine This! Marketing Group (ITMG). Growing up in the Midwest has certainly shown me many forms of kindness and has shaped who I am today. Immediately after graduating college from Eastern Illinois University in 2009, I started an internship at MGM Studios in Los Angeles. Once...

My name is Brandy Robertson and I am the Executive Director of The Women's Resource Centre in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Conscious kindness has been a part of my life for about the last five years, but when I really think about it I’ve been passionate about volunteering for more than two decades. At the age of ten, I started...

The first time my daughter looked out the window to see a grizzled man leaning on a crutch, with dirty clothes and disheveled hair, she asked, “What does that man’s sign say?” Though generally quick with an answer, I struggled to explain why people simply drive by and ignore a person in need. Think about it; that’s a tough...

My name is Carrie and to me, kindness is a CHOSEN lifestyle. In my classroom, I tell my students that every day they are offered a plate – a choice. They can’t choose what HAPPENS to them, but they can choose how they RESPOND to it. Kindness is a CHOICE and it is a LIFESTYLE. It isn’t something we...

Mark Twain said, “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” To me, kindness is important because when I am kind, I feel good and my life has meaning.

Kindness is the ability to enrich the lives of others. It can be expressed though a smile, a kind word, or a helping hand. Sometimes,...

When I was younge,r I thought that kindness was an individualistic thing. I figured that I could just give what I thought others wanted and I would be handed a one-way ticket to Happyville. This thought process was drastically altered when I was diagnosed with clinical depression. It became obvious that what I needed, as everyone does, was the...

Realizing that we're two self-centered millennials, often focused on what’s ahead instead of what’s around us, we created a series of 12 steps as a way to become kinder, more empathetic people. Based on 12-step programs designed to change behaviors, we took a vow to complete this 12-month resolution last January, one step per month. We’ve also designed the...

Kindness is a practice.

About 6 years ago, I was on a plane next to a woman who was relentlessly energetic and fidgety. I was tired and wanted to take a nap. But before I could go into “ignore mode,” she tapped me on the shoulder to introduce herself.

“Hi, my name is Helga!”

We got...

I care about helping people in need. One simple way I think someone can add kindness to the world is by giving to the homeless or needy. When you do something like thi,s you get a tingly feeling. That's what I call “the kindness feeling”. The kindness feeling is my favorite feeling ever. I believe the world needs more kindness...

“Mrs. Willis, this is Mr. West from the school.  Do you have a minute to talk?”  Silence.

“Yes,” she finally replied quietly.

“I just called to tell you that Natasha had a great day at school today.”  More silence.

“Really?” she questioned.

So I went on.  “I can tell that Natasha is really proud of...

My name is John M. Sweeney. I’m the founder and Chief Kindness Officer of a worldwide social movement called Suspended Coffees. I’m a misfit, a Kindness Coach, I’m a storyteller and I’m a teacher of kindness. For me, kindness has not only changed my life, it's also saved it. Three years ago I was depressed, alone, thinking...

Mother Nature gives us a lot. Here are 4 fun ways to show appreciation for all she provides.

My daughter, Kathrine, lives in Hillsboro, Oregon. Her neighbor recently had a baby. Kathrine took Izzy (Isabella) into her home for a few days when the new mother and baby came home from the hospital. Kathrine and I also went shopping and bought some much needed items for the new baby: diapers, blankets, a towel and wash cloth set, and a...

When I was little, I lived with my mom and dad until the age of three. My parents' relationship dissolved, which left my sister and I living with my dad on the streets until I was 5 years old. At that time, my dad couldn't take care of us anymore and dropped off my sister and I at my Aunt...

Over the weekend I got my license so my friend Jennie and I got our nails done and went out to dinner. SHe paid for my nails so I offered to drive her 45 minutes away to her grandparents house.

Over the course of my spring break I went to visit some colleges. I stayed in the town of Gettysburg for two days at a bed and breakfast. When eating breakfast there I met a Vietnam veteran and talked with him about how poorly veterans are treated after returning home from war, especially the Vietnam generation. After having this talk,...