With the wedding called off, she donated the venue to another couple

A couple weeks before her wedding, Kolbie Sanders of Tyler, Texas called off the wedding. Unable to give a refund on short notice, the venue offered to apply her funds to a later date.

Kolbie had another idea. She told the venue she planned to give it away to another couple ready to be married. A couple she didn't know.
She put her idea out there on Facebook. The post was shared thousands of times, and responses poured in. Not all the responses were of the 'pick me!' type, many were offers of support. Within days, a photographer, a florist, a bakery, and a restaurant all offered to donate to the chosen couple's wedding.

Just days before the October 20th wedding, Kolbie literally reached into a hat and chose Halie Hipsher and her fiance Matt Jones. Their wedding was planned for 2019, but Halie's grandfather has Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. The quick wedding meant he could attend, which in turn, meant the world to Halie and Matt. 

The wedding went off without a hitch. Kolbie even dropped in for a quick photo with the happy couple.

Small pizzeria has given away over 140,000 slices to local homeless

Shortly after Mike and Jenny Stevens opened their Little Caesar's franchise in Fargo, North Dakota, they saw a homeless man sitting at a nearby gas station. Mike thought he looked hungry, so he brought him a pizza. A few days later, Mike saw someone rummaging through the restaurant's dumpster. He posted this sign in the window, and his mission was born. 

Over the next two years, the pizza giveaway grew. Mike started to deliver pizzas to local homeless shelters, three of which have adopted 'pizza night' as a regular part of their routine. When Mike died of leukemia last year, Jenny and her daughters continued his generous practice. 

 Local patrons wanted to help. Since a single slice costs the Stevens' 50 cents to make, Jenny has set up a box to accept 50 cent donations from customers. She also set up a GoFundMe account to offset the cost of continuing the program. 

With the help of volunteers, the Stevens' franchise has given away over $70,000 worth of pizza, 142,000 slices to date!  About the program, Jenny said, “It’s a small thing that we can do to bring a big difference in their day and it’s just kept going. You have to come together to help each other out. We just do it because it seems like the right thing to do.”

He's given away 1,000 motel nights to hurricane evacuees

While Hurricane Florence was bearing down on Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Jaret Huck put his mom's lessons into action. “Love thy neighbor, right? That’s what you’re supposed to do,” Hucks later told reporters. “My mama taught me that a long time ago.”

Hucks put out the word on Facebook: the motel he owns, Midtown Inn and Cottages, was open to hurricane evacuees. For free. Seriously. Not only that, he disregarded his own No Pets policy and allowed families to bring their dogs, cats, turtles, and even a pet squirrel. 

Local businesses and individuals got wind of Hucks' generosity. In the days after the storm, donations of food, ice, diapers, and toiletries rolled in, making Midtown an epicenter for relief efforts. To date, Hucks has given away over 1,000 free nights to the area's poorest and most vulnerable families. The local community has provided them three meals a day, plus shoes, clothes, and more.  

For his generosity, Hucks was given the national Jefferson Award. While honored by this, he insists his best reward is a more humble one: the crayon-scrawled thank you cards and pictures which now decorate his office.   

Man walks 11 miles to work each day, coworkers buy him a car

Trenton Lewis appreciates his job packing trucks at a Little Rock, Arkansas UPS depot. He's only had the job for seven months, and has never missed a day or been late to work. Commendable, especially since his shift starts at 4 am. Even more commendable, Lewis has been walking to work, a trek of 5.5 miles each way through some sketchy neighborhoods in all kinds of weather. He never mentioned this hardship to his coworkers, just reported on time and did his job before starting his long walk home again.

Kenneth Bryant, one of Lewis' coworkers, got wind of his situation. Without Lewis' knowledge, Bryant spread the word among other UPS employees and retirees. Over $2000 was raised in a few weeks time. So last week, employees were called together for a 'union meeting' in the UPS parking lot. There, Bryant presented Lewis with the keys to a Saturn, Lewis' first car.

Lewis is overwhelmed by his coworkers' generosity. He's grateful for the quicker commute to work so he can spend more time at home with his young daughter. 

Teen crowdfunds solar lamps and hand-cranked washers for (still!) powerless areas of Puerto Rico

For a moment, imagine your home without electricity. Not for an hour or a day, but for weeks. Then months. Four months to be exact. That's the case in rural areas of Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria hit last fall. Nearly half a million people, American citizens by the way, are still without power. Four months without lights, without washers and dryers, cell phone chargers, power for cooking and refrigeration, never mind TV and internet. 

Salvador Gomez Colon considers himself lucky - his San Juan home has had power since the early days after the hurricane. When the 15-year-old learned just how devastated the island's rural areas are, he started a crowdfunding campaign on Generosity. The campaign has raised almost $120,000 to date, which Colon uses to buy solar powered lamps and hand-cranked washers. He has distributed over 1400 lamps to folks who are (literally and figuratively) powerless, some with phone charging capability, with 1600 more ready to go. With the help of corporate donations, he has secured over 300 hand-cranked washers for distribution too. Time Magazine named him one of the most influential teens of 2017. 

This story calls to mind a couple things - our society's terrifying reliance on the infrastructure of electricity, water, etc., and our unconscionable neglect of our fellow Americans.

A generous eavesdropper

Ella Johannessen graduated from college last year, and like many folks just starting out, she has money worries. While on a train from London to Leeds last weekend, she spoke to her mom by phone about her financial concerns. Specifically, a bank transfer of £35 (about $50) did not go through as expected and Johannessen poured out her heart to her mom long distance. Then she fell asleep. 

When she awoke, she noticed something in her lap. Under a napkin was £100 ($141) in cash. No note. No explanation. No witnesses. 

Johannessen wept. 

She posted the story of the Good Samaritan on Facebook. She'd like to thank the generous person, and to let them know she is paying it forward by volunteering with a local charity. 

All he wants for Christmas is to give - this 8-year-old collects toys for kids in Puerto Rico

A New Jersey third-grader received an early Christmas gift from a family friend - two VIP tickets to a NY Giants game. Jayden Perez was overwhelmed by the generous gift. He decided to pay it forward with some generosity of his own.

Knowing the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, Jayden told his mom that any toys he got for Christmas should instead go to children in Puerto Rico. His mother was understandably touched by Jayden's idea and suggested they go one better. She helped him organize a toy drive. Some friends planned to travel to Puerto Rico for the holidays and agreed to take the toys with them for distribution.

Jayden's mom posted the drive on Facebook and set up a GoFundMe page. Donations poured in. Local media picked up the story about the boy with a generous heart. Word spread. The NBA sent 20 boxes of new toys and merchandise to the family's home. Donations arrived from all over the region, even from neighboring states. To date, over 1,000 toys have been collected, far exceeding expectations.

A shipping company has agreed to transport the toys to the island, and Jayden and his family will fly there themselves in early January to help with distribution. Amazing what happens when a kind-hearted child leads us.

Crossing guard sets up free coat tree for 'her kids'

For almost two decades, Minnie Galloway has been a crossing guard for a middle school in Wilmington, North Carolina. She not only manages traffic, she also buys pencils and other school supplies for 'her kids.' Yep, like a lot of people who work with children, she takes the needs of her charges seriously. On a crossing guard's salary. Let that sink in a moment.

So when cold weather hit the Carolinas, Minnie noticed some of 'her kids' didn't wear proper outerwear. She went to the local Salvation Army store and bought out their supply of winter coats in the sizes she thought were needed. She then hung the thirty coats on a coat tree right at her corner. Some were taken and worn the very first day, but Minnie said some children are too proud to take a coat.

Any coats not used by 'her kids' will be donated to a local church coat giveaway.

Anonymous donor tracked down decades later - and a scholarship is founded in her name

Hilde Back knows the power of spreading kindness. As youngsters, she and her brothers had fled Nazi Germany for Sweden. Their parents perished in the camps. Hilde has never forgotten the warm welcome the children received as strangers in Sweden and the opportunities they were given to create a new life there.

She was teaching preschool several decades later when she heard about a program her school's administrator was starting. It would fund primary and secondary education for gifted children in Nairobi. Hilde jumped at the chance to give this opportunity to a stranger in a land she'd never visited. All she learned about the child was this: His name was Chris. He was 5 or 6 years old. His older sister wrote a few letters to Hilde, then those petered out. She kept up her contributions anyway.

Fast forward to 2002. The Swedish Ambassador in Nairobi contacted 80-year-old Hilde. The child she sponsored all those years ago wanted to meet his patron to say thank you. Chris Mburu had earned degrees from the University of Nairobi and Harvard Law School and worked for the United Nations as a Human Rights Advisor. The two met, and not surprisingly, they got along well.

Hilde and Chris have met a number of times since. A documentary about Hilde and Chris' story called A Small Act aired on HBO in 2010, and won awards at various film festivals.

In tribute to Hilde's kindness and to continue its spread, Mburu started a scholarship in her name. Hilde has flown to Kenya to visit Chris and to personally see the effect this fund has on the students it supports. To date, 673 scholarships have been awarded to sponsor education for children in Kenya. All because Hilde decided to pass it on.

Two great kids put their own Halloween candy in empty bowls

Like lots of other kids, 11-year-old Hayden Chapelle of Idaho Falls was out trick-or-treating on Halloween accompanied by his mom. They approached a house, the Robertson's home, and found a sign: “Do a trick and take a treat! And smile – you’re on camera”. The candy bowl beside the sign was empty. 

Hayden did a little dance and started to leave, but saw other kids approaching the house. He doubled back and put some of his own Halloween candy in the bowl so they wouldn't walk away empty handed.

When the Robertsons came home from trick-or-treating with their daughter, they watched the video. To their dismay, they saw one child take lots of candy and leave the empty bowl behind. Then they saw Hayden's generous gesture and decided to share that with the world. 

The same thing happened in Chula Vista, California. A trick-or-treater placed some of his stash in an empty bowl at Kim Manalo's home, and she caught it on her home surveillance video. She too decided to share the generosity of this anonymous child instead of sharing the bad behavior of the culprit who emptied her bowl. 

Manalo told Fox News the incident restored her faith in humanity, and reassured her there is still good in the world. She adds, “It's just sad that we have to find it in children.”

Barber who gives free haircuts gets own barber shop - for free!

About a year ago, 29-year-old Brennon Jones started giving free haircuts to Philadelphia's homeless people. 'Haircuts 4 the Homeless' is a mission from Jones' heart. Now over one thousand haircuts in, people have taken notice.

One of them, a fellow barber named Sean Johnson, was in the process of relocating his own shop. He was touched by Jones' kindness and decided to extend his own kindness in return. He invited Jones to come and see his old fully equipped barber shop, and then asked him, "How do you like it?" Jones answered that he liked it just fine, so Johnson tossed him the keys. "It's yours," Johnson told him. 

So now Brennon Jones has his own barber shop, given to him lock, stock, and barrel through the kindness of a stranger. Set to open in November, the new shop will have days set aside to serve the homeless. Jones is amazed at the timing of the gift, as he didn't know how he'd continue to give curb side haircuts through the winter. 

"I just continue to rely on my faith," Jones said. "God brought me this far I know he's not gonna leave me now." 

Soldier deployed, students finish painting his house

William Cookson of Salina, Kansas was partway through painting his house when he got the call. His Army National Guard unit was being deployed to Kuwait. 

A branch of the Salina Chamber of Commerce, the Military Affairs Council, got wind of this. They contacted an instructor at Salina Area Technical College with an idea. The instructor liked the idea and put out a question to his student body - anybody want to finish painting a deployed soldier's house? All 40 students in the Diesel Technology program said "Yes!"

So last week they got started. They power-washed, cleaned the gutters, scraped and primed. And they painted. 

Cookson's wife Skyped the event to William in Kuwait. The couple is overwhelmed by the generous gift of time and effort given to them by strangers. 

Kindergartner empties piggy bank to buy milk for classmates

Five-year-old Sunshine Oelfke of Michigan was emptying her piggy bank onto the floor when her grandmother, Jackie walked in. Jackie knew Sunshine was saving up her money (for a snowmobile!) so she asked why she was taking money out now. Sunshine said, “I’m going to take it for milk money for my friend Layla. She doesn’t get milk — her mom doesn’t have milk money and I do."

Jackie was touched by Sunshine's kindness and decided to investigate. She learned that Layla is one of about 10 students in Sunshine's Kindergarten class who cannot afford the $0.45 carton of milk cartons at snack time. And the school cannot provide them for free - if each child is that one class were to get just one carton of milk per day, the total cost would be about $180 per month.

Jackie set up a GoFundMe account, hoping to raise the money needed to pay for milk for the whole school year. To date, over $6000 has been raised, exceeding their goal. 

All because of a child's kind heart.

He makes kids' prosthetic arms for free - in his shed

Born without a left hand, Stephen Davies never found arm prosthetics especially helpful. In fact, he disliked both the functional design and the aesthetic of the arms he'd tried, calling one such device 'medieval torture.'




Enter Enabling the Future, a "global network of passionate volunteers using 3D printing to give the world a helping hand." Through that organization, volunteer Drew Murray created a hand for Steve using a 3D printer. Steve was delighted with the outcome.

So delighted in fact that he and Drew teamed up as Team UnLimbited. They do their own research and development, and then publicly share their discoveries and limb designs so people anywhere can reap the benefit. They have received thank yous and photos from amputees around the world, beaming about their newfound function with these inexpensive prosthetics.
The stories of children with missing limbs are especially close to Steve's heart. He remembers what it was like and does what he can to make a difference.

So now Steve has a backyard shed which houses his creation lab. In it, he uses a 3D printer to custom-make an arm for a specific child, using the child's choice of templates and colors. He has made Spider Man, Iron Man, Harry Potter, Lego, and a number of other designs, each created for a nominal cost of about 25 pounds (British.)

Even at that low price, the family is not charged for the arm. Team UnLimbited receives donations to offset the cost of materials; Steve donates his time and effort in exchange for the smiles.

Anonymous donor supplies an entire primary school with back-to-school items

A California woman has donated school supplies for all 200+ students at an elementary school in central Texas.

Kendra Lorenz, a first-grade teacher at Rosebud Primary School was initially contacted by the anonymous woman last year. That's when, through an organization called Donors Choose, the donor bought school supplies for Lorenz' class. Lorenz was delighted to learn that this year, the same donor wanted to donate supplies for the school's entire student body. She told reporters, "Our families struggle. That's the nature of the beast around here. You can't put into words how much that support means."

Donors Choose connects potential donors with public school projects of their choice. Teachers in high-poverty public schools post details about a class project they'd
undertake - if only they had the supplies. Donors scroll through the list of projects ranging from literature to robotics, from health to music and get more information about the needs and costs involved. Then they pledge financial support at any level for projects which tug at their heart.

The result is more engaging lessons for students. Ultimately, a better educated student creates a better society for us all.

What to do when you're 94 and lonely? Build a pool

Keith Davison and his wife Evy were married for 66 years. When Evy died from cancer last year, 94-year-old Davison was understandably overwhelmed by grief and loneliness. A retired judge living in Morris, Minnesota, Davison didn't want to dwell in that sad place, isolated and alone. He decided to do something.

His 'something' took the form of an in-ground swimming pool, 32 ft long and 9 ft deep, which he built in his own backyard. When he opened the pool to the neighborhood kids in July, kids came in droves. "I knew they'd come," Davison told reporters. "Now I'm not sitting by myself staring at the walls."

One mother whose children often enjoy the pool told reporters, "It's him spreading joy throughout the neighborhood." To Davison, she said, "You kind of adopted this whole neighborhood of kids. These are your grandkids."

A winning situation all the way around.

Seamstress rescues bridal gowns, alters them for free

In mid-June, corporate owners of Alfred Angelo Bridal, a nationwide chain of bridal stores, declared bankruptcy. Their stores were shuttered, leaving untold numbers of brides in limbo about the fate of their dresses.

On the last day at the Oklahoma City store, seamstress Rose Ellis grabbed every paid-for dress she could find and brought them home, 60 in all, plus veils, belts, and other accessories. She then contacted each bride-to-be individually and, without asking for personal payment, finished alterations and fittings out of her own home. "Even though I'm not getting paid for it, my conscience wouldn't let me go without having completed the work as promised,” Ellis said.

The response to Ellis' generosity has been more generosity. One appreciative bride started a GoFundMe page to cover Ellis' expenses, which met its goal (and then some) in just a few days. A local Holiday Inn Express offered Ellis a conference room to work out of, and has even offered the brides a free night in the bridal suite. 

He's going home, courtesy of kind co-workers

In 2012, Samuel Nzube left his home in Nigeria  to study finance and economics at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. In addition to his studies, he's been working part-time at the local Little Caesar's pizza. Money and time are both tight, so he hasn't been home to see his family in five years.

Enter his Little Caesar's co-workers. For seven months, the staff secretly pooled their delivery tip money. They saved up enough to purchase Samuel's airfare home. When presented with the gift, Samuel was speechless, overwhelmed by their kindness.

Samuel was quick to thank his co-workers publicly. He added that their boss supported the idea, and offered to pay for any shortfall himself.

Now he'll head home to visit loved ones and enjoy his mom's home-cooking, courtesy of generous friends in the US.

14-year-old has raised money for 400 wheelchairs, passes torch to younger sister

When Zach Francom was 6 years old, an organization called LDS Philanthropies challenged each class in his school to raise enough money to buy a wheelchair. The chair would then be donated to someone who needed it but didn't have the funds.

Zach wanted to participate in a big way. With his parents' help and approval, he set up a cookie and lemonade stand in front of their home. Promptly dubbed "Zach's Shack," he sold out of his stock in a few hours.

Since then, Zach's Shack has been open for 2 days during his spring break each year. In its 8 years of operation, Zach's Shack has raised about $85,000 which purchased almost 400 wheelchairs for worldwide distribution.

This year, Zach's 6-year-old sister Helen asked to get involved. "Helen's Hut" appeared alongside Zach's Shack this month. Helen is every bit as enthusiastic as Zach was, and she expects to keep up this generous family legacy. Zach will now move on to other ventures, confident that his works have borne good fruit and that he leaves his kindness project in good hands.

Waitress gets a huge tip and a life-changing offer

Cayla Chandara moved from Santa Rosa to Hawaii to attend college. Between the high cost of living there and her school loans, she was soon financially overwhelmed. She quit school and started working two waitress jobs in Honolulu to pay down those loans.

Last week, she waited on a tourist couple from Australia . She chatted with them, learning a bit about them. In turn, they learned a bit about her, including her dream of paying down loans and finishing college. The couple left her a $400 tip.

Cayla was stunned. At the end of her shift, she delivered some flowers and a thank you note to the couple at their hotel (thankfully, they'd mentioned where they were staying!)

The next day, the generous couple returned to the restaurant and spoke with Cayla. They offered to pay $10,000 of her debt so she could return to college. Their only condition - they wish to remain anonymous. 

An overjoyed, overwhelmed Cayla accepted the offer with an open heart. She promised the couple that she will be the best person she can be, and will return to college this fall to continue her studies.