Man pays for the person behind him at drive-through, prevents suicide

Ontario's Pickering News has the same policy as many newspapers - they do not publish letters anonymously. Despite that policy, they ran this editorial in early November about an anonymous letter they received: 

The letter writer wrote about being in a bad place in July of this year, so bad in fact that they (I don’t know whether the author was a woman or man) intended to take their life. July 18 was going to be their last day.“I had planned to end it all at home in my own little ritual and explain my thoughts in a note for anyone who cares,” they wrote.
Prior to this final act, however, a trip to Tim Hortons was in order for a coffee and a muffin. While in the drive-thru at Kingston and Glendale in Pickering the lady at the window told them, “The nice man already paid for it and he said to have a great day.” She was referring to the man in the SUV in front of them.
“I wondered why someone would buy coffee for a stranger for no reason. Why me? Why today? If I was a religious sort I would take this as a sign. This random act of kindness was directed at me on this day for a purpose.”
Back at home, they began to sob uncontrollably.
“I decided at that moment to change my plans for the day and do something nice for someone. I ended up helping a neighbour take groceries out of her car and into the house.”
They explained every day since she has looked for ways to make someone’s life a little better, and, as a result, it has “enriched my life in more ways than I could’ve imagined.”A coffee and muffin saved a life that day, and although I don’t know who the person was who sent me that letter, I feel better for telling the story.
Random acts of kindness do so much more than you think.
“To the nice man in the SUV … thank you from the bottom of my heart, and know your kind gesture has truly saved a life,” they said. “On July 18, 2017, I not only had a great day, I had the greatest day!”

When that column appeared in the paper, Glen Oliver's wife pointed it out to him. She knew of his long-standing habit of paying for the person behind him at the drive-through, usually at that very same Tim Horton's. He later told reporters, “I was blown away, blown away — couldn’t believe it...You know for such a small thing, just a series of events that were set off from that point on … 
"It's exponential now, you know? Like such a small, insignificant thing to most people just turned out to be … the planets aligned for somebody."

When he thinks no one is looking, young man cleans up after vandals

“The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” ― John Wooden

That quote came to mind when I read this story. 

Eimhin Keenan was out for a run in Ardee, County Louth, Ireland, early Monday morning. As he passed some storefronts, he came upon some plants which had been pulled from their pots and strewn along the sidewalk and roadway. Surveillance cameras show him jogging past the damage, then turning back and sticking the plants back in their pots.  

When store owner Thomas Kearney of Kearney Interiors viewed the surveillance footage, he saw the original vandalism occur. Then an hour further into the tape, he spotted the unnamed Good Samaritan cleaning up the debris. He posted the security footage on his store's Facebook page in hopes of identifying the young man so he could be thanked and rewarded. The video went viral.

Friends and family identified Keenan, who was shocked to receive accolades for his small kindness. "I thought nothing of it," he said. 

Store owner Kearney says, "The positive moment beat the vandals' negative moment by a country mile."

Random act of kindness leads a homeless man back to his family

A woman known only as Bev noticed a homeless man sleeping at a bus stop in Chadderton, England. She went into the nearby Baguettes of Broadway and handed the owner, Ciaran Egan, £15 for breakfast and hot drinks for the man for a week. When she left, Egan told his employees of this random kindness. All were touched.

Egan posted the story on his shop's Facebook page, and the post was shared over 12,000 times. People who read the story were motivated to kindness themselves. Donated tents, clothing, and food were offered to community aid agencies, and one person set up a crowd funding page to help get this particular homeless man back on his feet.

During a follow-up conversation with Bev, she realized she actually knew the homeless man - he was the brother of a former co-worker. She remembered the family had moved some distance away, and she tracked them down. Within a day, the man was reunited with his family. He now has a roof over his head and meals on the table, all thanks to Bev and her kind heart.

And the £15 she offered for his week's food? It has been donated to a local non-profit which aids the homeless.

This $8 kindness reaped a $10,000 harvest

The man in front of Tracy Warshal at Aldi's had forgotten his wallet. He had a small order, just some fruit, so Tracy paid for it and wished him a Merry Christmas. It was a small gesture of kindness for Tracy, and she promptly forgot about it.

A couple weeks later, Tracy was contacted by administrators at her place of employment, Piedmont Cancer Network. An anonymous donor had gifted the foundation $10,000 in her name. Apparently, the beneficiary of Tracy's small kindness noticed her company T-shirt with her first name printed near the logo.

Now, those receiving cancer care at Piedmont will reap the benefits of Tracy's small seed of generosity.