My hubby and I work on Habitat for Humanity homes and I usually supply the lunches for the workers.

My oldest daughter lived in a mobile home we bought for her. When she moved into her house, I gave the trailer to a young struggling mom for $1, telling her that it was a "pay it forward". She had never heard of the concept so I gave her a copy of the movie along with the title.

I always tip 20% to wait staff and my hair dresser. I make it a point to tell a supervisor when an employee has done a good job.

I love to make quilts for the NICU at the local hospital and sometimes when I deliver them they let me rock a little one.

When my DIL's mom died, I went to the local grocery store to have a deli tray, fruit tray and salads made up for the family so they would have something at the house when they got home from making preparations for the funeral. The Deli guy informed me that they like 24-48 hour notice but said he would see what he could do. That deli manager went out of his way to accommodate me and had it all ready in 2 hours. I made sure his manager knew what an amazing thing he had done for me.

Smiles and a "hello" don't cost anything. A "Thank you" is also priceless. Holding doors, reaching the top shelf for someone in the store, these are all random acts of kindness that everyone should practice. There could be so much less anger in this world. Just taking time to "smell the flowers" and sharing with a friend or stranger.

Especially quilters and crafters :thumbup:

What an inspirational and touching discussion!!

When a friend and I go to lunch somewhere, we like to ask for the check of someone, elderly or someone that looks like they could use help, and pay for their food as we leave. I have also helped when someone doesn't have enough money at the check stand. I buy gift cards from the fast food places and hand them to people pushing their belongings down the street. At least I know they will have a hot meal that night.

I was very impressed with the Lady that gave her favorite coat to a homeless person. I'm going to do that this winter.

Recently I have been having some work done around the house by a young man. As we talked, I learned he has 3 year old twins, and his wife is a stay at home mom because they only have one car and sitter fees would be more than they could afford. He mentioned he would like to take the kids to the zoo, as he remembered going with his parents when he was younger. We live very close to the Wild Animal Park here in Southern California, so I went online and bought him a year's membership that comes with free parking and some other perks. When he came back on Monday, he was smiling and said they had the best time. The kids just laughed and squealed (his words) when they walked through the "rain forest" entrance with the birds all chirping and flying around them. And of course the Meercats. It felt so good, and I know they will enjoy it for the whole year and it was something that he could not have bought for his family.

It is nice to know we all share the generosity of "paying it forward".

Well, On Jan1, My neighbor's driveway still wasn't plowed from the Northeast Blizzard on the day after Christmas --The person who normally plows the drive truck broke down. Her driveway is over 200 feet long. I thought she was staying with her daughter who lives next door. Daughter is out of town. Anyway she phoned me asking for help finding a person to plow the drive. I networked everyone I know and another neighbor down the road came to the rescue. She came over the next day to thank me for my help and left she came back 2 minutes later--Her van had two flat tires--So I chauffered her to the Nursing Home where her Hubby is currently and then we shopped all afternoon and had a good time. Today I cut and sewed three 96" leaders w/zippers for a longarm frame for a friend who can't sew a straight seam--now maybe I can get some of my tops quilted. The last three days have been very busy for me And I really feel good about all I have done. Anne

My husband meets friends at a local fast food place a couple times a wk,for coffee.Just before Christmas,one of them asked a worker for a refill & she brought him hot chocolate.When the asst mngr asked how everyone was, & was told about the mistake,he said "oh,yes....that's "----" & she can barely hear since her hearing aid was mangled by her dog.

It was a short,sad story.The woman is a good worker who never misses a day & works any overtime she can get,maybe 30yrs old,raising 2 kids & making $100 over the amount allowed to get any help.Living on what she makes & very hard of hearing without a hearing aid would be a hard row to hoe.
When DH told me,I said, we've found a way to pay it forward.I was also very hard of hearing & needed very $$$ hearing aids.After a cochlear implant, I no longer use them.I put one (nearly new)in the original box, along with the directions booklet & a couple pks of batteries.
DH told her what it was & why I'd had it.....she was so surprised,but the next time he was there, she came out & hugged him....with tears in her eyes,told him how great it works.A few days later she handed him a Christmas card addressed to both of us,with a sweet thank you note to me.

Aw, I love this thread! I dont have any extra money this year to donate anywhere, I was really sad about that. I usually do send some money to our animal shelter, and our cat one. I couldnt even do that this year. I did make the shelter a raffel quilt this summer, and started another.
I DO try to smile at customers and REALLY help them out....I will take them to an item. I did teach one lady how to quilt too.
Then a girl at work who just moved her wanted to learn to quilt.We make minimum wage, and she couldnt afford a machine, even a cheap one.
WELL< BF and I were returning movies one night, and sitting beside the trash was a sewing machine in a cabnit, a Singer from probaly the 70s? BF stopped to grab it. I cleaned it up, and it worked, so I gave it to the girl at work. SHE WAS THRILLED! Made me feel so good!

CarrieAnne..........you DID donate this year.....you give your smile to everyone and you gave your knowledge and time to teach someone to quilt. And I believe that sewing machine was there for you to find. What a nice surprise for your co-worker!!

If everyone "donated" a smile and common courtesies, this world would be (and is) a wonderful place!

That is such a wonderful story! You CHANGED that woman's life. So awesome.

Diane

[quote=dmackey]I especially appreciate those of you who are good to your waitresses. It is my job, and it is a tough one. I make $2.63 an hour plus tips. Too often I am treated as a slave, not as a server, and I'm appalled at how rude some can be to me. So I am very grateful to those of you who understand what we go through and are generous to us.

In my line of work, the dishwashers are my heros and I treat them that way too. Without them, NOTHING happens in the restaurants and I do my best to make them feel appreciated.

Happy New Year!

Diane [quote]

We always try to be good to our waitresses :-) I get DH to give an extra generous tip if it looks like a particularly quiet day with few customers.

Professionals also appreciate a kind word. We are lucky enough to have a wonderful primary care physician and I told him so the other day. You could tell that it meant a lot to him to hear that.

So what courtesies have you offered lately or what kind act did you practice?

Does not smacking someone on the back of the head with a 2x4 clue bat count as a good thing? ::plants tongue firmly in cheek::