Need a Smile? These Acts of Kindness Are Keeping Spirits Up During Coronavirus Chaos
As we all deal with feelings of uncertainty, loneliness, sadness, and anxiety (and so many other emotions!) as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, we want to take some time to focus on the positive.
So we asked our Hip2Save Facebook Group to share the acts of kindness that they’ve witnessed recently in their communities – and below are some of their responses. ❤️
Need a smile? Read these beautiful stories.
This is the driveway of one of the houses my hubby picks up garbage for. How sweet that this family is thinking of him and his safety at this time. He picks up hundreds of houses per day five days a week so there is a huge risk of him being infected. Luckily, he is healthy and I honestly think 7 years of picking up garbage has strengthened his immune system. Unfortunately, my immune system is not so strong and he is bringing these germs home to me. I see so many posts thanking first responders and healthcare workers for their service during this crazy time but this is the first I’ve seen of anyone acknowledging the risk that our sanitation workers are taking every day. And it’s not just them that are taking the risk, it’s their families that they go home to after work each day. No matter how bad this thing gets, they will have to continue to work. So smile and wave to your garbage men, thank them, give them a thumbs up, just a little something to show them that they are not going unnoticed during this time. 💙
My husband is a truck driver and has been dealing with a lot due to the restrictions set in place in Illinois. Restaurants are closed, drive-thru only options (a semi can’t go through), businesses won’t let anyone use their washrooms anymore due to fear of getting sick, etc. So makes it harder doing this job for 12-14hrs a day not having access to pretty basic things. Well, today a woman pulled up next to his truck and asked him if he wanted her to drive him through the drive-thru so he’s able to get lunch, or if he needed anything she could help with. 🥺😊 I wish I knew her name so I could thank her, that was a heartfelt act of kindness and I hope God blesses her for being so caring of others. 💖
Someone in a group shared how their friend’s son, whom I believe is autistic, is very picky about foods and pretty much eats Spaghetti-O’s and the mom couldn’t find any. By the end of the day the poster updated stating that, through people volunteering to share, they had secured 15 cans and would be dropping them off at the mom’s house last night.
Our neighborhood little library has been emptied and converted to a blessing box. There is a list of available books on their Facebook page and if someone wants a book, they sanitize it and the kids deliver it on bikes.
An elderly woman in the store today gave a young man her loaf of bread. She didn’t know it at the time but that young man was shopping for his grandmother. She told the young man she really didn’t need it. She also commented that she hadn’t baked bread in years but now she could dust off her baking skills. It was a really sweet moment to witness.
My Dad is a veteran with a terminal illness caused by agent orange. He put a green light in front of his house to represent he’s a veteran. A neighbor up the road recognized it and came to see if he’s doing okay and told him he would go to the store for my dad if he needs anything at all. 💚
I’m a lunch lady. We went into school today and packed up lunches and breakfasts to hand out at the local schools “drive-thru style” to our kids in the community and we will be doing that indefinitely until we go back to school. ❤️
We had an individual in our community that opened up their deep freezer meat supply on the local Facebook page to anyone who needed it at no cost. Such a gracious gesture and I still tear up thinking about it.
Our local schools partnered with caring cupboard, and yesterday handed out meals for families with school-aged kids. I sent my kids and expected them to come back with a full tummy which would mean one less meal to feed them. Instead, the superintendent of our district followed them home and blessed our family with over a week’s worth of groceries!! Name brand snacks, milk, meat, frozen pizzas, Uncrustables, juice, and fresh fruit! We are a family of 10 and while we are blessed to not need government assistance at this time, having them all home (2 teenage boys with hollow legs among them!) put an incredible strain on our finances. I’m still in awe 24 hours later and so very grateful!!
Our dear friend stopped by to visit because he knew my baby is giving me trouble sleeping. He brought diapers, bread, McDonald’s breakfast, and a conversation. He just showed up. To add/edit He didn’t come inside, we kept to social distancing and spoke in the driveway.
We use Amazon Subscribe and Save. They ran out of diapers, leaving us out of diapers too. My hubby was not able to find them, so we put an SOS out on Facebook. Within two hours I had a case on my front porch. 🙌🏻 I love how the community is coming together to help each other.
Our neighbor is outside very early evening with a table of assorted bread, pies, cookies, and other bakery stuff that Publix donated to their church and they have a free sign for anyone passing by that might need these things. This is in front of her house that she brought from her church. Publix, where shopping is a pleasure.
Our city has started something called Pandemic Pals. Although I am not thrilled at the name, what they’re doing is awesome. They are pairing a healthy younger person with an elder to check-in on, run errands, etc.
I was 4th in line at our local Dollar General. A young man had a buggy full of legit food items. His bill was $106 and he had a $100 bill. He said, oh, let me put something back. The lady behind him used her debit card to pay the rest.
This morning I read on our Community Page an elderly lady had made a partial payment on her water bill and was worried about being shut off. A gentleman offered to go make a payment today on her bill to catch her up to date. Neighbors helping neighbors is how we will get through this.
Complete strangers are gathering food and leaving it on elderly and immune-compromised people’s doorsteps that can not afford to stock up on groceries due to money and due to their high risk. Complete strangers. It’s a beautiful thing.
I was at the grocery store today and expected chaos. Instead, the feeling was overall calm. I witnessed a customer asking an employee if they were going to restock TP anytime soon. The employee said I’m afraid not, and the customer calmly thanked her and said how he appreciated her hard work during this time. No angry words or blame where it shouldn’t be. It was nice to see. ❤️
Have you witnessed an act of kindness? Please share it below!
A dear friend had green donuts delivered to the house on St. Patrick’s day. Simple but he absolutely made our day.
How sweet! Thanks for taking the time to share with us, Ang!
Great things are happening. I noticed bath and body works has some hand sanitizers in stock. I ordered a pack of each available scent and will hand them out to my staff. We work in a library so germs abound.
Such a sweet idea, Lindak! Thanks for commenting!
Nice! Our library has been closed since last Saturday!
Lindak, what time was this online? I am on the west coast so missed it. Was hand sanitizer pump also available? Thanks
I love this post!! It’s awesome to see all the amazing things happening. It’s simple gestures that can make someone’s day! Our niece had a baby this week, so we just checked to see what she needed from the store before dropping off the baby gift (outside the front door) yesterday.
Aww, How sweet! Congratulations to you and your Niece! 🥰
Thank you for this! I know how hard employees are working and I will be extra sure to thank them in person. Life is so stressful for everyone right now. I so appreciate all of you at h2s!!!!
You’re SO very welcome! We truly appreciate all of you too, Jen S! 🤗💕 Thanks for the sweet comment.
I can’t stop my tears while reading these! So warm~~
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Love this!! Could we see maybe one or a few of these each day posted on here? We need this! Thanks Collin and Company!
You’re welcome, Tracey! Thank you so much for the request! That’s a lovely idea! I’ll pass this along to the team for sure!
I work in healthcare so I am forced to go out everyday to work. My mantra to all the patients is to say “Stay safe and be healthy!
Sonia, Thank you for all you are doing. Stay Strong and Healthy Too 💪💕
Thanks so much for the work that you do, Sonia! 💕
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Sonia!
We just dropped off gift bags to local friends filled with stuff I got discounted because of this site. Everyone LOVED it! The parents were thankful to have something new after this long week and it was fun to bring others joy while not breaking the bank! Thanks hip!
That’s wonderful! ❤️ You’re SO very welcome, Klp!
While shopping late Saturday night with my daughter, an elderly woman approached us. She handed us a pack of Charmin and whispered, “they just put this out.” She had another pack in her cart, for her neighbor. No hoarding on her part, just sharing.
Aww, thanks for sharing this experience with us, Sheila! 🤗💖
I volunteer at an animal shelter and right now people aren’t coming in to adopt due to the current crisis yet there are still animals coming in and we’re heading into kitten season. Plus, if staff members get sick they will be short staffed. Therefore, they’ve asked for emergency fosters and many people stuck teleworking have opened up their homes to cute coworkers! Please consider seeing if your local shelters or rescues need help. Ours is also accepting donations via Amazon for their food bank for pets bc right now there are so many people financially affected by the crisis.
I work in a field where I am talking to doctor offices all day long. I always make sure to say to them at the end of the conversation “be safe and stay healthy”. We appreciate you all. Thank you for being the front line.
I love these type of stories. How precious. I’m at home in a self quarantine from work (day 2) and just trying to stay busy. It’s just me & my 2 doggos so reading stuff like this really makes me happy. Thanks!
You are so welcome! Give your pups hugs and kisses from the Hip Team!
Wow…not happening here at all. Even posted on the old school Craigslist, zero responses. I do recall a time during the recession days where everyone would help each other, but maybe due to the cause of this(social distancing implemented)…. Hoping for more places to reach out Nationwide and help the lower income and fixed income through this trying time.
Me and my Kleenex are reading these and many more amazing acts of kindness. Does it make up for someone buying up sanitizer and selling it for $50 a bottle? Unfortunately, scumbags come out of their caves every time there’s a crisis, but these stories are a big spirit lifter to the rest of us. Take care of yourselves.
#518rainbowhunt
So many incredible, uplifting rainbow images/stories being shared. What started as a local movement in upstate NY went global.