I talk a lot on this blog about the frustrations of dealing with people with a massive case of Dunning-Krueger effect. I whine about government doing stupid things and not doing smart things.
Today, I want to take a minute and just talk about some random acts of kindness. These are events done by people with no motivation (religious or secular) other than helping people and trying to make people feel good. This is a good thing to do and you never know when something as simple as buying a random stranger a beer or giving a 100% tip or even locking someone’s car doors can be just what someone needed.
Chris Rosati told students at his alma matter that he wanted to steal a Krispy Creme truck and drive around giving away donuts to make people happy. Chris has lived for the last three years with Lou Gehrig’s Disease and taken up trying to accomplish his dreams, no matter how crazy.
He setup a facebook page about his dream, got a bunch of likes and the Krispy Creme corporate office heard about it… and let him borrow their refurbished 1960 bus and gave him 1000 donuts to give away. He gave a bunch to the local hospitals and cancer center, then drove to his old high school and gave every student a donut. He also gave out a a few boxes for the students to take into town and give away.
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The Chive Charities is a program run by The Chive.
theCHIVE community has become famous as “easily the most generous community on the web today.” Our flash charity campaigns have garnered national recognition time and time again. Whether it’s purchasing a safe room for a little girl with SMS or helping a soldier who lost all his limbs serving in Afghanistan build his dream log cabin, the Chivers have always stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park.
Read more at http://chivecharities.org/about#ixM4QeMQJozUkeUG.99
Melissa Smith is a young woman who, in her short 28 years, has beaten Hodgkins Lymphoma twice. She spent a year or so free from disease, but then was diagnosed with transverse myelitis. In a few months, she was paralyzed from the waist down. She hasn’t given up on walking again. Her third story apartment has no handicap facilities and there’s not even an elevator.
Chive Charities stepped in and planned to donate $50,000 for her to move into a single story home with some facilities for her to just live. Then they put the call out to the Chive community. And boy did they step up. The final total that was collected for Melissa was well over $450,000 to build her a handicap accessible home.
You can read more about her story and see the pictures here.
Melissa wanted to pay it forward. She told the Chive team about a little girl named Addyson. This little girl was born with spinal bifida. She had been paralyzed since she was born.
[The] biggest concern is the fluid buildup in her brain. It’s known to cause cognitive delays in the most severe cases. Although it has caused eating and drinking problems – Addy chokes on her food a lot – her cognitive development is stunning.
Addy was speaking in full sentences by the time she was one. Now at 2 years old she focuses on using proper grammar when she talks. Addy has an accelerated mental capacity. She’s a brilliant child.
All her parents wanted was $2,000 so Addy could have a special chair that Addy could move around and play in. The Chive community responded again raising over $60,000 so this little girl can get the chair and maybe, just maybe, be able to walk on her own someday.
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These are very touching stories and there are thousands more, just like them, every single day. People do things because it helps others. Because it makes everyone feel better. Or just because it’s the right thing to do.
These kinds of stories give me some hope for our future. They also show the depths and the power that humans are capable of. Maybe we, as a species, can make this a better world.
