The Kindness of Strangers

What is a good deed?


Well, according to answers.com:

‘Good deeds are spontaneous acts of kindness, accommodation, generosity, benevolence, charity, assistance, help, sympathy or aid, all performed with the simple intention of being helpful and no expectation for compensation of any kind.’

In light of this, this tells me that a good deed is a selfless act. An act which is from the heart,that is genuine and has no ulterior motive. 


Some people call them random acts of kindness. They can happen between friends, family and even complete strangers. 


I like to think that I’m a good person. I like to help people however I can and I never expect anything in return. I like to think that I’m a positive person. To me the glass is always half full as the saying goes!


I’ve carried out a few random acts of kindness in my life. Some may think of them as insignificant, others may think they’re great, but to me regardless of how big or small an act, it’s the thought that counts. 
I remember being around 17 years old and I was shopping in my local town center. I’d gone into the subway to use the toilet and there was a homeless women in there. She was washing her face, hands, hair and even her clothes in the sink.  


I talked to her briefly and gave her a hair band, brush and small can of deodorant from my handbag. She was very thankful and wanted to give me something in return, but I declined. This woman had nothing and yet she still wanted to give me something for helping her. How incredible is that?!


I’m not sure if this one really counts as a random act of kindness, but I like to think it does. Two men were in front of me at a pay machine in a car park. They were wearing suits and talking a language I’d never heard before. 


They were clearly struggling with how to use the machine and even more so they were struggling to count the money in their hands. The machine displayed a price of around £18.


I handed them my discount card, which meant they only paid £4 for the car park and I also helped them to count the £4 out and showed them how to use the machine. 


I also remember another occasion when I was on my lunch break and I walked past a homeless man. He was sitting on a step in the rain. 


In my hand was a hot cup of tea. I turned around and gave it to him. He smiled at me and said thank you. His hands shivered as he took the cup of tea from me.


Most recently, last week in fact, I was on my way into work. It was raining and again there was a homeless man sitting on the floor. I didn’t have any food or drink on me that I give him though. All I had was a shiny 50 pence coin in my pocket. 


50p that would buy me a cup of a tea when I got to work. A cup of tea to warm and wake me up. It may not seem like much, but I gave up that 50p and handed it to the man sat before me. 


These acts may seem small, but it can change someones day for the better. 


You may be wondering why I’m telling you all this, well on 16th October 2014, the Anthony Nolan charity launched their new online campaign with the theme ‘Kindness of Stranger’. 


In the video above you’ll see several people sharing their personal experiences of situations where they have received an act of goodwill or kindness from a stranger, and when they have helped someone in the past. 


Anthony Nolan was born in 1971 with a rare condition called Wiskitt-Aldrich syndrome. The only cure was a bone marrow transplant. None of his family were a match, and a transplant using bone marrow from an unrelated donor had never succeeded. There was no system to find matching unrelated donors, either. 


Anthony Nolan’s mother, Shirley, had an idea after hearing about a little boy called Simon Bostic who had the first successful unrelated donor transplant. She started a bone marrow register to connect unrelated donors with people like her son, who desperately needed a transplant.


Sadly Anthony died age 8, but he left behind him a fantastic legacy in this charity.


Their latest campaign is all about the ‘Kindest of Stranger’. 


In a bid to raise awareness of the charity and contribute to the fight against blood cancer, Anthony Nolan and I would love to hear your experiences. Maybe someone has done a good deed for you or you have done a good deed for someone. Either way I’d love to hear your story. 


What’s the kindest thing you’ve ever done for a stranger? What’s the kindest thing someone has ever done for you?