We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about the kindest thing anyone has ever done for them. Here are some of their loveliest responses…
1. "My wife and I have been going through a rough financial time for the last year or so. Our 10-year anniversary is coming up. Since we took our four-month-old on our honeymoon, I've always wanted to do something special for our 10th, but the money just won't be there. I recently left a job I'd been at for 11 years for better prospects. As a going away gift my co-workers raised almost $300 so my wife and I could have a nice anniversary. That is probably the kindest, most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me." — Josh Goodpaster, via Facebook
2. "My dad passed away during my freshman year of high school. I felt so alone. One day, not too long after I had returned to school, a girl I had never talked to before handed me a note at lunch. It said that she had lost her dad too, so she knew how I felt. She included her number in case I ever wanted to talk. I was blown away that a stranger would do that for me. Four years later, we’re best friends. I still have her note." — saraha45f026606
3. "I got married when I was really young and after a few years it all started to fall apart. I wanted to leave him, but had no idea what I was going to do. A family who I had nannied for in the past knew I was struggling and insisted that I stay with them. After a few weeks, they told me that I made their family feel complete and they invited me to stay for as long as I wanted. I lived there for three years until I moved to another city to go back to school. Having a place that felt like home when everything else in my life felt unfamiliar changed me. It was the kindest, most loving thing anyone had ever done for me, and I will always consider them part of my family." — aimeec4d2fa5609
5. "In the week I was due to graduate from my Master's degree, my mom told me that I needed to find a new place to live for my daughter and me because she was moving in with her new boyfriend. I was distraught. I wasn’t working, I didn’t have much money saved, and I didn’t know what to do. I don’t have any family except for my mom. But then my best friend told me I could come live with her, rent free, until I got back on my feet. For five months she would lend me her car to go to interviews and give me basically whatever I needed. I am eternally grateful for what she did for me." — tonit417591ca8
6. "Getting married to my husband was wonderful, but it was also terrifying because he was in the army. After our wedding, I left my family, friends, and job to be with him at his next post on the other side of the country. I’d never moved before, I didn’t know anyone nearby, and I had no experience of army life. A month into our marriage, I started to break down. One day I got a call from my husband's best man’s mother. I hardly knew her, but she had thought of me and tracked my number down. We spent hours talking and she told me that she had gone through the exact same thing when she got married and remembered how much it sucked. It may not seem like much, but the fact that she hardly knew me and went out of her way to help me speaks volumes about how kind she is." — penelopes2
7. "I was flying from Chicago to Virginia with a 10-month-old infant. A soldier who was sitting behind me made faces every time my son would get fussy to make him laugh. When the airport was fogged in and we had to land in a different state, he helped me handle my luggage, stroller, and diaper bag while trying to line up a taxi so I could find baby food and the hotel voucher. I never got his name, but his help kept me from collapsing in frustrated tears and he was the one bright spot of the worst flight of my life." — a4e923f2c7
9. "A couple of years ago, I left my abusive husband. My son and I were living in a shelter for domestic violence survivors while the divorce was going on. Needless to say, we did not have much besides the clothes on our backs. The shelter was nice, but the individual rooms didn't have televisions. One of the residents went to the local thrift store and purchased a small television, a DVD player, and an antenna for my son and me. It wasn’t much, but it brought tears to my eyes that someone who was in as bad a situation as we were could have been so kind. She moved out of the shelter the next day so I was never able to repay her kindness directly, but when I left the shelter I passed that TV and DVD player onto the next person." — l4050fbe9d
10. "Three years ago, I was in the middle of my final year of grad school. I was newly married, I had a toddler, and my husband and I were struggling financially. One morning, I woke up and we literally had $8.45 in our bank account. The drive to campus was 30 minutes away and my gas tank was empty. I thought to myself, 'I can use this last $8 to put gas in my tank to make it to class today or I can buy food for my kid.' I was so exhausted, both mentally and emotionally, so I decided to drop out of grad school so I could work full time. I contacted a faculty member to inform them of my decision. But they wouldn’t let me go that easy. Two days later, the chair of the department called me into his office and asked me to explain my financial situation. He looked me in the eye and said, 'You need to finish. Your family will benefit from you finishing.' Then he and another faculty member wrote me a personal check for $2,000. It covered my rent and then some for 3-4 months. I graduated a few months later. No one except for a few family members know about what they did. I owe my graduation to them." — aubriem2
11. "I have Asperger's, a form of autism, and whilst I can keep my meltdowns under control most of the time, sometimes I can't. I was at a small train station café in the middle of one and no one did anything. Then one lady came up to me, gave me some tissues, and talked to me until I calmed down. She explained she had an autistic son, so she understood what it was like. She left me a train ticket that said, 'Be kind to yourself.'" — Charlotte Badiali, via Facebook
13. "Last summer, I was living alone. I was in summer classes and had an awful day, so I decided to go see the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. I was very nervous about seeing a movie alone, so I sat near the top in the middle of the row. I was watching the adverts when suddenly this kid plops down next me and says, 'Hi, are you watching this alone? No one should have to watch the turtles alone.' And turns back to the screen like it was no big deal. His mom sat next to him and explained to me that he saw me sitting alone and absolutely had to sit with me. Throughout the rest of the movie, he would quietly ask questions about the characters. I won’t lie, I started tearing up. It was just so sweet, especially awesome after the horrible day I'd had!" — ashtonmichellel
14. "I was waiting to take a flight back home after visiting my boyfriend (now husband), who lived across the country. I was talking to a stranger and told her that I was visiting my boyfriend, and sometimes having to wait between visits because of the expense was tough. She was a business executive and offered up her mileage points so I could see him the next time. She asked for my email, followed through, and wouldn’t even let me pay the processing fees. I’ll never forget it." — l42499a3b0
15. "When I was in rehab after being paralyzed around Christmas, my mom and I decided we weren't going to celebrate that year. On Christmas Eve, she drove to see my brother and I was left to my own devices. I went to sleep that night feeling pretty depressed, listening to everyone else celebrating Christmas. The next morning when I woke up, my room was sparkling with lights and there were snowflakes hanging from the ceiling and a Christmas tree in the corner with presents underneath it. There was even a stocking hanging from my IV pole. Then all the nurses and aides burst into the room singing 'Merry Christmas'. It really was." — Kelby Grimm, via Facebook
17. "Two weeks before I turned 15, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her co-workers — an office of about 25 people — donated almost $3,000 of their own money to our family. One man even auctioned off a painting he'd done for $400 and gave it to us. Their money helped pay our rent and keep the fridge stocked. We didn't even have to ask, or mention it at all. They just knew." — Claire Sarson, via Facebook
18. "The night before my wedding, we went to pick up my husband's tux and tie from the rental shop. When we got there, the tie was the wrong color and design and the sales clerk told us they didn't have the one we ordered. We started looking at the alternatives and one matched, but was too expensive. A couple who were there for their daughter's wedding overheard our conversation and offered to pay. After we had said that he didn't need to do that and we'd go look somewhere else, he just said, 'This is the last thing you should worry about the night before your wedding.' I will honestly never be able to convey the gratitude towards him for making that day a little less stressful." — Kaitlyn Turner, via Facebook
19. "My mom and I were at lunch and I sensed she was about to tell me bad news. After we placed our orders she told me her chemo treatment wasn’t working and that she had three new tumors. She and I cried throughout our meal. Two servers checked on us while we ate to make sure if we were OK. When we asked for our check our server told us the manager took care of our meals and told us that whatever we were going through will turn out OK. I hope he’s right." — megang499b8f1e7
21. "When I was 18, my parents moved to a different state because my step-dad had to move back home to care for his sick mother. My best friend and I moved in together, and although I talked to them frequently, I missed my parents. After some time passed, my best friend told me she was falling in love with me. Two months later, I told her I was falling in love with her too. By that point, she told me she was seeing someone new. They spent so much time together that I hardly saw my best friend. It upset me because I thought I had missed my chance to be with her, and I was losing her as a friend too. Then, on my 21st birthday, she threw me a surprise party. I loved her for that. Then she brought out my parents. I loved her even more for that. It turns out that she wasn't spending all her time with another guy. She had been breaking her back to work another job just so that she could afford to bring my parents back for a visit. I cried and I asked her out to dinner. Seven years later, we’re married with a 5-month-old son." — maxw4a62fdab5
22. "I was walking home alone one night and a man, probably around 6’5”, pulled me aside and demanded I had over my purse. When I refused to give it to him, he pulled a gun on me, pressed it to my forehead, and demanded I hand over my things. I was shaking. I tried to explain that I didn’t have anything on me and he threatened to shoot me unless I gave him something. I was pleading and crying when, all of a sudden, another man ran over and tried to shove my attacker away. The man who attacked me shot the gun and then turned, bolting down the street. The other man took a shot to the leg to save me. A total stranger took a bullet for me. I called 911 and went with the man to the hospital. While he was recovering, I continued to visit him and we got to know each other. We’ve now been dating for 20 months, 24 months after the incident happened." — cyrenar
Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.