An Experiment in Generosity
Sally Anderson had 500 dollars to give away. How and where to give it? As she writes, "My husband suggested Goodwill. He said, 'Why not give some money to a family? It should be easy.' So we stopped at Goodwill. I saw a young man buying T-shirts and said, 'I'm part of a generosity project. I'd like to give you $20.' He said, 'Wow, thanks, that's great! Are there more people like you out there?' I ... posted on Aug 09 2010, 5,431 reads

Bike Cops Plant Seeds of Kindness
Usually an encounter with the police is not cause for celebration. But a few bicycle cops in Minneapolis are turning that notion on its head, tending to local youth in underserved neighborhoods through bike education, giveaways such as helmets and even new bikes, and just providing a caring presence. The free bikes and helmets are just icebreakers that allow the officers to give children attention... posted on Aug 08 2010, 1,361 reads

A Course in Miracles
Arriving in a new city, I broke my leg shortly after starting graduate school. Feeling lonely and homesick, so many blessings I never expected came my way. Many small acts of kindness stayed with me. There were the bus shuttle drivers who gave me the luxury of being picked up from any place and made sure I got connections to wherever I was going. And the many people who held doors for me - small t... posted on Aug 05 2010, 4,161 reads

A Message in a Wallet
Many years ago, when I was working weekends to pay for extras my parents couldn't afford (school ring, class trip, etc.), I lost my wallet. A man called and asked me if I had lost it. I checked my purse and, to my horror, I had. He asked me to tell him how much money was in it. I told him. He then told me where to pick-up my wallet. As I pulled into his driveway, I noticed his handicapped van a... posted on Jul 24 2010, 3,791 reads

The Ripple Effect of Kindness
Being kind is nice. But why do it on a daily basis? Why do something for a total stranger when there seems to be nothing in it for you? One regular practitioner of small acts of kindness shares: "I had experienced a moment where I wanted to give out of habit; almost as if that was the only way I knew how to respond to the situation. For that moment, there was no difference between a stranger and a... posted on Jul 21 2010, 3,516 reads

Storytelling Unleashes its Power
"Everyone has a story to tell," says Stephanie Ursula Hodges, one half of PenTales, a New York City based storytelling initiative. In an age where SMS and the solitary nature of social networking are the standard, Hodges- together with childhood friend Saskia Miller- is hoping to integrate the art of storytelling back into people's lives, thereby fostering community and cultivating new storyteller... posted on Jul 19 2010, 3,287 reads

The Business of Giving
Billionaire Paul Allen has taken his friend Bill Gates up on his challenge to publicly pledge the majority of his wealth to philanthropy. In honor of the 20th anniversary of his Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, which has given 3,000 grants to various nonprofits, Allan plans to leave the majority of his $13 billion estate to philanthropy to continue the work of his foundation and fund scientific re... posted on Jul 18 2010, 1,429 reads

Kindness Goes Around, and Comes Around
It is so often true that "what goes around, comes around," and that life lessons often walk in through the most unexpected doors. On one hot summer day, a single mother and her son find themselves on a broken down bus. When their fellow elderly passengers grow unbearable hot and uncomfortable, the mother-son duo hand out all their food without a second thought, even though they have no money to sp... posted on Jul 10 2010, 8,684 reads

Soul Food: So All May Eat
In a world where a bite of fast food is cheaper than fresh fruits and vegetables, processed goods line the walls of food banks and soup kitchen gruel lacks key nutrients, being low-income means running on a toxin-rich diet. But at the SAME (So All May Eat) Cafe in Denver, Colorado, customers can walk in with empty wallets and leave nourished by healthy, organic food that otherwise would have broke... posted on Jul 03 2010, 2,754 reads

Sixth-Grade Philanthropists
On a bike trip across Europe and Asia, Mike Church came across Ujjwall Bhat, a Nepali man whose dream was to start a school in his rural village. Inspired by his vision, Church returned to his hometown in Maryland and contacted friends and local charities to help fund Bhat's dream. Three years later, the Mikey Medium English School opened its doors in Bauniyan, Kailali Nepal. Though located in rur... posted on Jun 13 2010, 1,531 reads