7 amazing acts of kindness that warmed hearts in 2018
From the boy who was given his own parking space to the teenager whose kindness earned her a college scholarship.
If 2018 has left you needing your faith in humanity restored, look no further.
Here are seven acts of kindness, big and small, which went viral in the last 12 months.
1. These remarkably generous Canadians
When Brent and Nicole Keryluke died in a motorcycle crash, their two children, both of whom have hearing impairments, went to live with their grandparents, who made the difficult decision to sell the 1973 Pontiac Parisienne Brent had enjoyed working on to raise funds.
What happened at the auction at Electric Garage Auctions in Red Deer, Canada, left them stunned. The car was first sold for 29,000 dollars to someone who donated it back to be sold again. It was then bought for 30,000 dollars by someone else, who again handed it back. The third time it was sold for 20,000 dollars before being donated back to the family.
“None of us knew how powerful the actual moment would be,” said Rod Burnett, the auctioneer. “It was an amazing moment in everyone’s lives that was there.”
2. These dog lovers who paid tribute to their pooch in the most generous way
When Jennifer McKnight and her family lost their dog Loki to canine lymphoma in July, they paid tribute to him by leaving boxes full of toys along the route of his favourite walk for other pups to enjoy.
An accompanying note read: “Please take a treat for your own furry pal, and treasure every minute you have with them. There are never enough.”
3. This proud grandmother
Lexie Nobrega, a student from Virginia, was getting ready to attend Capital Pride in Washington DC when she noticed her grandma Hermina ironing her bisexual flag.
Lexie said: “The gesture meant so much to me because I spent so many years worrying about how my grandparents would react to me being bisexual. What my grandmother did was so simple, she thought nothing of it. She just wanted to make sure that I went to Pride looking my best.”
4. This stranger who added a little magic to a boy’s life
One little boy who had chained his bike in the same spot for well over a year was rewarded with a reserved parking spot thanks to a stranger who created a unique sticker and added it to the lamppost in Wiesbaden, Germany.
“The sticker is just brilliant, and we were all really touched that someone thought of and then actually went to the trouble of making it,” the boy’s mother, Christie Dietz, told the Press Association. “We don’t know who did it, but we live in a pretty quiet neighbourhood and I have the feeling that whoever put the sticker there did so for the pure joy of it.”
5. This teen who helped an elderly man – and won a scholarship
Evoni Williams, an 18-year-old Waffle House worker, went viral after she was pictured helping the elderly and partially disabled customer cut up his ham.
The mayor of Evoni’s hometown La Marque, Texas, subsequently honoured the youngster by proclaiming March 8, 2018 as Evoni Williams Day – and she was given a scholarship of 16,000 dollars for her to go to Texas Southern University – which she had been saving for while working full time at Waffle House since July 2017.
6. This cop who bought a hotdog for a homeless man
Detective Overman of the Salt Lake City Police Department was praised for his compassion after offering to buy a homeless guy a hot dog when he spotted him going through the bins.
Facebook user Jonathan Allen, who posted a picture of the moment on social media, said: “Thanks for extending this friendly act of kindness to less fortunate citizens of Salt Lake City. It was humbling.”
7. And this heartwarming letter from nearly 10 years ago
In May, Jacques Ruffin from Florida discovered a letter from 2009 from the owner of a music shop, forgiving the debt on a trumpet his mother was buying so he could continue to play.
Ruffin, a 21-year-old student, said: “The letter touched my heart. Reading the letter brought me to near tears and I wondered how life would’ve turned out if it wasn’t for the kindness of James W Jones. His act of kindness enabled me to participate in band throughout middle and high school.”
