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I was doomscrolling Reddit, desperately looking for anything to pull me out of the slump I found myself in after hearing about everything going on in the world. And I'm so glad I kept scrolling, because I stumbled across a thread asking, "What was that one act of kindness from a stranger that you still remember to this day?" If you could use a little reminder that there are still genuinely good people out there, you're in the right place.
Here are 30 people sharing the one act of kindness from a complete stranger that they'll never, ever forget.
1."A woman I didn't know at all once gave me a big hug in a public restroom after I'd just finished throwing up. She didn't care that we were in a bathroom or that I was a complete stranger. She just asked what was wrong. I told her I was having a panic attack, and she hugged me. It actually helped a lot. I've never forgotten her, and I wish I had the chance to thank her properly."
2."I had a stroke a couple of years ago and was struggling with depression and confusion. My insurance company would routinely leave me stranded after doctor's appointments. After one visit, I waited nine hours for them to pick me up until my phone finally died. Luckily, I found an all-night urgent care clinic across the street. I was completely beside myself because I had no way to get home, and home was 30 miles away. The doctor and the staff paid for my ride home and even gave me pizza and water. I still send them gifts every year."
3."My cat, Max, escaped from the house one night, and I didn't even realize he'd gotten out until the next morning. I'd just gone through an awful breakup, and I was sick with worry and guilt. Around 7:00 p.m. that evening, I got a knock on the door. A man asked if I was missing a cat. It turned out he'd found Max after he'd been hit by a truck. He saw my cat lying in the road on his way to work and stopped to see if there was anything he could do. He was an electrician with a full day of house calls ahead of him, so he drove around with my cat in his truck all day. He kept Max warm, gave him water, and even shared his ham sandwich with him. I asked how he could possibly know Max was my cat. He's a master at slipping out of his collar, so he wasn't wearing any tags when the man found him."
"It turns out that after finishing work, he went door to door along the entire road where he'd found Max, asking if anyone was missing a cat. He told me he loved cats and would hope someone would do the same for him. He went back to his truck, brought Max over to me, and asked if it would be okay if he said a prayer for us. I'm not religious at all, but I said yes. He prayed for Max's full recovery and a long life.
Then he got back in his truck and drove away. The whole interaction lasted maybe five minutes, and I never even learned his name. Max made a full recovery and is sleeping next to me as I write this, eight years later. I wish I knew who he was so I could thank him properly. I'll never forget him."
4."When I was scattering my dad's ashes, an older retired couple waited until I was finished and completely falling apart. Then they both hugged me until I was able to pull myself together. I'll never, ever forget that kindness. They were at the cemetery visiting their daughter, who had passed away a few years earlier, and my dad had wanted his ashes scattered near where his own father was. Now, every time I visit my dad, I leave a flower for their daughter too. Her parents showed me such incredible kindness, and if I ever find myself in the same situation, I hope I can do the same for someone else. Grief hits hard."
5."I'm visually impaired. I have almost no night vision and severe tunnel vision (although I'm apparently not legally blind... yet). It took me three years after my diagnosis to swallow my pride and start using a cane, and it's only been about three weeks. In that short time, I've already had a handful of strangers go out of their way to help me. Last night, I was walking to a bus stop from my new gym when I got turned around and couldn't find it. It was a new area, the bus stops weren't well marked, it was dark, the streets ran diagonally, and there was sidewalk construction. Eventually, I spotted the bus waiting at a red light, but it wasn't at a stop. I was too scared to try to flag it down. I'd done that once before, and the driver wasn't happy, which I honestly don't blame them for. But this driver noticed that I was lost and using a cane. She opened the door and let me on, and she quite literally rescued me."
"I was tempted to email the local transit authority to tell them what an incredible person she is, but I'm worried there's some inflexible bureaucrat who'd point out that buses aren't supposed to stop anywhere except designated stops, and she'd end up getting in trouble for simply being kind."
6."It was a long time ago, in the fall. I was on a business trip from North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida, driving an old Mercedes 220D diesel. I drove instead of flying because I had to transport a lot of expensive equipment. In the middle of South Carolina on I-95—basically the middle of nowhere if you've ever been there—at about 2:00 a.m., I heard a flap-flap-flap. The headlights dimmed, and the temperature gauge started to climb. I pulled off the highway, shut off the engine, and popped the hood. The fan belt had completely disintegrated into a bunch of black strings. This was before cell phones. There was barely any traffic at that hour. According to my map, the nearest exit was at least five miles away, and I had no idea whether there was even a gas station there. I laughed to myself at the irony. "I bet there's not a Mercedes dealer nearby." My flashlight was already starting to die. I had no food. Not even bottled water. Just a blanket."
"After about 15 minutes of trying to figure out what to do—and deciding I'd probably just sleep until daylight—a car pulled up behind me. I got out to take a look. It was an identical Mercedes 220D... except it was blue instead of yellow.
A tall, gray-haired man stepped out holding a large police-style flashlight. He smiled, said, "Hi," and immediately looked under my hood. "Yep. This happened to me too," he said. Then he opened the trunk of his Mercedes and pulled out not only the exact replacement fan belt but also all the tools he needed to install it.
About 10 minutes later, the job was done. "Crank it up," he said. I did. "Looks okay. I'm glad." I asked, "Can I at least pay you for the belt? How can I thank you?" He grinned and said, "Just do something for someone who needs it when the time comes. Have a good trip." Then the tall stranger climbed back into his blue Mercedes and drove away. I never even got his name."
7."My neighbors asked to borrow my truck, but I told them I couldn't because I didn't trust it. The tires were in really bad shape. The next day, my neighbor called and said he was getting new tires for his Suburban and that I could have his old ones. He told me to just show up at a certain tire shop, and they'd put them on for me. When I got there, they installed a brand-new set of Goodyear tires. I asked what happened to the old tires I was supposed to be getting. The shop owner smiled and said the "old tires" were just a story to get me into the shop. My neighbor had actually bought me a full set of brand-new tires."
8."When I was 15, I was dating a much older man who was very abusive. One night, he got angry and kicked me out of his truck in the middle of downtown Los Angeles, in a bad neighborhood. He took my purse, my phone, and all my money with him. I was sitting on the curb, alone, scared, and crying because I had no idea how I was going to get home. A young man came out of his house and tried to talk to me. I was afraid of him. He was covered in tattoos, and I felt like you couldn't trust anyone. He could tell I was scared, so he went back inside and brought his elderly mother out to show me he meant no harm. He ended up giving me a ride home, expected nothing in return, and kept asking if there was anything else I needed. I don't even know his name, but I'm so grateful he kept me safe that night. I don't know what I would've done without him. It's one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me."
9."I got fired from my summer camp job with two weeks left after I reported some safety concerns to management. Since it was a room-and-board position, I also lost my housing and meals. After spending nearly $200 on a train ticket back to my home state, I still had to figure out where I was going to stay because my sister had just bought a new house, and they'd been living in hotels before that. I was sitting in a pizza parlor in Newark, freaking out while talking on the phone. A complete stranger paid for my slice of pizza and my can of soda."
10."I ran away from home when I was 15, although only for a long weekend. I was being abused at home and felt desperate. I was struggling mentally at the time and felt like I had nothing to lose. I took a train across the country to meet a guy I'd met online. Yeah... not my smartest decision. On both the trip there and the trip back, I experienced incredible kindness from strangers. On the way there, the train was packed with soldiers heading home on leave. There were no seats left, just benches and the floor. Anxious and scared, I tucked myself into a corner and sat on the floor. A few of the soldiers made room for me on a bench. I couldn't use my phone because I needed to save the battery—it was an 11-hour trip. After about five hours, they'd really warmed up to me. They let me play a block puzzle game on one of their phones, and when the train attendant announced there were empty seats available at the next stop, they invited me to sit with them."
"I was nervous and politely declined at first, but they convinced me to join them. They even offered to buy me a cider, but I said no.
On the trip home, I had an actual seat. A man and his young daughter, who was probably around four years old, sat across from me. They went to the café car and came back with food. The man offered me a cupcake and a cup of coffee. At that point in my life, I was starving myself because I wanted to be skinny and beautiful. I also had no money left because I'd spent everything I had on the train tickets. I probably looked exhausted, hungry, and completely lost. I was. I was so grateful I almost cried. It was the best cupcake I'd ever had. Not because it tasted amazing—it was probably loaded with sugar and fat—but because all I could taste was kindness.
Even though I had a terrible childhood and became very ill because of it, I think that trip restored some of my faith in other people. It's part of the reason I can now say, so many years later, that I'm healthy and happy. Just a couple of weeks after I got home, I finally told someone at school about what was happening, and Child Protective Services came and got me."
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11."I was changing a flat tire in the bitter cold when a nun—yes, a nun—walked by. She took off her gloves and insisted I put them on. I tried to say no, but she wouldn't hear of it. She asked if there was anything else she could do to help. I told her no, and she went on her way. Later, I washed the gloves, tracked her down, and returned them."
12."I'm a veteran, and so are my father and his cousin. After attending a Memorial Day ceremony at a local cemetery, the three of us went to lunch at a nearby restaurant. We had lunch and a few beers, so we ended up with a pretty decent-sized bill. But when we went to pay, we found out someone had already picked up the tab as a way of thanking us for our service. I'm not someone who likes to talk about my military service very much, and most veterans don't unless they're with other veterans who can relate. It was an incredibly kind gesture, and I hope to pay it forward someday."
13."When I was around seven years old, my family and I were on vacation. My sister, who was 10, and I had gone across the road from where we were staying to play on the trampoline outside a little shop/café. There happened to be a biker rally that weekend, and a group of bikers pulled in. My sister and I must have looked scared because one of the bikers came over, said hi, asked if we wanted to sit on his motorcycle, and bought us each an ice cream. This was the '70s, so things were a little different back then. Ever since, whenever I see a big, tattooed biker, my first thought is, Ooh! Ice cream! followed closely by, Nice bike. And, just last week, at the age of 52, I got my motorcycle license!"
14."When I was in high school and had just gotten my driver's license, I ended up skidding my Honda Civic into a snowbank after taking a turn too fast. The car was completely stuck. Within a few minutes, a couple of young guys happened to drive by. They saw me, hooked a chain to their vehicle, and towed me out. I don't think they wanted anything in return—they just decided to help. A man from a nearby house had also seen what happened and came outside on that cold winter day to check on me. Their kindness made me feel safe."
15."Here we go... For some background, my dad died suddenly and tragically in August 2015, just a couple of weeks before I started high school. Before he passed away, whenever he picked up my brother or me from school or wherever, we'd almost always stop at Subway. We went so often that some of the employees started recognizing us. My parents were divorced, and since my dad worked a lot and went to kempo every night, we ate there at least once a week. This happened around October 2015, not long after he died. My mom and I had been running errands all over town. She and my brother wanted McDonald's, but since I didn't like it, she dropped me off at the Subway next door with $20 while she went through the McDonald's drive-thru. When I walked in, the place was empty except for one employee. She looked like she was probably a college student. It was around 5:00 p.m., so it was surprising how quiet it was. I ordered my sandwich, and we chatted while she made it."
"I don't remember what we talked about, but as she was finishing, she suddenly asked: "Is your dad doing okay?" I was caught off guard. "Sorry, what?" "I used to see you and your dad in here all the time. I haven't seen you two in a while, so I just wanted to check in." I paused for a second. "Oh... I didn't realize you recognized me. He actually passed away in August." She looked stunned. "Oh... I'm so sorry."
There was a brief silence. When I handed her my $20, she looked at me and said, "You don't need to pay." "Huh?" "It's on me. You don't need to pay. I hope you and your family are doing okay." I just stood there holding the money, not really knowing how to react. I kept asking, "Are you sure?" She smiled and said yes. So I thanked her, took my food, walked outside, stepped around the side of the building where she couldn't see me...and completely broke down.
I don't know why that simple act of kindness hit me so hard, but it did. It was dark, rainy, and I stood there crying with my Subway bag for probably 10 minutes while I waited for my mom to finish at McDonald's. When she pulled up, I handed her the $20. She looked confused and asked why I still had the money. Through tears, I told her what had happened. She started crying too and asked if I'd thanked the employee. I had. To this day, I wish I could remember her name. If by some impossible chance she's reading this...Thank you. I'll never forget what you did for me that night."
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16."This happened when I was in sixth grade. I'd gained a lot of weight because of the medication I was taking. I was wearing pants that didn't fit very well, and when I sat down, my butt crack was showing. kids behind me were laughing and making fun of me, but one girl came over and quietly told me what was happening. Then she walked over to the table where the other kids were sitting and told them to stop. I still think about that moment. When you're in middle school, it's so easy to just laugh along with everyone else. Honestly, I might have done the same thing at that age. But she didn't. At such a young age, she chose kindness instead, and I've never forgotten it. It's still inspiring to me."
17."I had just turned 20 and had recently moved to another state. One morning, I was walking to my new job when, as I crossed the street, my wallet fell out of my old, broken purse. Completely unaware, I kept walking. I didn't realize I'd lost my wallet until I stopped to buy a bottle of water and discovered I didn't have any money. Later that day, I got an email from an old coworker. She told me that a man had called her to say he'd found my wallet. Since she didn't have my phone number, she emailed me his. It turned out he had been sitting in his truck at the crosswalk when my wallet fell out. By the time he noticed and got out to call after me, I'd already walked too far away to hear him. So he went through every little scrap of paper in my wallet until he found my old coworker's phone number and called her, hoping she could help him get it back to me."
"I was so relieved, and we arranged to meet. I had $60 in my wallet. It wasn't much, but it was all I had. When we met, I took out $20 and offered it to him. He refused. "Miss, I didn't do this for money. I want you to know... I'm actually a felon. I'm on work release. I want to do the right thing because it's the right thing to do." We both cried. We hugged. I still tried to insist that he keep the money, but he wouldn't take it.
I couldn't believe how much time and effort a complete stranger had gone through just to make sure I got my wallet back. A few months later, I saw him again while I was at work. He was no longer in prison, and we got to share one more smile."
18."I locked myself out of my rental car in the middle of nowhere in northern Montana. Two incredibly kind women gave me a ride into town, helped me call AAA, gave me lemonade and doughnuts, and then drove me back to my car to meet the tow truck."
- katlian
19."I tell this story every chance I get in the hope that, one day, the woman who helped us might somehow see it. My wife was pregnant, and we were living in the country. If you've ever lived somewhere really rural, you know you can't always "just wait for the storm to pass." So we had to drive into town during a massive snowstorm. It was so bad that we got stuck right in the middle of the road. We were completely stranded, and I couldn't get the car out. I can't stress enough that there was no one around. My wife was terrified and crying. We didn't even have cell service to call for help. Then, out of nowhere, a red SUV—I think it might have been an Aztek—pulled up behind us. An older woman got out and asked if we were okay. She took my wife to sit in her warm car and stayed with her while I kept trying to dig our car out."
"Eventually, she called a tow truck and was even willing to pay for it herself. Thankfully, I managed to get the car free before the tow truck arrived. Before she left, she made sure we were okay, handed us $200 "just because," and drove away. I will never forget you. Never. Thank you so much."
20."This happened just last month. I was recovering from a toxic, emotionally abusive relationship and was in a really dark place. I decided to treat myself to a fudge brownie, but a woman had already bought the last one and was having it boxed up. I didn't realize that, though, so I asked for it anyway. When the employee told me it was sold out, the woman overheard us. She immediately told them to give it to me instead—and she even paid for it. It was such a small gesture, but it completely turned my day around. I still remember her face."
21."It was my first year of college. I'd moved out of home at 17 to attend school in a different city. I was living alone and didn't know a single person. One day, I lost my bus pass. I hadn't brought my wallet with me, and I completely panicked. I was standing at the bus stop, crying because I'd lost my pass and had no idea what to do. I also have anxiety, so I couldn't think straight. A woman noticed me crying, came over, hugged me, and asked what was wrong. Through tears, I told her I didn't have any cash to get on the bus and that I was new to the city. She handed me a $10 bill, told me everything was going to be okay, said I'd get through it, and gave me the warmest smile. I'm in my fourth year now, and it's still one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me. I was under so much stress from moving to a new city and starting over."
22."My first cat, Sanchez, had reached the age where he started spraying. I had no idea male cats did that. So one day I threw him outside and said, "Go get laid and come back when you're done." I was so sick of him spraying. Anyway, I woke up around 3:00 a.m. to the sound of cats screaming and instantly knew it was Sanchez. I grabbed a knife, ran outside in my underwear, and found four dogs attacking him. Thankfully, the dogs seemed more afraid of some lunatic with bedhead charging at them than I was of them. My cat was barely alive. I cried the entire drive to the emergency vet. I felt absolutely horrible. When I got there, I kept crying because I knew I didn't have the money to pay for his treatment, but I had to try."
"While I was sobbing in the waiting room, an older woman came over, put a hand on my shoulder, and asked what was wrong. I somehow managed to tell her the story through my tears. She was there with her own dog and left not long afterward. When I went to pay the bill, I found out she'd put $200 toward Sanchez's treatment, leaving me with only $110 to pay out of pocket.
I'm still incredibly grateful. And Sanchez lived another 10 years before—strangely enough—escaping outside again (I became a very strict cat parent after the first incident, but he could not be contained) and getting attacked by four more dogs in a completely different city."
23."About two or three years ago, my mom, my younger brother, and I went to Kroger to pick up groceries for Thanksgiving. When we got to the checkout line, an older man who was ahead of us paid for all of our groceries. He also left us a note that said, "Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you and your beautiful family are blessed for eternity." My mom, being the person she is, tried to track him down so she could thank him, but she was never able to find him. To this day, I still think about that small act of kindness from that wonderful man."
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24."This may seem trivial compared to most of the other comments, but a couple of months ago I was having a really bad day. I mean COVID stress, political stress, home stress... I was almost in tears. I was also exhausted because I hadn't been sleeping well. Late that afternoon, I decided to go through the Dunkin' drive-thru and grab a coffee. The woman taking my order was really nice, but she never gave me my total. She just told me to pull up. When I got to the window, she handed me my coffee and said, "Here you go. Have a nice day. Coffee's on us." I just sat there, completely stunned. That had never happened to me before. I offered to pay, but she reassured me that it was okay. I parked in the nearest spot, took my coffee, and just started crying. She had no idea what kind of day I was having—or even that anything was wrong—but that simple act of kindness meant the world to me."
"P.S. If you're reading this, kind lady from Dunkin', I don't know if I ever properly said it, but thank you."
25."My sister and I were walking through the city one day when a man started harassing her and trying to solicit her. We both knew the best thing to do in a situation like that was to keep walking and not acknowledge him, so that's exactly what we did. After a while, I realized he was following us, and I started to worry about what might happen. We were approaching a crosswalk, and I was just about to turn around and tell him to screw off, even though I had no idea how that would end. As we crossed the street, I looked back just in time to see another man step in and tell the guy to beat it. The harasser immediately turned and walked briskly down a different street. I was so relieved. I wish I could thank the man who stepped in to protect us without expecting anything in return."
26."When I was about eight years old, I went to London with my family, and we visited a huge arcade. I'd never been to one before, so it was incredibly exciting. I got to play a decent number of games, although not as many as I wanted because they were expensive. At the end, we went to redeem our tickets for prizes, but I didn't have enough for anything I really wanted. A group of adults who had a huge stack of tickets—far more than I did—gave all of theirs to me. Thanks to them, I had enough to get a yo-yo, which just happened to be the biggest trend at school at the time. As a kid, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Years later, I tried to pay it forward at a seaside arcade by giving my tickets to a child."
27."When I was homeless, a random woman took my cat and me into her home. I'll never forget her. She cooked incredible meals for me, treated me like part of her family, and I spent time playing with her son and their dog. I didn't stay long, but I'll remember that kindness for the rest of my life. I owe her so much. I hope I find her again someday so I can thank her properly—maybe give her some money, or just show her everything I've done with my life so she knows she didn't help me for nothing. She was an incredibly kind person."
28."When I was 18 and newly in love—or at least what I thought was love at the time—I was walking home. Admittedly, I was a little drunk. I stood on top of a bridge and shouted at the top of my lungs because I was celebrating. The next thing I knew, a complete stranger grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the edge. He thought I was about to jump. I explained that wasn't the case, but he still walked me the three miles home just to make sure I wasn't lying to him. The guy was a ******* legend. Even though I was never actually in danger, this complete stranger stepped in because he genuinely thought he was saving my life. I'll never forget that."
29."It may seem small, but I was at the butterfly conservatory in Ontario, Canada, on a field trip. My best friend's dad was one of the chaperones. I really wanted this beautiful pink pen with a butterfly on top as a souvenir, but I was $3 short. My best friend's dad (who was also really close with my parents) refused to lend me the money. A kind gentleman standing behind me overheard what was happening and paid for the pen outright. He even bought me a small stuffed animal. It seriously made my day and only reinforced my love for Canadians."
30."When I was 11, I witnessed the controlled demolition of an apartment building. Unfortunately, the area where the crowd had been allowed to watch was too close. Dust, bricks, and debris were thrown toward the spectators. Several people were injured, and one woman tragically died. As I watched the building come down, I went into shock and completely froze as the dust cloud engulfed me. Then, out of the dust, a complete stranger appeared. He picked me up, carried me into his home, and looked after me until I calmed down. He stayed with me until it was safe to go back outside and find my parents. I've never forgotten his kindness."
If these stories reminded you that there are still some genuinely wonderful people out there, consider this your sign to pay it forward the next chance you get. And if you've ever had a complete stranger do something so unexpectedly kind that you've never forgotten it, tell us about it in the comments—we'd love to read your story!
Text has been edited for length and clarity.
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