We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about the kindest thing a stranger has ever done for them. Here are some of their heartwarming responses...
1. "I was beyond broke for years. I only ate one or two small meals a day because I just couldn’t afford it. One day, I was down to my last $10, and was headed home from work. I was starving, so I went to grab a meat patty from the stand and handed over that $10 — only to be told it was fake. I was completely distraught. I explained it was all the money I had until payday and broke down in tears. Some business man came up beside me and I stepped aside to get out of his way. To my surprise he said 'Miss, here. I’ve got it.' He held out a $10 bill. Yep, he bought that patty for me—which was my dinner—and gave me the change so I could get on the subway to go home." — ritzy82
2. "I was riding by myself on a mostly empty City Bus when a man came and sat down right next to me. Minutes later he literally started rubbing himself underneath his pants! He didn’t even try to hide what he was doing. I didn’t know what to do. If I moved seats I would have to brush against him. At the next stop a stranger about my age, got on the bus and saw what was happening. He looked right at me and said, 'Hey! I haven’t seen you in so long!' Then he turned to the man and said, 'Can you please move? I’d like to sit next to my friend.'" — abigaylelee
3. "A couple of years ago we took our kids on their first long distance shopping trip. Halfway there, one was sick all over the car, so we had to pull over and try to clean the mess. Our kids never get carsick, even when driving for about four hours so it was a total shock! I knocked on the door of a nearby house to ask if we could beg a bin bag, and the lovely young lady of the house offered us bin bags, paper towels, baby wipes and the chance to wash our hands properly in the sink afterwards. We couldn't thank her enough. On the way back we dropped off a card, box of chocolates and some replacement baby wipes. She wasn't in when we posted them through her door, but I hope she liked them!" — submitted by Em Snave via Facebook.
5. "I was running late for uni one morning and I literally missed my bus by a second. I was so frustrated until a woman pulled up next to the bus stop and told me to jump into her car. YES, I know, a big no-no, but I saw she had a couple of kids with her. So I got in, and she says to me 'I saw you running like hell and that douche didn’t stop, we’ll catch him at the next stop'. She then then floors it and manages to catchup with the bus. She pulled in front of it so there was no way the bus could pull off. I managed to make it to class on time thanks to that woman!" — niamht48a2e93ed
6. "Recently my Mum was rushed into hospital. It was touch and go, and when my Dad went out to call family I was sat alone at her bedside trying not to cry (and failing). The woman in the next bed not only asked if I was OK and made small talk to keep me company, she got up and came to give me a hug. She was really ill herself and hooked up to a drip, so she could have just turned a blind eye and stayed in bed, but she made the effort to reach out to me. It meant so much and I was so grateful that she was there." — SNY
7. "My mother was visiting me in Hawaii last Christmas and we were waiting for a bus to take us to the other side of the island to go to Church. It had been raining all week long, but it was finally a sunny day. We were all dressed up in our Christmas dresses and standing at the bus stop when a car came speeding up and swerved to intentionally splash a puddle on us. Just before the car was able to hit the massive, stagnant puddle, a man in a suit who was also waiting for a bus casually took several steps in front of my mom and me. The car soaked the man from head to toe. My mom and I were dumbfounded and tried to thank him, but he just turned without looking at us and walked away without saying anything." — meghanelizabethnorwood
9. "On the day I decided to jump off a bridge because I couldn't handle life anymore a woman stopped me to ask for directions. She then told me I had 'the most striking, beautiful eyes.' She had no way of knowing that because of her kind words I called the suicide hotline instead of killing myself." — anonymous
10. "I recently injured my back so badly I couldn't walk. I decided to stop into a drugstore to buy a walker since all I could do was this weird scoot-shuffle. After I got out of the car, I realized I was stuck. I couldn't take a single step, and I had already shuffled far enough away from the car to not be able to use it as a prop. I stood there, tears of pain and frustration rolling down my face, when I hear a voice asking me if I needed help. She got her little girl out of the car and walked us slowly into the store, left me propped up against the cash registers, and got every kind of walker and cane they had so I could choose one." — Laura Rossi via Facebook
12. "In the first year of university I lost my voice. At the time I worked in a deli and when a customer asked me if I had a cold (which obviously is gross) I told her that I lost my voice because of stress, which was the truth. She told me to feel better and left only to come back 5 minutes later and give me a pack of Lindor chocolates. She said 'chocolate always makes me feel better when I’m stressed'. It was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me." — arielm471a30c38
13. "I was on my way to court to serve as jury duty. My umbrella broke earlier that day so I was soaked since it was a gloomy rainy day in downtown Chicago. I was waiting for the walk signal when I noticed I wasn’t being rained on anymore. I looked up and saw this kind man sharing his umbrella. I don’t remember what he said exactly, but I was happy that he shared his umbrella as we walked together across the street where we had to part ways. It made my entire day because even though I was drenched, he still shared his umbrella for a brief moment." — vivianav4d30a07be
14. "About a year after my mother died, I was driving home from work and stuck at a red light when a very sad song came on the radio. I started sobbing more than a little bit. Suddenly I heard a tap on the window, I was not particularly interested in dealing with other people, but they did not seem to go away. When I looked up, I saw a man who was a passenger in the car beside me, offering me cherries. I thanked him and said no. He must have seen me crying and thought cherries might help. His kindness reminded me of my mother and the incident has been a source of comfort when I felt the world was particularly cold." — kates42ad39f6e
16. "I completed the intense 10-week long Army Basic Training course this summer. During the training, your diet is tightly constricted to whatever food just so happens to be served that day in the mess hall so naturally, 99% of the conversations we had were about the food that we couldn't wait to eat once we were out. After graduation, we began our bus journey to AIT (the specified training every soldier goes through) and we stopped at a small Amish bakery for food. I was SALIVATING over these freshly baked cinnamon rolls but I had no cash on me to buy them. As we were walking out, a waitress came running out holding the tray of rolls, explaining a customer bought them for me and on the tin was a note that said 'Thank you for your service'.
I literally cried as I took my first bite." — emilyd495de41a2
17. "I was in a fast-food drive-through, waiting for my burger and fries on a completely unspectacular day. I got to the window and held out my money only to be informed that the person in front of me paid for my meal. I was bewildered by this and asked the server why he thought they did that, to which he replied 'I guess she just wanted to do something nice for a stranger.'
Ever since that day, I've made it a point to do something nice for someone I don't know." — Bucky James Rio via Facebook
Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.