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Your Inspirational Stories

The following stories have been tagged with Helping Others

A Helping Hand

I was on the phone with my dad while I was standing in line at a McDonald's, getting my sister some lunch. On the phone I was asking my dad to borrow ten dollars because I had plans to take the train later that day, as I didn't get my paycheck for a few days. I was broke. While I was explaining my situation to him an old woman turned around and stuck her arm out to me, with ten dollars in h... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Two Caring Boys

I have two sons, ages 14 and 11. About four years ago we had a discussion about how lucky we were to be healthy and that there are many children who are sick. I told them about the Make a Wish Foundation and they wanted to do something to contribute to that great organization. They bought a bubble gum machine, called all around town and finally (after a lot of rejection) got permission to put i... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

The Heart of A Child

I am a volunteer for The American Diabetes Association (ADA). I am on the planning committee for a one day cycling event called 'Tour de Cure'. It is sponsored by the ADA and the proceeds of this event, are used for diabetes research and program funding. While I was talking to people about our 'Tour de Cure' event in downtown Denver one day in July of 2008, I met a young lad from Oklahoma na... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Lend a helping hand

We were coming home one Sunday afternoon from a fun filled weekend at our ranch in South Texas. I remember the conversation was starting to get a little grumpy in the car with my two girls. Mom and Dads tempers were as well. As we were driving down a long stretch of deserted road, we came upon an elderly gentleman having trouble with a flat tire. I said we should stop and lend a hand for ... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Thank You!

I have wanted to tell this story for many years since it occurred when I was 16, and I am now 67. This is the perfect place and I hope the people involved who helped me and my friends so many years ago will see it and know how truly grateful I am to them. I was riding in the back seat of a car when suddenly the car slid off of the wet road and turned upside down. The roof of the car was cru... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

H.E.L.P.

Help can be either a noun or transitive verb depending on the use. I prefer it as a verb as I like action. I like giving help. It allows me to share life experiences and learn new things. Most every time I help someone, I learn something new during the process. In fact, I like to think of H.E.L.P. as an acronym for the way I aspire to live. Hope In its purest form, hope is a belief. It... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

A Good Character

Three friends and I were driving on the highway, my close friend being the driver. While we were going at least 50 miles per hour, we passed a car stopped on the side of the road that had broken down. My friend slowed down, made a U-turn, and pulled up behind the other car. He got out of the car and before I knew it he was helping the other person push the car down the road to a spot that w... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Seconds Change Lives Forever...

Ever since I was a child, I have had this gut feeling that I should be doing something with my life to help others. It wasn't until last year that I realized what that was. Those few seconds on that day changed several lives... I believe it changed mine for the better. I was 20 years old. I was attending college to become a computer programmer but the idea of sitting behind a computer 40 hours... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Removing Snow

I know it doesn't seem like much, but yesterday my neighbor (who is now on crutches) was trying to clean the snow off his truck with a broom. I went across the street and helped him. He just had a hip replacement, apparently. He was very grateful. His wife, who now has Parkinson's, needed help with her groceries so I helped with that as well. It felt good to help and they really appreciate... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Daydream

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Values: HELPING OTHERS

Give to others

I worked for a small company about 10 years ago. One holiday season, two of the folks in our company adopted two families in need for the holidays. We all pitched in and made sure they had presents, food and all the trimmings to enjoy the holidays. I felt great that I was able to contribute and help families in need during the holidays. Since then my family has been fortunate to always have m... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Ohio to San Fran my son met an Angel

My son was traveling to San Franciso, CA. He missed his connecting flight in Ohio which was the last flight out. My son called me frustrated, confused and panicked in North Carolina. I asked him what happened and he told me the gate had changed and he ran to the new one. As he got there, he saw the plane taking off. He asked the attendant was that the plane for San Francisco. The attendant... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Helping the Elderly

I reside in a sketchy part of Connecticut. There are a lot of people, especially among the young adults, who try to be all gangster-like, and everyone is out for themselves. I was coming home one day and there was a elderly lady in her eighties (whom I might add always waves to everyone, and greets them with a smile and a friendly "hi" but lives by herself) who was out mowing her l... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

One Stranger's Kindness

While doing some caving in Southern Missouri a few years ago, we came out of a cave only to find a flat tire on our van. I was with three or four of my buddies and we were covered in mud and not the most clean-cut group. We drove the crippled van to the nearest town. We were way out in the country and we stumbled across a "mutton feed.” We were told that there was a gentleman who... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

The Stamp

My story is a very simple one, because of a simple action. While standing in line at the local department store, I was asked by the customer in front of me if that particular store offered postage stamps. I stated that they did offer books of stamps, but the gentleman needed only one stamp, not an entire book of them. I began to look in my wallet and gave him one of my postage stamps, so he cou... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

The Old Lady in the Worn Brown Coat

One cold January evening in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I went with my father on an oil burner service call. I guess my father was in his forties at the time. I was about twelve or thirteen years of age and I enjoyed hanging out with him whenever I could, he taught me so much. He was always working hard trying to support us seven kids. We were very poor. We arrived at the call and after walki... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Snow Angel

Many years ago I was driving my infant daughter over a two-lane highway through southwest Wyoming when a blizzard came up suddenly, as they tend to do in that part of the country. The snow was swirling everywhere and any oncoming vehicle dusted my little VW so thoroughly that it would take a long few seconds before I could see anything ahead of me. I found shelter tucked in behind a “bi... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Strangers in the Night

I was 18 and on my way back to my college dorm, from babysitting, in the middle of the night. It was snowing and the streets were already covered with ice. As I approached the intersection, the light turned red and I stopped with no problem. But when the light turned green, the tires could not find traction. I looked at the clock in the car, it was 1am, and few other cars were on the road.... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Road Side Assistance

Spring of 1995 was a strangely hot spring, especially for Minnesota. I was 9 months pregnant with my first daughter and needed to drive about 45 minutes from a very rural area to my doctor’s office. I drove an older car, which wasn’t in the greatest of shape, but it got me from point A to point B -- except on this day. On this particular day, I wasn’t 3 miles away from home... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

The Parking Meter Bank

One Christmas my husband and I traveled from our home in Utah to visit family. Our first stop was to visit my parents on the Oregon coast. My mother gave me a gift that day that will last a lifetime. A simple plastic parking meter bank. We continued north into Washington State to visit his family, but on the way had some mechanical problems. We took the nearest off-ramp and pulled safely int... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

A Helping Hand

She had been bleeding all day. She was my good friend and closest professional colleague at the time –back in the 70’s. It had been her first day back at work after some surgery and I guess she should have taken a few more days to recover. As soon as work was over, she and I headed to the emergency room and spent hours there waiting to be seen. Once I got her settled, I had to lea... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Sharing

When I heard the doorbell ring, I went promptly to the door. As I opened it I saw a young man, about 24 years of age, standing there quietly. His first words were 'Good evening ma’am. All I'm asking for is bread.’ As I reached for my purse, he insisted he truly did want food. It was then I knew he was hungry. I went into the kitchen and packed him a parcel with sliced and buttere... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Food In The World of Unemployment

Nearly a year ago now, I had been unemployed for three months. No income, no food! A mother and her 11 year old daughter. My landlady decided to make a commitment to us. She said, "I will not let you go without until you are settled again"! I did not know this woman personally and she had no reason to help us, but she believed everyone is a child of God and so in her own time and at her... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Learning to Give

In the United States we have many material blessings available to us. However, oftentimes we do not share those blessings with others. While on a trip to Romania I learned a very important law of life: give of yourself and your possessions every chance you have. During July of 1999, I, along with eight others, traveled to the country of Romania to build a chapel in a Romanian/Hungarian village... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Worth More Than Money

I remember going to LaborReady in Long Island City, Queens to find work. I had enough money for the carfare there; I was hungry and hoped that the agency would find work and pay me for the day. By the end of the day, there was no work for me. I left; I was hot and tired but I had no money to go home. I worked up enough courage to ask a white gentleman with glasses for carfare to get home. I tol... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

The Escalator

I was returning from another business trip, heading to my car. A five-year-old boy stood at the top of the escalator. At first, I thought he was just playing, but as I got closer, I realized his Mom was half-way down the escalator. She thought he was right behind her and his little sister. When she turned around and saw her son there, she started pleading with him to get on the escalator. He ju... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

The Aloof Family

We were standing next to my old car, out of gas and out of money. It was three miles to home and five miles to the nearest gas station; the temperature was over 100 degrees. My ten-year-old daughter was trying to tell me not to worry, we can take the groceries and walk home, but after the walk through the store, my legs were hurting (when I was born in the 50's there was a polio outbreak and I ... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Do Unto Others

My mother through her fine example instilled within me the desire to help others. She taught me to notice those who others ignore. She was compassionate. The railroad tracks were within a mile of our house. "Beggers" and "Bums" (as they were known) frequently would knock on the doors in our neighborhood in the summer asking for food. They were often turned away or rebuked. ... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Attitude Adjustment

In 1969 I was a young girl working in the big city. I was from a small town in Ontario and had just moved to Toronto about five weeks earlier. It was one week before Christmas and I was going home on the streetcar, the last one of the evening. I remember looking at my paycheque and asking myself how it was going to endure. At that time in my life I barely had enough money to exist on. Kraft di... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Many Thanks!

A few years ago I was walking to pick my son up from school. We unfortunately lived too close for a bus pick-up but also too far from the school for my 1st grader to walk home alone. It had become a ritual for my young daughter, infant son and I to walk the 6 blocks every afternoon. On one of those afternoons it began to rain about halfway to the school. My infant was sheltered by his carriage... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS

Eight Birds, Two Mountains, and One Big Chevy Malibu

“I am convinced my life belongs to the whole community; and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn brightly as possible before turning it over to future generations... MORE
Values: HELPING OTHERS