Ellington

Andres Guerra Paid for someone's items at register. Someone gave me 100 bucks cuz they said I was kind and thoughtful.

Slyc Digi Dollas Biskut I'd tell you one that I did, but I don't keep track. I just do as my heart moves me, and I do it all the time.

Robyn Valdizon I leave quarters on the washing machine.

Laurie Lou Jarrett Bought three $10 gift cards from Starbucks and let the kids I nanny for give them to complete strangers.

Janice Kilby During Daddy's funeral procession, postmen were taking off their hats and placing them across thier hearts.

Leslee Foukal Susannah Knight Ash built her kids' advent activities around doing RACK (Randon Acts of Christmas Kindness). She had her kiddos do things like pass out Sneaky Beans gift cards to random people. They taped sweet notes and treats to ATMs around Jackson as well as tons of other stuff. Super, super cool.

Keisha Real Talk Varnell A friend saw me and a group of ladies having a meeting about a toy drive in a local restaurant. It was five of us, and that friend paid the tab for the table. She sent a text after she left that said "thanks and Merry Christmas."

Dawn Beasley Macke I think it's worth mentioning that "great" acts doesn't necessarily mean BIG acts. Letting someone go ahead of you in the grocery line. Letting someone into traffic or go first at the intersection. Leaving your pennies in give-one-take-one dishes or charity jars. Complimenting a stranger or especially a child about something. Leaving your unused coupons for someone else. Donating more, consigning less. I bring shopping carts in from the parking lot if they're not in the stalls, whether I need one or not. It saves someone's car from possible dings, and it's one or two less carts a worker has to collect.

Ingrid Cruz In Mexico baggers at grocery stores don't get paid wages. Everyone has to give them a tip. Most people give them MX $1 which is about US 10 cents. When I studied abroad there before I left Mexico City I decided to backpack around Chiapas and Guatemala (by bus and boat). The last time I bought groceries I decided I would give the person all my change. It was about MX $50, which is US $5, about the same amount that Mexicans get for their daily minimum wage. When he reached for my hand and saw the money he asked me if I wanted change (usually when people hand out these bills they force the cashiers to give them change) but I said "No, this is for you, Merry Christmas." He teared up.

Greta Durr When my mom was in late-stage Alzheimer's, I had to take her to hospital after a bad fall. Dad, at that point, had just been moved from hospital to a group home. She was so scared, agitated, tired and miserable, it broke my heart. By the time they admitted her and found her a room, it was late at night, and I hadn't slept for a few nights. I had to leave her alone briefly to make phone calls and grab a bite to eat. When I got back to her room, I found that someone had given her a stuffed kitty, and she was all cuddled up with it and sleeping peacefully. None of the nurses knew where it came from; it was a total mystery how she got it. Mom has been gone for a couple of years now, I still have it as a reminder that the best things we do for others don't have to cost a lot of money or take a huge amount of effort and time. Often, it's just a matter of seizing the opportunity to make someone's day a little easier.

Cheryl Collins My sister chaperoned a group of high school dance students to an out-of-town audition, and on the way back, they stopped to eat. They discussed who would pay what (there were only two adults and six kids), but when they asked for the check, the waitress said someone had already paid for them. No one knows who because they were already gone. The bill for eight people would probably have been at or over $100.

Donna Ladd When my stepdad was dying in intensive care in the VA hospital here in Jackson, a little girl, probably about 5, came up to me and said that her daddy was really sick, too. She seemed to know my father was dying and sat with me (thinking back, she was more the adult that night). She gave me a small stuffed cat with a crazy face that I still cherish; it sits on my desk at home.

Add your own at jfp.ms/kindness.