A woman I met takes in foster kids. It was Christmas and she had a bad bill come in early December ( house repair or something ). It had to be paid and she paid it. I was at her home having tea while our kids played together. We aren't friends but it was a foster kid thing so I went.....

She told me that because of the big bill she paid she couldn't have a Christmas with presents and food like her new foster child was hoping for ( I think the child was about 7 so it was a big deal ). I gave her half my holiday money.

I had kids too, and a single income, and had saved all year for Christmas. It was a tough year for me. I knew I could still have a good Christmas if I gave her half of my savings and so I did.

I think she paid back about a quarter ( I didn't ask her to, she just wanted to ) and I said not to worry about any more...I know I did a good thing :)

That was on new year in 2009. When it's a new year, our family believes that we will not let the food goes out of the house or the luck will be carried away. But, there's a woman (we don't know) who came and ask if she could eat so we gave her food to eat with us in our table. She really looked very poor and was so hungry. After she ate, she asked for some food to bring with her for her children. I was really shocked because it's really against our belief but then I realized and told myself that it's okay. So I gave her some food and she thanked us and went away. Sometimes, you've got to set aside your own needs in order to help other people because it's also hard if you were in their shoes, too.

I was at a car repair shop getting my battery replaced, and a woman came up to me and started chatting while I was waiting for the repair man to finish setting up the new battery. At first I thought she was another customer just bored and looking for someone to talk to, but then she asked me if I wouldn't mind giving her a ride to an interview she had.

It was more that I didn't know how to say no, rather than a selfless act, but I reasoned that I wasn't doing anything that day anyway (I was myself unemployed at the time), and I should try getting over our generation's paranoia of strangers. So I gave her a ride, chatted for a bit, and at the end she asked if I had any spare change - which I gave her. I told her (as I could tell she was vehemently religious, even though I'm not) that my helping her to get to her interview today meant the beginning of good things in her future. I feel like I really gave her hope that day, and I don't know if she got the job she was applying for or not, but I sincerely hope so.

Hmm. I wish I could think of more examples. It kind of makes me feel like a crappy person that I can't think of more...

I once organized a toy drive for a woman I met in an online community (I guess she was a stranger). She was really hard-up one year, and her kids weren't going to get anything for Christmas. I got a list of things her kids might like, recruited some help, did some shopping, and about six or seven of us sent toys for her sons. I don't know her anymore, but I still think of her kids sometimes.

I also mentor a little girl that I was paired with through a formal program. I've been her mentor for about two years, and I see her a few times a month. I take her to the park, the zoo, the movies, out to eat, whatever. It's just so she has some extra support in her life and someone to spend time with. She's obviously not a stranger now, but she was when I decided to volunteer.

I'm not sure any of my acts are completely "selfless" as I usually do things I'll feel good about. Sometimes I find my mentoring experience sort of draining, but overall, I feel like a better person for doing it. When I was a kid, I remember giving my allowance to a homeless guy and feeling like I had make things better (I also secretly hoped my mom would give me a second allowance that week lol), and I think I just learned that sometimes you boost yourself by helping someone else.

I was going to the mall on a spring day. An elderly woman with a cart full of plants were standing in front of the Canadian Tire store. she was not able to take her cart to her car because the store has placed some posts to prevent the cart going to the parking lot. She was kind of reluctant to leave her cart there to get her car. She asked me to watch the cart while she puts her plants in the car by several trips. I just told her I will put her plants in the car while she can stand there. She was so happy someone could help her. I helped her without expecting anything in return.