18 Chart-Topping Examples of Kindness in 2015

Here’s a way to start your New Year with a full heart!  We’ve collected our favorite stories from 2015 to remind you how good humanity can be – 9 acts of kindness from adults, and 9 from kids and teens. Which good deeds are your favorite?

1. Man Builds Tiny House for Homeless Woman Sleeping in the Dirt (WATCH)

The kindness of Elvis Summers has gone down in Good News Network history after he whipped up a tiny shelter for his homeless friend in only 5 days. Since his initial construction, Summers has hosted several tiny house building events in L.A. and crowdfunded over $80,000 to construct more houses. (Full story here…)

2. Firefighters Pay it Forward–Big Time–After Waitress With Heart of Gold Picks Up Tab

When a young New Jersey waitress picked up the tab for some firefighters struggling against a neighborhood blaze, it sparked another good deed after the civil servants found out she had been struggling in her own way, using a GoFundMe page to raise money to buy a wheelchair accessible van for her father. (Full story here…)

3. UK Football Stars Buy Hotel, Invite Homeless to Stay For Winter

Manchester United football stars Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs scored big time when they bought an old Stock Exchange building at £1.5 million for UK homeless folk to keep warm in the winter. (Full story here…)

4. Elderly Strangers Step In To Help Struggling Young Man Tie His Tie

A senior couple in the subway showed how kindness crosses boundaries. They noticed a young man dressed to the nines but struggling with his necktie. The photo above was snapped by a pedestrian who overheard the exchange and it has been shared almost a million times on Facebook. (The wife looks like she is kindly blocking the view so no one spies on the young man being tutored.)

5. Woman Buys Entire Toy Store to Donate to Kids in Homeless Shelters

Carol Suchman wasn’t playing around for Christmas this year – the New York woman bought the entire inventory of a toy store going out of business and donated it to the local homeless shelters. (Full story here…)

6. Homeless Man Spends Hours Pushing Cars in the Snow, Now His Luck is Turning Around

Shelby Hudgens hadn’t been able to push himself out of homelessness since his house burned down, but that didn’t stop him from helping others whose cars were stuck in the snow. After a news crew interviewed him about his three hours of good Samaritan exercise, a GoFundMe campaign was set up for the generous man, which gathered over $23,000 in donations. (Full story here…)

7. Orphan Burn Survivor Gets Over 185,000 Christmas Cards, $300K in Donations

The internet wasted no time in stepping up to help little Safyre Terry have the best Christmas ever in 2015. Gifts, Christmas cards, and donations poured in after she sent out a Facebook plea asking for holidays cards to decorate with this year. As an update, she received a card and note from President Obama, and university students are now building her a prosthetic hand. (Original story here…)

8. Karma Comes Back Around for Man who Broke Religious Rule to Help Boy

One good deed has led to another for a man who broke a tenet of his religion to help a little boy hurt in an accident. Even though Sikhs are never supposed to take off their turbans in public, Harman Singh removed his and used it to help an injured boy. The reward for the poor college student was even more beautiful than his kindness. (Full story here...)

9. Find Out Why A Step-Father’s Photo Got 15 Million Views in 24 Hours

It had already been discussed that the biological father would walk Brittany down the aisle, but as a last-minute surprise, dad grabbed the hand of her step-father so they could give away their daughter together. (Full story here…)

And Now, For Our Favorite Kids of 2015…

1. Teen Volunteer Wins $70,000 SUV in Charity Raffle, Then Stuns Crowd

Super volunteer Erin Byrnes beat the odds and won a free car at only 13-years-old. Having a heart of gold, however, Erin immediately wowed the crowd by donating the car to the charity that had conducted the money-raising raffle. (Full story here…)

2. When a Cheerleader with Down Syndrome was Bullied, 3 Players Walked Off the Court

Dee Andrews’ has always had a unique way of dancing, but when bullies started criticizing her sweet cheerleading moves during a game, three eighth-graders on the Lincoln Middle School basketball team walked off the court to defend her. Dee has since described their actions as “sweet, kind, awesome, and amazing.” (Full story here…)

3. Kind-Hearted Boy Helps Blind Deer Find Food Every Day Before School

Bambi’s got nothing on this duo: every day before school, this little boy took the time to walk a blind deer from grassy patch to grassy patch to make sure he had enough to eat. Inspired by his kindness, one of the neighbors called a local rescue group to help the little deer. (Full story here…)

4. High School Kids Start Food Pantry to Keep Classmates From Hunger

The students of a North Carolina high school have opened their hearts – and their pantries – to fellow students in need. Filled with toiletries and non-perishables, the supplies have made a great difference to the needy teens attending the school. (Full story here…)

5. Boy Who Emptied Piggy Bank For Vandalized Mosque Gets Big Surprise

Jack Swanson had put away $20 in pennies to buy himself a shiny new iPad, but when he heard about a place of worship being vandalized, the boy pulled out every stop in his piggy bank to contribute. His good deed did not go unnoticed, however, when an Islamic attorney heard about his donation and sent along an iPad, courtesy of the American Muslim community. (Full story here…)

6. Quick-Thinking Teen ‘Befriends’ Couple to Thwart Kidnapping in Progress

A detective in the making, Malyk Bonnet saved the day after watching over a scared-looking woman who was being abducted by an old boyfriend. Once the kidnapper asked for bus fare to a town 25 miles away, Malyk knew he had a chance to step in and possibly help. That is just what the brave teen did. (Full story here…)

7. Teen Walks Home Old Man With Groceries, Photo Goes Viral

Christian Trouesdale walked his way to internet fame after walking old man Bob and his groceries home from Aldi. The young teen has since kept in contact with Bob after sharing the news of their popularity. (Full story here…)

8. Teen’s Simple Question Saves a Man’s Life, Baby Is Named After Him

Jamie wasn’t expecting to save a life when he went out to the cafe that day, nor was he probably expecting the man to call him ages later and say that he and his new wife had named their baby after him. (Full story here…)

9. 30,000 US Teens Converge on Detroit in Massive Christian Volunteer Clean-up

30,000 hardworking teenagers from the Evangelical Lutheran Church spent an entire week cleaning up the downtown Detroit city area along with 70,000 abandoned houses. (Full story here…)

MAKE Someone’s New Year Warmer–SHARE This… (Top photo, Ed Yourdon, CC)