Stories of kindness
Heartwarming news about generosity: neighbors helping neighbors, volunteers, donations and people going out of their way for strangers.
Kindness rarely makes headlines, but it is everywhere once you look for it: strangers returning lost things, communities rallying around a family in trouble, volunteers who show up every week for years.
This page collects those stories from community news and the publishers that make a point of covering them. They are a reminder that most people, most of the time, are trying to help.
Latest stories
MIT Technology Review · Oct 16 · 75/100
Love is infrastructure
I. Meet cute Barnabas and Mainspring grew up near at hand, about an hour apart with good traffic, but for a long time they weren’t close. They traded glimpses and occasional hellos and then went about their business.…
The Optimist Daily · Oct 16 · 75/100
What sets Japanese sweet potatoes apart, nutritionally speaking
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM If you’ve bought a Japanese sweet potato, cut into it expecting orange, and found creamy white instead, you’ve already spotted the first thing that sets it apart. The skin is…
The Optimist Daily · Oct 13 · 65/100
The common skin care mistakes dermatologists say are working against your routine
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There’s a particular kind of Sunday evening spiral that happens when you’ve spent twenty minutes reading about an ingredient you’ve never heard of, and you’re now convinced your…
Positive News · Oct 8 · 80/100
Prince William launches kit to help communities prepare for emergencies
The guide aims to help UK communities prepare for emergencies, with advice on everything from power cuts to supporting vulnerable neighbours The post Prince William launches kit to help communities prepare for…
Grist · Oct 4 · 70/100
To win over locals, data centers pump $340M into rural Texas projects
The companies have faced waves of public backlash in Texas. To battle that negative public perception, they’ve donated millions to community causes and needs.
NPR News · Oct 1 · 75/100
What a Pearly King taught me about Cockney rhyming slang and East London history
In mother-of-pearl suits, the Pearly Kings used to canvass East London for charity. The most famous one, George Major, died in August. A look back on this larger-than-life figure and the Pearly King tradition.
Designboom · Sep 28 · 85/100
volunteer camp in thailand hand-builds school toilet from reclaimed wood
forty-one volunteers spent eleven days building a school toilet from reclaimed wood, learning about sanitary design, material reuse, and hands-on craft. The post volunteers in thailand hand-build school toilet from…
The Optimist Daily · Sep 28 · 75/100
Soft productivity is the smarter way to work, and here’s how to start
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There’s a kind of workday most of us know too well. You’re logged on early, you barely step away for lunch, and by 6 pm you’re not entirely sure what you have to show for it. The…
The Guardian World · Sep 24 · 85/100
Rick Wakeman performs piano concert to 150 rescued moon bears in Vietnam
Former Yes musician plays at sanctuary to raise awareness of animals that remain stuck in cages at ‘bile farms’ Rick Wakeman has played to all kinds of people around the globe, but he has now performed to an audience he…
BBC World News · Sep 22 · 85/100
To Kill A Mockingbird first edition found in London charity shop
An original US edition of To Kill a Mockingbird is found in an Oxfam store in west London.
Mindful · Sep 20 · 85/100
Vinny Ferraro: Directing Compassion Toward Ourselves
Vinny Ferraro guides a meditation to meet yourself and whatever you're holding in the moment with kindness and understanding. The post Vinny Ferraro: Directing Compassion Toward Ourselves appeared first on Mindful.
The Optimist Daily · Sep 18 · 85/100
Podcast Transcript September 18th, 2026— A 450-year map mistake gets corrected by 164 countries, plus nine more solutions
Episode Description: Most world maps show Greenland and Africa as roughly the same size… which is kind of unbelievable considering Africa is 14 times larger! This error has been built into classrooms, boardrooms, and…
Pitchfork · Sep 16 · 85/100
Macklemore to Donate $1 Million Ed Sheeran Tour Earnings to Palestine Aid, Invites Robert Kraft to Match Him
“Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting,” the rapper wrote on Instagram
The Optimist Daily · Sep 16 · 85/100
Baked Bites: how Frisco students turned a passion for baking into a force for community change
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM At a Baked Bites pop-up in Frisco, Texas, the transaction looks simple: you place a pre-order, you pick up a homemade cookie. Buried inside that small exchange, though, is something…
MIT Technology Review · Sep 14 · 80/100
Donated livers can be made biologically younger
Once an organ is removed from a donor’s body, the clock starts ticking. Surgeons usually flush the organ with a preservative solution, bag it, and put it on ice—where it immediately starts to degrade. The team has a…
Mindful · Sep 14 · 85/100
Mark Bertin: A Guided Walking Meditation to Meet Uncertainty with Compassion
When we're facing the unknown, our thoughts and emotions often go into overdrive and we lose sight of being kind to ourselves. Mark Bertin reminds us that we are not alone and offers a practice to work with uncertainty.…
Positive News · Sep 9 · 75/100
‘In war, children lose control over their lives, play can bring some of that back’
With nearly 50 million children displaced by conflict, charities are finding ways to give young people something often lost in war: play The post ‘In war, children lose control over their lives, play can bring some of…
The Optimist Daily · Sep 9 · 80/100
Beyond the thrift store: where your donations do more good
THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM When you’re decluttering, the thrift store is the obvious first move. Drop it off, and it’s done. But a lot of what people donate there sits on a rack for weeks and then gets tossed…
Moss and Fog · Sep 8 · 80/100
The Case for Canada
Three oceans, the highest tides on Earth, and cities where half the neighbors were born somewhere else. Our case for Canada, with the imagery to match. The post The Case for Canada appeared first on Moss and Fog.
Positive News · Sep 3 · 80/100
Richard E. Grant fronts Second Hand September as Britons try to buy fewer clothes
Richard E Grant struck gold in a charity shop – now he’s fronting a camping to inspire others to do the same The post ‘My life-changing career break happened because I was wearing a secondhand coat’ appeared first on…
The Optimist Daily · Sep 1 · 80/100
The Reddit-popular five-minute productivity rule that truly works for procrastinators
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Most to-do lists have two kinds of items on them: the real work you’re managing, and the small things that keep getting moved to tomorrow. Reply to that email. File that paper. RSVP…
The Optimist Daily · Aug 28 · 85/100
6 useful things to donate before back-to-school season this year
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Back-to-school season is a great time to donate. Kids have outgrown things. Backpacks didn’t survive the year. Notebooks never got opened. Most of it ends up in the trash, and a…
The Optimist Daily · Aug 27 · 85/100
The case for eating blueberries every day, according to a nutritionist
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There’s a specific kind of health advice that asks a lot of you: meal prep, supplements with confusing ingredient lists, routines that cost more than they should. Blueberries aren’t…
The Optimist Daily · Aug 24 · 85/100
Student Makers: teen volunteers are teaching STEM across three continents
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In 2022, a group of high schoolers designed 150 LEGO-inspired airplane kits, 3D-printed them one by one, assembled them by hand, and shipped them to a school in Kenya. How is that for…
Hopeflo checks trusted publishers every hour and scores each story from 0 to 100 for positivity with AI. This page lists the newest stories on the topic that score 60 or more, and each one links to its publisher. How scoring works
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