A dad's spontaneous race to hug Mom, as described in a widely shared tweet, sets the tone for this gallery: ordinary moments that happen to be very kind. The full post appears again further down.
This gallery collects 100 photos of everyday kindness: strangers paying for groceries, a teacher feeding hungry students before an exam, a dad tattooing his son's surgery scar onto his own head, and plenty of grandparents doing very grandparent things. Most of the pictures were first shared on Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr and Facebook between about 2013 and 2018, and many were later gathered in a popular BuzzFeed round-up.
None of these moments changes the world on its own, and that is part of the point. They show how often people go out of their way for each other when nobody is keeping score. A few of the stories were covered by news outlets, and where we could check the details we have added names, places and dates. Others are personal posts we could not verify, so we describe them as the original posters told them. Every image is credited to the account or site where it appeared.
Scroll at your own pace. Some photos will make you laugh, a few may make you cry, and one or two might give you an idea for something kind to do today.
Family, friends and growing up
The first set focuses on families, schools and friendships, from toddlers in shopping trolleys to grandparents with new pets.
A Twitter user posted two shots of her baby in a supermarket trolley: one before and one after she told him he was beautiful. The beaming second photo shows how quickly small children respond to warmth in a voice.
A Twitter user photographed an older man arriving at an animal shelter with a bag of tennis balls for the dogs. Shelters often list toys, blankets and food on public wish lists, so donations like this are genuinely useful.
This father bought a snorkel so he could nap face-down in the pool without lifting his head to breathe. It is not a rescue or a grand gesture, just the kind of goofy dad moment that makes families laugh for years.
A granddaughter shared photos of her grandfather with his new small dog, taken by his caregiver so she could see them together. For older people living alone, a pet can bring routine, company and a reason to get outside.
This dad surprised his daughter at school pick-up dressed as a superhero, then reported that she now wants him in costume every time. What he expected to be embarrassing became a shared joke between them.
A boy grew his hair for about two years so it could be donated to make wigs for children who have lost their hair to cancer treatment. Charities that make such wigs usually ask for clean ponytails of a minimum length.
Josh Marshall from Kansas had a tattoo made on his head matching the curved surgery scar of his eight-year-old son Gabriel, who had surgery for a brain tumour, so the boy would not feel self-conscious. In 2016 their photo won first place in the St. Baldrick's Foundation's #BestBaldDad contest around Father's Day.
Two sisters tried to teach their parents to swim, and the parents ended up simply floating together and hugging in the pool for the whole lesson. Sometimes the best photos are of plans that fail happily.
This handwritten sign invited anyone spending Thanksgiving alone to eat for free all day. It hung at George's Senate Coney Island in Northville, Michigan, a Detroit suburb, whose Greek-born owner George Dimopoulos has said he was once homeless as a boy in Athens and relied on strangers for food.
Ollie Kroner / Via Facebook: ollie.kroner
A boy named Quincy waited all week to show the city garbage collectors his toy rubbish truck, then was too overwhelmed to speak when they stopped. The crew posed with him, a reminder of how much routine visits can mean to small children.
A customer left a $200 tip on a $9.53 bill, with a note telling the server, Brandi, to use it to visit her son. The note suggests the customer had overheard a conversation about him and decided to act.
According to the caption, a stranger saw a cat sleeping outside in the rain and left his umbrella propped over her. The cat looks perfectly dry and entirely unbothered.
A student posted in a local sneaker group that a classmate was being mocked for his shoes and asked for help getting him a new pair. The second photo shows the two boys together after the gift.
A grandmother sends her granddaughter a daily selfie captioned with where she is, from a bagel shop to her own front room. It is a simple ritual that keeps two generations in touch.
Five-year-old Shon dresses up in superhero costumes to feed and pet street cats, saying it makes him feel like a superhero for animals. Kindness learned early tends to become habit.
A light-hearted tweet did some quick maths: even if 99% of people found you unattractive, the remaining 1% of the world's population (then about 7.5 billion) would be about 75 million admirers. Today the figure would be over 80 million.
A post from Harrison County Animal Control Shelter showed empty kennels after every animal had been adopted. Empty cages are the best photo a shelter can share.
A teacher, Mr Johnston, set up a table with bread, peanut butter and jam for students who had not eaten breakfast before an AP exam. Sitting a long exam on an empty stomach is hard, so the gesture was practical as well as kind.
The full tweet: a dad got out of the car with his two young boys and shouted a race to see who could hug Mom fastest. The writer said that was the kind of future she wanted.
A traveller photographed a man smiling at his phone and learned he was not on a video call. He was simply happy to see his wife's name on the screen.
A busker in a New York subway station displayed a sign telling anyone homeless or in need to take money from his guitar case. Generosity can come from people who do not have much themselves.
A 70-year-old graduate celebrates with a sign listing her milestones: married at 23, US citizen at 31, mother of five at 33, grandmother at 64 and college graduate at 70. It is a reminder that education has no age limit.
A young pupil set up his keyboard outside with an empty tissue box to raise money for his teacher's father, who had cancer. He raised $12 and brought it to her as a surprise.
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Fred Rogers began saying aloud that he was feeding his fish after a young blind girl, Katie, wrote asking him to, because she could not see whether the fish had been fed. The exchange is recorded in a collection of children's letters to Mister Rogers.
A student holds a large umbrella over a classmate in a wheelchair on a rainy campus path. Wheelchair users often cannot hold an umbrella and push at the same time, so this is a thoughtful gesture.
Strangers who stepped in
Many of the most shared photos involve people who had no obligation to help at all: shoppers, classmates, neighbours and passers-by.
Someone taped coins to a vending machine with a note reading 'Random Act of Kindness: enjoy a drink and treat on me.' The phrase 'random kindness and senseless acts of beauty' is credited to the writer Anne Herbert, who wrote it on a placemat in 1982.
On a 104°F day, a boy asked his parents to fill their cooler with water bottles for delivery drivers, postal workers and couriers. His father called it one of his proudest moments as a parent.
A runner traced the words 'Marry me?' across Boston and Cambridge on a GPS tracking app, ending at the spot of the couple's first date. GPS art has since become a popular hobby among runners and cyclists.
A grandmother lost touch with her best friend 40 years earlier after moving. After a long search, her family found the friend, and these photos capture the reunion.
A commuter having a bad morning shared photos of a baby on the seat in front who reached back and held her finger. Tiny moments like this are a big part of why such photos go viral.
A tweet from Ames, Iowa, reported two tipsy men outside insisting at full volume that each was the other's best friend. Not every kindness is quiet.
This photo shows a man feeding an orphaned baby rabbit with a dropper. It spread online with a story that a Marine found four baby rabbits beside their dead mother and cared for them until they could be released; the details could not be independently confirmed.
A girl set up a table on her porch giving away free hand-drawn rainbows. Children's 'free art' stands are a small way of practising generosity.
A man stands at a road junction with a sign reading 'Not homeless, I have a job, just saying hello', and waves at passing drivers. It flips the familiar roadside sign into something cheerful.
In 2011 a 14-year-old Virginia student, Bryan Thompson, was suspended after running along the sidelines of a football game in a banana costume. NBC Washington reporter Pat Collins covered the story wearing a grape costume, and the principal later resigned after public criticism.
An 85-year-old physics teacher and his wife staged a lightsaber duel in his classroom. Teachers who stay playful are often the ones students remember.
An older man left a five-star review for a selfie stick, writing that he had finally taken the nicest picture of himself in fifty years. His sincere, happy photo charmed thousands of readers.
A mother texted her daughter a Kermit the Frog meme about being thrilled to get a text from her daughter. Parents learning internet humour to stay close to their children is its own kind of love.
A teacher shopping for 150 notebooks for her students explained to a curious stranger at Walmart why she was buying them herself. He paid for her entire cart of classroom supplies.
A grandfather asked whether his grandchild wanted a quarter pounder, then handed over a McDonald's box with a gift inside instead. Grandparent pranks are a genre of their own.
A little girl jumped into a stranger family's professional photo, and they kept the result. The picture shows how easily children make themselves at home.
A man stands outside a mosque in Texas holding a sign reading 'You belong. Stay strong. Be blessed. We are one America.' Similar gestures of support for Muslim neighbours were widely reported in the US in late 2016.
A young man shows off matching outfits with his pet, captioned 'What I get, he get.' The second photo shows the pet wrapped in a blanket to match his own.
A stranger noticed that a teenager had the same curly hair as hers, asked for a picture, and later sent it to him. It is a small, funny moment of connection between generations.
A delivery company left a man's shoes at the house next door. When he went to collect them, his older neighbour was trying them on, and the photos made a lot of people laugh.
A father walked his son to his first day of kindergarten and, years later, carried his bags into a college dorm. The paired photos sum up the long middle of parenting.
A teenage driver was pulled over and panicked, then realised the officer was their own father, who thought the prank was hilarious. Not all of these photos are tear-jerkers.
In 2015 a homeless man reportedly handed in about $2,400 he found on the street. According to the widely shared caption, a fundraiser then raised more than $5,000 for him, but he asked that it go to others and said all he wanted was a job.
A man asked his small son to get off his lap so he could work, and the boy settled for holding his hand instead. Toddlers are experts at negotiating for closeness.
This might be my favorite picture on the internet right now lol pic.twitter.com/cXIIDJB7ee
— ok (@ITweetSimpShxt) July 25, 2016
(This post is no longer available on X.)
An embedded tweet from July 2016 in which the poster called this their favourite picture on the internet. The original post has since been removed from X, so the photo can no longer be displayed here.
Notes, signs and small gestures
Some kindness is anonymous. A note on a parking meter, a sign in a window or a few coins taped to a machine can lift a stranger's day without either person ever meeting.
A woman took her grandmother to a new dementia care home, where she met a resident who shared her name. The two held hands while watching TV, and the new friend kept reassuring her. Alzheimer's Research UK shared the post.
A 13-year-old texted his sister after hearing her cry, telling her there was ice cream in the freezer and offering to listen. Emotional support does not need the right words, just the offer.
A father on holiday in Peru shared his delight at meeting an alpaca, hugging it and describing its incredibly soft wool. Alpacas were domesticated in the Andes thousands of years ago and are still kept there for their fleece.
A man takes his elderly dog, who can no longer walk, out every day in a wheelchair so she can still enjoy the street. Older dogs with mobility problems often benefit from continued outings for stimulation.
An 11-year-old in a university organic chemistry class offered his classmates help by email. Young prodigies sometimes study at university level, and this one seems to have been generous with it.
Neighbours describe Earl, 95, who threw a pizza party for everyone on his street even after his wife had died and his family had grown. The post called him the neighbourhood's grandpa.
Two students sat on campus with a sign offering to walk with anyone who felt unsafe, threatened or discriminated against. Volunteer walking schemes like this exist at many universities.
A shopper spotted a child in full snorkel gear swimming in the fountain at Nottingham's Old Market Square. The joy is contagious, even if the fountain was not designed for it.
A student had to bring her newborn to class. When the baby cried during a quiz, her professor knelt to rock the car seat and feed him so she could finish.
In Pensacola, Florida, a postal worker stood beside his van with his cap over his heart as a funeral procession for a Second World War veteran passed in the rain. The veteran's daughter shared the photo to thank him.
A man shared photos of his grandparents, married 52 years, who wear matching outfits every day. Small rituals like this can be one of the ways long marriages stay playful.
A boy at a restaurant held a sign saying he had been in foster care for 847 days but was adopted that day. He and his new father were celebrating in tuxedos.
Someone fed an expired parking meter and left a note: 'You ran out of time... I fixed that issue.' Paying for a stranger's meter is one of the oldest anonymous kindnesses.
A family renting a Redbox DVD found cash inside the case with a note saying snacks were on the previous renter. It cost little but clearly made someone's evening.
According to the caption, after an elderly man had a heart attack while shovelling snow, paramedics took him to hospital and then returned to finish clearing his driveway. Doctors warn that heavy snow shovelling can strain the heart, so many people ask neighbours for help.
A young man missed his train so he could help an older woman carry her bags up the stairs at a railway station, according to the caption. Many older stations still have stairs-only access to platforms.
A man was woken by a boy banging on his door: the boy had missed the school bus and no one else had answered. Without even brushing his teeth, the man drove him to school.
A Tumblr user posted that her grandfather, who uses a wheelchair and an oxygen machine, was excitedly waiting for a date. Afterwards he joked she had taken his breath away.
Students at Alan Shepard Elementary School in Bourbonnais, Illinois, queued to have their yearbooks signed by janitor Steve Weidner, known as Mr Steve. ABC News reported in 2015 that he signed for all 104 second graders and around 200 other pupils.
At a public library, a girl could not borrow a book because of a $0.29 fine, so the teenage boy behind her paid it. The poster said it made her feel better about the world.
In Washington, D.C., a passer-by saw a city worker clear away a pile of dirty, frozen blankets that had been slept in. The next morning the blankets were back on the bench in McPherson Square, washed and folded, as part of a city programme that cleans bedding for people sleeping outdoors.
A child made a tie for his father in first grade. Eleven years later, the dad wore it to his son's high school graduation.
Two friends who had played Xbox Live together online for 15 years met in person for the first time when one became a groomsman at the other's wedding. Online friendships are real friendships.
According to the post, a McDonald's worker sat down to help an older disabled man eat when others would not. Help with eating is a deeply personal kind of care.
Love, loss and lasting bonds
The final photos are about relationships that last: long marriages, parents who planned ahead, friends found again, and pets who are part of the family.
A Tumblr user explained that she calms her angry parrot by softly saying 'Hey'. When she got frustrated herself, the parrot used the same soothing word on her over and over.
To mark their 30th wedding anniversary, a man had a bench dedicated to his wife at the park where they always walked together. The plaque reads 'Happy Anniversary Pam, Love, Jeff, 1987–2017'.
At Walmart, a shopper met a man with a cart full of stuffed animals. He said that every year he dresses as Santa and gives a toy to each child in the children's emergency department.
A father who died of cancer when his daughter was 16 had pre-paid for flowers on each of her birthdays until she turned 21. This post shows the final bouquet and note.
A cousin went for a swim in a river with a goat, and both looked happy about it. Goats are not usually keen swimmers, which makes this one even better.
A father with physical and mental disabilities, unable to work, saved his pocket change for a month to give his daughter a gift. She shared a photo of the jar and note.
A labrador wears a sign saying the vet predicted he would not live to see age three, but he turned seven and celebrated by pooping on the vet's lawn. The octopus hat, the sign adds, is simply because he can. Dog-shaming posts are usually jokes about bad behaviour, but this one is a celebration.
A couple with no friends or family nearby came home from hospital with their new baby to find pink balloons and a baby sign in their yard. Neighbours they hardly knew had stepped in.
A woman waved at a baby in Target, the baby waved back, and the mother realised it was the first time her child had waved. Both adults cheered in the aisle.
A grandfather sat down for a tea party with his granddaughter and even put on a suit jacket for the occasion. Pretend play is one of the main ways young children learn social skills.
On a plane, a toddler sang the ABCs in the wrong order, and a fellow passenger shouted 'Yes girl, remix!' Strangers can turn a potentially stressful flight into a good one.
A Tumblr user described her sister's boyfriend's parents, visiting from Moscow with little English, adoring a dachshund and quietly calling him 'little dog'. Affection needs no translation.
A veterinarian shared a thank-you note from a child after the family dog lost a leg in a car accident and had to have it amputated. Dogs often adapt well to life on three legs.
A restaurant owner posted a sign inviting the person searching their bins for food to come in during opening hours for a free meal and water, no questions asked. It treats the person with dignity instead of shooing them away.
Someone who lost a wedding ring in a car park posted a thank-you sign after a stranger handed it in. Lost-and-found stories show how much honesty matters.
Before she died, a woman gave her husband strict instructions to water the bathroom plants. He did so faithfully, only to discover when he moved house that they were plastic, and his daughter imagined her mum laughing.
An older man came into a phone shop asking for help activating a phone he had found. He was not trying to keep it; he wanted to return it to its owner.
A sign by a stack of paddling pools invited people whose dogs had to stay outside to take one and keep them cool. Megan Brockman, a cafe owner in Urbanna, Virginia, began giving out pools in 2013 after dogs died from heat stroke nearby.
A handwritten sign by the road announces that the writer's mother called to say her cancer was gone, and that the whole world should know. It is one of the simplest and happiest notes in the set.
A man shared the note his mother wrote him on the day he moved out, which was also the day she died. He had her handwriting and her last heartbeat tracing tattooed on his skin.
In Manhattan, an older woman was seen sweeping a traffic island between a bike lane and parking spaces. She said the city cannot get to everything, so she likes to help.
A brother arrived at the hospital in a suit to meet his new niece or nephew because, as he put it, first impressions matter.
A boy was sad that he had not been around for his parents' wedding, so they re-enacted it at home with him as the officiant. His hug after the 'vows' says everything.
A stranger photographed an older man sitting outside his car at a drive-in, spoon-feeding ice cream to his wife. Caregiving in later life often looks just like this.
A woman's grandmother was in hospital on their 57th wedding anniversary, so her grandfather arrived in a tuxedo with flowers. Love stories rarely get more direct.
A mum meant to post a picture of her beloved dog with the caption 'Love my baby girl so much' and accidentally posted a roast turkey instead. The gallery ends with a laugh, which seems right.
What research says about kindness
Feel-good galleries are sometimes dismissed as fluff, but psychologists take everyday helping seriously. A large 2020 meta-analysis led by Bryant Hui, pooling 126 studies with almost 200,000 participants, found that helping others is linked to greater wellbeing for the helper. Interestingly, informal, spontaneous help, such as carrying a neighbour's shopping, showed a stronger link than formal, scheduled volunteering. The effect is modest rather than magical, but it is consistent.
Researchers have also described a two-way loop: people in a good mood are more likely to help, and helping tends to lift mood in turn. That may explain why galleries like this one are so popular. Seeing kindness can nudge people to act kindly themselves, even if only by holding a door or sending a message to someone they have not spoken to in a while.
The phrase "random acts of kindness" itself has a known origin. The writer Anne Herbert scribbled "random kindness and senseless acts of beauty" on a placemat in Sausalito, California, in 1982, flipping the familiar phrase about random violence. The idea later grew into books, foundations and the wider kindness movement.
A note on viral stories
Viral photos travel quickly and lose their context along the way. Captions get rewritten, places change, and occasionally a story turns out to be staged or misremembered. In this collection, for example, the Thanksgiving sign often described as being in Detroit was in fact at a restaurant in nearby Northville, Michigan. When you share something like this, it is worth looking for the original post or a news report, and crediting the person who took the picture. The kindness in these images is real enough without exaggeration.
Sources: Images credited individually to the original posters and sites; collection first gathered by BuzzFeed; CBS News: Kansas dad's tattoo; TODAY: George's Senate Coney Island Thanksgiving offer; TODAY: Mister Rogers and the fish; Raw Story: banana suit suspension; ABC News: school janitor yearbooks; NationSwell: D.C. blankets; WTVR: Urbanna dog pools; Wikipedia: Random act of kindness; Wikipedia: Prosocial behavior.
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