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Kindness at Christmas
In November, Jane* found a child’s wallet containing quite a lot of money. After posting about it on Neighbourly and approaching two local schools, she was unable to find the owner. Inside the wallet was an expired gift card from play arcade Jago Town. Jane contacted Jago Town to see if they could trace the […]
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Misplaced card
Vanessa had just got off work and was looking forward to the weekend. She got off the bus at her local Hamilton supermarket to buy herself a treat before heading home. In the supermarket car park, she reached for her bank card but couldn’t find it. After rummaging in her bag for several minutes she […]
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Care at the car wash
The other day I was waiting to go through the automatic car wash, when I noticed that the woman in front of me was stuck. She had entered her code and driven into the car wash, but then nothing happened. I got out of my car and gave her a wave, indicating that I would […]
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Courtesy on our roads
Shout out to the courteous drivers out there. We tend to remember the rude ones, but considerate drivers are all around us. Just this week I’ve had vehicles make space for me to pull out of a service station into heavy traffic, and to back out of a space in a crowded parking lot. Without […]
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Helping with a house move
Phillipa,* a sole parent, had just come out of hospital after surgery and was convalescing, when she was faced with having to move house. The people she would normally turn to for help were not available, leaving her worried about how she would cope. To her delight, several people she hardly knew stepped forward and […]
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Plalking = Picking up litter while walking
On my way to the local shops, I was curious to see an older lady walking with a plastic bag. She walked with dignity and looked purposeful, but every time she passed a piece of rubbish, she bent down, picked it up, popped it into her bag and carried on walking. In a very humble […]
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Gift in the mail
Sonya* was going through a bad patch and struggling to pay her bills. One day she went to the letterbox and was surprised to find an envelope containing a $100 supermarket gift card. There was no name or return address, so Sonya had no idea who to thank, but she was delighted with the unexpected gift. […]
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What to do with an extra copy
Sally* recently ordered a book online, but because the payment system was so quick and simple, she did not realise that she had ordered and paid for the book twice. When two copies of the book arrived, she was unsure what to do. Rather than send the second copy back and ask for a refund, […]
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Acts of kindness through the work we do
People who work in the helping professions often go above and beyond their job descriptions to help the people they support. One example is Rosa*, whose job involves helping refugee families to settle in New Zealand. Rosa’s compassion for those who have experienced terrible conditions in their home countries and in crowded refugee camps, prompts […]
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Help not needed
If we see a stranger in trouble, it’s good to stop and help – but sometimes we can get it wrong. The other day as I pulled into my street, I saw a motorcycle on its side and its rider sprawled out on a grassy bank by the side of the road. Immediately I pulled […]