This 8-year-old little girl is working towards 600 random acts of kindness before her late grandmother’s birthday.
The generosity and desire of this young girl to do such nice things for people she doesn’t even know is both touching and inspiring.
One of our followers ‘Jane’ shared this thoughtful random act of kindness that she showed towards her grandfather. We thought it was definitely worth sharing with you all. Although Jane’s grandfather has since passed away, it’s something that she continues to think about to this day.
One morning Jane was spending time with her grandfather, something she did on most days, only this time she saw a very real, very raw side to her grandfather. Something she had not previously allowed herself to consider. What she observed really touched her.
What started off to be a ‘normal routine’ for her grandfather, which meant he was out the front hovering around waiting for the postman to drive past, usually right on 10 o’clock, was a day stamped in time for Jane now. Jane peered out the window and watched him walk out to the front of his house to check the post box. After checking for mail, only to find nothing had arrived for him, he said to Jane, “There is nothing for me. There is never anything there for me!” … when she looked puzzled as she didn’t know that maybe he had been expecting something? He continued, “Most of my friends are no longer alive,” and the loneliness of her grandfather’s position normally hidden under a gentle but weathered skin, sank in.
Jane instantly felt a rush of sadness by his response and never really thought that he would be so impacted by not receiving any mail.
Jane thought about it all day, and again that night. It must be really lonely when all of your good friends and the people you love eventually die and move on. Whilst it’s great to have family around, it still must be hard to outlive most of your friends and other generations of your family.
So that night, deeply saddened by her realisation, she wrote her grandfather a letter, telling him how important he was to her. The next day she walked down to the post office, bought a stamp and sent it to her grandfather’s home address. And then she waited …
Watching him receive the letter, the smile and obvious appreciation was well worth it for Jane. She never would have thought that such a small heartfelt gesture could make a difference to someone’s day.
Years passed, and eventually so did Jane’s grandfather. The true impact of this gesture was not made totally apparent until after his death, when Jane’s family was sorting out his belongings and the affairs of his estate. To Jane and the family’s surprise, in one of his drawers they found the letter Jane had sent all those years ago. Her grandfather had kept the letter all this time amongst few possessions he held onto. Something he obviously treasured.
We thank Jane for sharing this personal story where such a simple gesture of penning a letter to an elderly loved one can leave such a permanent mark of kindness.
Whilst technology is a wonderful thing, nothing compares to receiving a letter or package in the post. Don’t we all agree? Please share with us your stories of kindness to the elderly. Perhaps you have done something nice for a stranger, or maybe it’s a loved one or a patient/resident – all are welcome!
We have had a few people approach us with an interest to give back to the elderly, as an act of kindness. With some people asking us about programs that enable visits to older people’s homes just to ‘listen’ or an alternative service for a ‘pen friend’.
Is this something you would be interested in participating in and giving back to? If so, let us know or private message us and we will explore what is possible wherever you maybe located.
What a beautiful and precious young woman.
It doesn’t take much to enrich the lives of the older generation, maybe sitting while they talk of years long past, a hand written letter, some flowers from the neighbours garden, taking out or bringing in the rubbish bins, perhaps a bread roll with their favourite topping, or if they’re able perhaps a visit to a local cafe, or a drive to the beach.
It’s often the small gestures which are the most appreciated.