We asked entrepreneurs, artists, creatives and folks from every walk of life to share stories of kindness with us because we believe that hearing about kindness inspires more kindness. Our world needs more kindness.

Aliciap Racine

Throughout my life, I’ve been lucky enough to have an army of unexpected angels—family, friends, and strangers—do enormously kind things for me. For this article, I want to highlight my therapist, for soon to be obvious reasons. This particular moment of great kindness involves a bathtub full of my daughter in calamine lotion, my young mom self, and one very wise psychoanalyst. When my daughter was five, she got the chickenpox. It was pretty bad. I was a young, broke single mom, working my way through grad school and running on cliff bars. Back then, therapy wasn’t on Zoom; if you wanted help, you had to drag yourself to an office and collapse dramatically on a couch, Freudian-style. Read more>>

Julie Kennedy

I have been fortunate enough to have been the recipient of many kind acts of service. But this particular kind act from my doctorate program professors at Texas Christian University stands out. When I was entering my last year of my doctorate program, I was getting a divorce and going to have to quit the program. My professors nominated me for a grant that provided a monthly stipend to live on and financial aid for school. Because of their generosity, I was able to finish my program and do what I do today! Read more>>

Marie Kemp

The kindest thing anyone was ever done for me was to see me and allow me to be seen. I pour myself into everything I make. We all do , but the world is big and busy. I often wonder how any art, let alone mine, can get traction in the chaos. Growing up I just wanted to make things. It was about communicating what I saw and felt and hoped for in this world. But honestly I didn’t know how I could make a living at it. Who really cared. So I spent most of my life working day in and out at other things. I worked on assembly lines, I worked in shipping and receiving , in fast food. Finally I fell into a state job and worked in health care for 30 years. I did love that job, The people I worked with and cared for were family to me. Then I retired. Its like falling off a cliff. I decided to do the thing I started out trying to do years ago. Make things. So I worked really hard. I went back to college and poured my heart into my creations….again, but still not understanding where anything I made could belong besides my basement… Read more>>

Lumalia Armstrong

Giving me a permission slip to do the thing I always wanted to do. I have always loved writing; it set me apart as a photographer when I was a full-time wedding photographer. I could write a compelling blog post, which was my secret aset to getting potential clients in a meeting with me. But I had horrific grammar, I struggle with aspects of dyslexia, my flow was always backwards for clarity purposes. I knew I had unique ideas, but making them “English/human” was always an edge for me. Read more>>