Think you can't make a difference? Think again. These incredible people prove that whether you are rich or poor, helping others has a serious impact on not only yourself, but the actual lives of others.
That Community Spirit, Dough
It's Ludacris!
Therra Gwyn-Jaramillo was on the verge of a breakdown in July when the kindness of a friend and a stranger brought her the relief she needed. The Atlanta woman had lost her husband to brain cancer a few years ago and was struggling to pay the bills, care for six rescue pets, an elderly, blind chicken and her disabled brother.
A stranger in front of her in line at Whole Foods offered to pay her whole $375 bill (she was shopping there thanks to a sweet friend's $250 gift card) when their items mistakenly got mixed together. The cashier later clued her in that the kind stranger was none other than the rapper Ludacris.
"What Ludacris had no way of knowing is that his quiet kindness and generous gesture came at a moment when my candle was out," Gwyn-Jaramillo wrote.
A Quiet Millionaire
For decades, special education teacher Genevieve Via Cava quietly saved up several million dollars. The frugal woman rarely bought new clothes (even then, usually at a discount), dined out or splurged on herself. She had no children and decided to leave $1 million from her savings to her special education students.
When she died in 2011 at age 89, her quiet fortune and generous gift was a surprise to those who knew her. Her estate was finally settled in April, and the $1 million will be used by New Jersey's Dumont School District to fund college scholarships for special needs students. Her gift will fund one or two annual $25,000 scholarships in perpetuity, starting with the 2019-20 school year.
Spreading Good Car-ma
The community in Red Deer, Canada, stunned the Kerylukes with an outstanding act of kindness at the Electric Garage Auctions in September. Ben and Marilyn Keryluke lost their son and daughter-in-law in a motorcycle crash in May. Caring for their 3-year-old and 6-year-old grandchildren with special needs brought on some additional costs that forced Ben and Marilyn to put their son's 1973 Pontiac Parisienne, which he had hoped to pass onto is children, up for auction.
What they didn't expect was for Rod McWilliams to buy it for $29,000, then donate the car right back. Then, Danny Fayad bought it for $30,000 and also gave it back. And finally Bob Bevins bought it for $20,000 and returned the car to the Kerylukes. Others donated money that brought the total up to $100,000.
There wasn't a dry eye at the auction.
It Takes a Minaj
Nicki Minaj made headlines by surprising Twitter fans last year when she offered to help pay for their college tuition and student loans. But what's lesser known about Minaj's kindness is that for a few years, she was quietly donating money to villages in India through the Pearl Foundation. Her efforts have helped build life-changing infrastructure, including building a clean water well and spaces to worship and learn.
Cora the Explorer
Madison Palm shared a heartwarming moment between her rescue dog, Cora, and a man who was sitting by himself near their gate. During a layover at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the corgi approached the man and plopped herself right next to him.
The stranger gave her some loving scratches, and when Palm asked if Cora was bothering him, he told her, "No, no. I lost my dog last night." Palm said her dog has a gift of knowing who's hurting and how to help.
Ugh, our hearts.
Pay It Forward
Target employee Debora Durall was feeling really down, until she witnessed a chain of kind acts in 2012. A family at the checkout with $161.85 worth of items had their card declined. When the dad stepped away to make a phone call, another customer stepped in and quietly offered to pay it all.
The generous stranger, who said she had been helped before and wanted to do this, left before the family did. The family ended up passing down the $20 bill they had to the next customer, which ended up being two teenagers who passed the remaining $11.51 to the next.
