While paying for my groceries at the cashier in Wal Mart, I bought a gift card and put $50 on it. I told the cashier to give it to the couple at the end of the checkout line. The lady was pregnant and they looked so happy together. The cashier was amazed, I left before she finished ringing them up so I didn’t get to see their response but the look on the cashiers face was enough.

I was paying for my family’s meal at Mello Mushroom Pizza restaurant when the crazy idea of paying for someone else’s table popped into my mind. I told the cashier to add the tab for another family that was sitting nearby to my total. She almost screamed , she called her supervisor and told her and she said “I’m going to cry”. Wow I didn’t expect all of that to happen. Felt great though.

A few weeks ago I paid for two police officer’s meal at my favorite burrito joint. A week later I was there again and got ready to pay for my order when I realized I had left my wallet at home. I felt so embarrassed because they had already made my order, When I told the cashier she smiled and said “No Problem” It’s on us, That blew me away totally.

I make it a practice to pay for the car behind me at Starbucks(when I have the cash). One morning I was caught by surprise when the person in front of me paid for my Mocha. What comes around goes around.

For a few weeks, I would take $1 every day and leave it somewhere in public. A few of the places included a shelf in the grocery store, within the baby diaper changing station, the floor of the elevator, the counter of a bathroom, and on top of the toilet paper dispenser in a bathroom. It became so fun to think of where to hide the next surprise for someone I didn’t know to discover it! I can think of a few more places to try such as within a book being returned to the library, within the gum boxes in the gas station or at the top of a flight of stairs.

I loaned a couple hundred dollars to a friend and actually forgot about it. She reminded me a couple of times but it had felt so good to give it to her, I didn’t rush to meet her to get it back. When something came up in her life a short time after, I told her to please keep the money and use it as she wished.

After receiving a note from my child’s school that the class field trip might have to be cancelled due to not receiving enough money from parents, I emailed the teacher. I told her that I would send in an extra check to cover a student’s attendance on the trip. I couldn’t bear the thought of either the trip being cancelled or 1 or 2 students being left behind. The teacher wrote back with shock and gratitude and said that doesn’t usually happen.

I remember eating at IHOP once. The waitress was excellent. Even though the place was hectic she had the best attitude. When it was time to pay for my food I asked her “How much of a tip would you like?” she said that she wasn’t supposed to request tips. I said yeah, I know but this is one time you get to name the amount of your tip. She jokingly said, “What if I say $100?” I replied “You got it!” and filled out the check and gave it to her. She was totally shocked. Her manager came over and asked if the tip was for real and I said yes. He smiled even bigger than she did. I don’t do that every day but it sure did feel good to make someone’s day.

I was sitting outside of a restaurant waiting for my pager to buzz so that I could be seated. There was a family sitting nearby and I overheard the little boy pleading with his mother to take him to the music store after they finished eating. Apparently all of the school band instruments had been giving out and he would have to rent one to be in the school band. I played an instrument for three years in middle school and wish that I had continued to play. After checking with my wife we agreed to pay for the family to purchase an instrument for their son. We wrote out a check for $700.00 and gave it to them. They were blown away and it felt great knowing we helped a musician find his tune

My Giving Club helped a single mother who is going through divorce. She and her toddler were going to be away from family during a tough time. Our club heard about her situation and combined forces to get her a round trip ticket for a week with her parents. The parents were excited to hear that they would be able to see the grandchild and she thanked us for stepping in for her at a time she needed to be with family.

During the holidays and special occasions it's important to remember to reach out to others. For this past Mother's Day and Christmas, I sent a card to a single friend who is a pet lover. I signed the card in the name of her beloved pet, who past away and she was overjoyed. It was simple, but she said it meant so much.