A Basket Of $5s To Replace Woman's Trip Jar; Laundry Deed Repaid; A Gym Smile: The Patch Kindness Report

We asked for your reports of acts of kindness you observe in your daily life, whether it's as simple as someone letting a waiting car out into traffic, or someone raising money to help someone in their time of need.

We want to acknowledge the good things people do for those around them. And we want your help.

If you see an act of kindness, email it to me at karen.wall@patch.com and I will share it with our readers.

Here are notes I received from readers:

N.T. writes: "As a black woman living in Brick, I don't feel like I have a 'target on my back.' This news media has us all acting wacky these days. I for one don't believe the hype. I went to Planet Fitness this morning and the trainer greeted me with a big smile and laughs about my workout. It was a small gesture, but I for one am happy to know that my Brick neighbors are caring individuals who want to live peacefully like all the rest of us. Let's all get in on the act, Brick, with words of love and not the hate that media would like you to believe is the theme of the day. No way! I refuse to believe that."

J.D. wrote to tell of a woman who helped another after a recent fire: "I know a girl who spent the weekend collecting $5 bills because the woman lost her jar of $5 bills she'd been saving for a rainy day or a splurge. The girl ended up collecting $300-$400. She fanned each one and wrapped it in ribbon, and included little notes that each person wrote of support and encouragement. When she went and gave the woman the basket of $5 bills, that woman was giddy with excitement, (seeing) that something good came out of her tragedy. All because my friend was nice and took a few hours to care. It was more than just a bunch of $5 bills in a basket. It showed love and kindness."

N.T. writes: "As a black woman living in Brick, I don't feel like I have a 'target on my back.' This news media has us all acting wacky these days. I for one don't believe the hype. I went to Planet Fitness this morning and the trainer greeted me with a big smile and laughs about my workout. It was a small gesture, but I for one am happy to know that my Brick neighbors are caring individuals who want to live peacefully like all the rest of us. Let's all get in on the act, Brick, with words of love and not the hate that media would like you to believe is the theme of the day. No way! I refuse to believe that."

D.S. shared this incident: "Last week, my daughter paid it forward in Starbucks by buying the guy behind her a coffee. She sat down and watched the next three to four people buy coffee for the person behind them. People emulate someone who shows a heart and a good deed, and it's contagious."

Another woman wrote but did not include her name: "I could fill up this message with dozens of people that showed such humanity after Sandy. I was in a laundromat four years ago, pulling my wet, muddied, stormwater-soaked clothes from a garbage bag and dropping them into a washing machine," she wrote. "I was hoping to save my most treasured clothes that I'd peeled off of my muddy floors hours earlier. A woman who saw me handed the owner two $20 bills and asked her to hold them until after she left, to pay my laundry bill. And she did so as her father was pumping 18 inches of water at his own home." The woman added that she recently felt compelled to try to return the favor. She contacted the laundromat and found out the woman who had helped her that mud-encrusted day four years ago was struggling herself.

"The owner said, 'I cannot believe that you are looking for her today,' " the woman wrote. " 'I absolutely remember you and the situation. I haven't seen her in a year and a half years and she stopped in yesterday with a few loads of laundry and told me she's having financial difficulties, asked me to deliver the clothes on Wednesday and to bill her next week.' Let's just say that the woman's bill has been paid and I'm blessed that I can bless her in her own difficult time just as she had for me. I fully know that people don't bless others with hopes for repayment in the future. And I also fully know that things happen for a reason and all in good time. (This was) her karma for being caring and selfless. She's just one of many that showed me such humanity."

So ... share your stories with me. Let's remind people of the good in the world. karen.wall@patch.com

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