Kind World

Jen Turner had always wanted to be a mom. But when she developed macular edema, an eye disease, doctors warned her that pregnancy could result in permanent loss of sight. Seeing her sister's distress, Jen's identical twin, Mel, made an unconventional proposal.

Everything seemed to be going wrong in Maureen Festa's life. Her marriage was ending, her mother was dying, and she faced having to leave the neighborhood she loved. She'd learned of a potential new apartment just down the street, but, on the day she'd planned to see it, she lost her job. To her surprise, the apartment's landlord gave her reason to hope.

Dr. Ferenc Jolesz's kidneys were failing fast. The estimated wait time for a cadaver transplant was five to 10 years. He didn't have that kind of time. But an article in the local paper led a stranger to ask, "Why not me?"

Every year at De Smet Jesuit High School in St. Louis, Missouri, students gather for a mother/son Mass and breakfast. Having lost his mom in middle school, Michael Tambone hadn’t attended the event. But in his Junior year, Frances Schmitz, a friend's mother, asked Michael if he’d like to go with her and her son.

Emily Proctor was traveling to Florida to visit a friend in need. When a thunderstorm caused her to miss a connecting flight, it looked like she'd be spending the night in the airport. That's when a stranger wrapped an arm around her, saying everything would be okay.

When Maureen O'Rourke's father was dying from Alzheimer's, she vowed to stay with him until the end. Death seemed imminent, but days turned into weeks, and Maureen contemplated leaving her father's side. That's when a small gesture from a nurse gave her the strength to stay one more night.

Shelagh Gordon was another name in the obituaries, an ordinary woman who had died suddenly of a massive brain aneurysm at the age of 55. But something in her obituary stood out to a journalist at the Toronto Star. For weeks, Catherine Porter had been combing the paper, looking to profile an ordinary person through the perspectives of the family and friends he or she had left behind. What emerged was an extraordinary portrait.

How far would you go to a help a person in need? When Ron Jones, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, got to know a young couple who were struggling and learned about their background, he made the decision that money alone would not be enough to truly make a difference in their lives.

Scott Widak had a smile for everyone and an open heart. When he became terminally ill, his nephew took to Reddit, asking the online community to send letters to his uncle with Down syndrome and listing some of his eclectic interests. Scott's story resonated around the world, with hundreds and hundreds of letters coming in, each recognizing something special about Scott that had resonated with the sender.

Karim Alagha worked for 25 years at a gas station in Cambridge. He was immensely loving and deeply empathetic; he asked people how they felt and truly listened to their answers. Over time, a community formed around Karim and the station. An invisible community that was not even aware of itself until Karim fell sick.