An Ohio woman took in two strangers. Then she saw their ‘wanted’ photos.; The Washington Post, July 18, 2026

 Dan Morse, The Washington Post, ; An Ohio woman took in two strangers. Then she saw their ‘wanted’ photos.

"Just 25 percent of Americans say most people can be trusted, down from 47 percent in the early 1970s, according to the long-running General Social Survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago. In a Pew Research survey of 25 countries last year, Americans ranked last in their likelihood of viewing fellow citizens as “morally good,” hitting just below 50 percent.

“In a country in which trust has been experiencing a long-term decline, here was this extraordinary act of trust,” said sociologist Bruce Carruthers of Northwestern University after being told of the case.

Social scientists have long studied why and how people trust. One big factor: People are more likely to trust those who reflect themselves. Carruthers said other characteristics of Behrman tilted toward trust, including an innate desire to help others and normally reliable street smarts."

James Talarico Is a Christian X-Ray; The New York Times, March 8, 2026

 DAVID FRENCH , The New York Times; James Talarico Is a Christian X-Ray

"If you were to crack open Scripture today and start reading, one of the first things you should notice is that the Bible contains remarkably few political mandates. You can read it from cover to cover and not know the definitive biblical tax rate, welfare program or foreign policy.

But the next thing you’ll notice is that there is an immense amount of guidance describing how Christians should behave. Indeed, in the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul says that the fruit of the spirit is a set of virtues — “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”..

But what if the coming thermostatic reaction isn’t about ideology as much as about character and temperament? What if we’re seeing a 21st-century version of the American public’s movement away from the cruelty and corruption of Richard Nixon toward the ethics and integrity of Jimmy Carter — a man who won for all the right reasons in 1976, even if his presidency didn’t live up to his promise?

It’s too soon to be that optimistic, but that’s what I see in people’s attitudes toward Talarico. That’s what I see in Cornyn’s surprising plurality over Paxton. This miserable political moment won’t end when the left takes back the government from the right or if the right continues to beat the left. It will end when our politicians — especially Christian politicians — forsake cruelty for compassion and realize that we shall know Christians in politics not by their stridency and ideology, but by their integrity and love, including their love for, as Talarico put it, “all of our neighbors.”

That’s the significance of the Talarico moment: not the old news that a Christian can be progressive but, rather, that Christian politicians can actually act like Christians. Kindness still has a place in the public square, even if it doesn’t always seem that way."

Cheyenne Jackson Believes in Kindness as a Drug; The New York Times, December 20, 2025

Kathryn Shattuck, The New York Times; Cheyenne Jackson Believes in Kindness as a Drug

"Kindness as a Drug.

I believe dogs and babies can tell if you’re a good person. I’m constantly putting that to the test."

The virtues of Superman; Thinking About..., September 25, 2025

 TIMOTHY SNYDER, Thinking About... ; The virtues of Superman

[Spoilers for 2025 Superman film]

"Superman’s victory, in the end, is crowned with an argument about humanity. For Luthor, humanity is genetic. He is human because he is genetically so. And whatever he does is therefore human, in the interest of humanity. The better it feels, the more human it must be. Superman counters with an ethical definition: to be human is to be humane. It is to try to do what is right. It is to take risks and pains to try to find the truths, including about oneself. Luthor, naturally, laughs at all of this. 

Luthor has himself raised a super-clone of Superman to be loathsomely obedient. But whose point does that really prove? Superman was genetically the child of parents who wanted him to take over the earth in a display of his own genetic superiority. But he was raised by kind people and became a kind person. Parenting, it turns out, makes the difference."

Nashville church helps unhoused people after downtown library fire; NewsChannel5, September 6, 2025

 

Kim Rafferty, NewsChannel5; Nashville church helps unhoused people after downtown library fire

"When the Nashville Public Library's downtown branch closed after a fire, McKendree United Methodist Church stepped up to fill a critical gap for people experiencing homelessness who had lost their daily refuge.

"Alright we'll get ya all bagged up here," said Francie Markham, who volunteers at the church every Thursday morning helping people experiencing homelessness...

After losing their cool refuge with computers and resources, Smith said many people just wanted to avoid the long stretch of summer heat.

"So what we were able to do on our Tuesdays and Thursday meal is to allow them to come in much earlier rather than at the 11:30 times so they would be out of the element," Smith said.

"With the changing of the season we need it open as soon as we can," Smith said.

In the meantime, Smith and Markham keep doing what's written on the walls — serving kindness.

Despite initial reports the library would open soon after the fire, library officials say the library requires a third party inspection before it can open. The two nearest library branches, North Branch and Hadley Park, are both more than a 30-minute walk from the library downtown. 

Have you witnessed acts of community kindness during challenging times? Share your story with Kim Rafferty and help us highlight the helpers making a difference in Middle Tennessee. Email kim.rafferty@NewsChannel5.com to continue the conversation.

In this article, we used artificial intelligence to help us convert a video news report originally written by Kim Rafferty. When using this tool, both Kim and the NewsChannel 5 editorial team verified all the facts in the article to make sure it is fair and accurate before we published it. We care about your trust in us and where you get your news, and using this tool allows us to convert our news coverage into different formats so we can quickly reach you where you like to consume information. It also lets our journalists spend more time looking into your story ideas, listening to you and digging into the stories that matter."

Trump Cuts Threaten Agency Running Meals on Wheels; The New York Times, April 24, 2025

Reed Abelson, The New York Times; Trump Cuts Threaten Agency Running Meals on Wheels

[Kip Currier: A dear nonagenarian friend of my family's, whom I'll shorthand by her first initial M, utilized Meals on Wheels for about a decade after her husband passed away. She lived on her own in a modest home in a peaceful forested area of Northwestern Pennsylvania. In addition to receiving healthy meals for the week, the volunteer who brought the meals once a week visited and chatted a bit with M. So, the program also provided a social interaction benefit. 

M passed away in early 2024. But during that decade on her own after she became a widow, Meals on Wheels helped M to be able to live independently. Just as the program has done for hundreds of thousands of other seniors.

How terribly short-sighted and unkind it is for this current administration to threaten such a valuable and compassionate program as Meals on Wheels: a volunteer brigade that has been helping older Americans to live with dignity in their Golden Years since 1954.

Call your state and federal representatives and tell them you want Meals on Wheels to continue:

Directory of U.S. House Representatives: https://www.house.gov/representatives

Directory of U.S. Senators: https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm ]

[Excerpt]

"Every Monday, Maurine Gentis, a retired teacher, waits for a delivery from Meals on Wheels South Texas.

“The meals help stretch my budget,” Ms. Gentis, 77, said. Living alone and in a wheelchair, she appreciates having someone look in on her regularly. The same group, a nonprofit, delivers books from the library and dry food for her cat.

But Ms. Gentis is anxious about what lies ahead. The small government agency responsible for overseeing programs like Meals on Wheels is being dismantled as part of the Trump administration’s overhaul of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Roughly half its staff has been let go in recent layoffs and all of its 10 regional offices are closed, according to several employees who lost their jobs.

“I’m just kind of worried that the whole thing might go down the drain, too,” Ms. Gentis said.

In President Trump’s quest to end what he termed “illegal and immoral discrimination programs,” one of his executive orders promoted cracking down on federal efforts to improve accessibility and representation for those with disabilities, with agencies flagging words like “accessible” and “disability” as potentially problematic. Certain research studies are no longer being funded, and many government health employees specializing in disability issues have been fired.

The downsizing of the agency, the Administration for Community Living, is part of far-reaching cuts planned at the H.H.S. under the Trump administration’s proposed budget."

A truck driver's quiet kindness on the highway leads to gratitude and recognition; CBC, December 27, 2024

CBC; A truck driver's quiet kindness on the highway leads to gratitude and recognition

"When trucker Daljit Sohi spotted a woman drop her purse in a B.C. parking lot, he immediately stepped in to help.

What followed was a three-hour drive to return her belongings, a gesture that would later earn him a generous gift and nomination for a prestigious trucking award...

Sohi, who has been with the company since 2021, hadn't told anyone at work about what happened, not even his family. 

Harpreet Sabharwal, HR Manager at Triple Eight Transport, praised Sohi's humility.

"The gentleman is quite humble to not boast about himself but we were quite surprised in a positive way.""

The things we can control: A personal reflection after Tuesday; The Ink, November 8, 2024

 ANAND GIRIDHARADAS , The Ink; The things we can control: A personal reflection after Tuesday

"In times like these we are entering, when it will become harder to have systems that are kind, interpersonal kindness will matter more. It shouldn’t have to, but it will. Having each other’s backs will matter more. Checking in on your friends will matter more. Letting people sleep on your couch will matter more. Cooking for people who are sick will matter more. We should not be in a situation where the burden of care shifts so radically from the center to the edges, from a coordinated system to an ad hoc network, but it is where we are headed. And we will all be called on in the times ahead to be for each other what, in a better time, the system would be.

If you have a spare moment today, text or, better yet, call someone you care about and don’t reach out to enough. And just tell them you will be there in the days that are coming. That’s it. That’s the assignment."

NHL hockey stars to compete in Stamford in memory of Darien's Hayden Thorsen; CT Post, August 2, 2023

 Dave Stewart, CT Post ; NHL hockey stars to compete in Stamford in memory of Darien's Hayden Thorsen

[Kip Currier: I just learned about this inspiring Shoulder Check Initiative this Memorial Day from an update story reported on morning television. On this day when we thank all those who gave their lives while serving in our military branches, in furtherance of freedom, this is an important reminder for all of us to reach out to someone, check on someone, and show kindness and compassion.]

"The HT40 Foundation is named for Hayden Thorsen, using his initials and the No. 40 jersey he wore while playing ice hockey.

Thorsen, an avid hockey player, died by suicide in the spring of 2022, and his parents Rob and Sarah created the foundation to “bring people together through kindness and compassion, just as (Hayden) did throughout his life.”...

According to a press release,, the Shoulder Check Initiative “encourages reaching out, checking in, and making kindness a contact sport in the locker rooms, in the halls, on and off the ice.”"

He forgot his shirt for a job interview. A hotel employee had a novel solution; NPR, December 27, 2023

 Autumn Barnes, NPR ; He forgot his shirt for a job interview. A hotel employee had a novel solution

"He only had about an hour until he needed to be at the interview. He rushed down to the lobby and went to the front desk to ask the man behind the counter if he could suggest a nearby store where he could buy a new shirt. 

"[I] went to the guy and said, 'I'm really in a lot of trouble. I have this really important job interview in an hour. And somehow I forgot my dress shirt at home,'" Muensterer remembered. "He listened to my story. And I hardly had ended it [when] he said, 'I have a solution.'" 

But rather than directing Muensterer to a nearby shop, the desk attendant did something surprising. Without saying a word, he took off his own white dress shirt and handed it to Muensterer."

'Real MVP': A professor gives a shout out to the student who nods along in class; NPR, December 18, 2023

 Autumn Barnes, Kristin Wong, NPR; 'Real MVP': A professor gives a shout out to the student who nods along in class

"The moment also gave her an idea about how she could pass the kindness along. 

"We sit in meetings for work all the time. We can now think about what little gestures like nodding may mean to someone presenting material to us," Middlewood said...

Later that semester, Middlewood thanked her unsung hero in a tweet by saying, "To the student in my Monday morning class, who nods as I talk, please know that you are the backbone of this class. You're the one keeping us going. Real MVP.""

In the War Over Ukraine, Expect the Unexpected; The New York Times, March 15, 2022

Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times; In the War Over Ukraine, Expect the Unexpected

"I am always amazed by the courage that seemingly average people manifest in war — in this case, not only by Ukrainians, but also by Russians who refuse to buy Putin’s lies, knowing that he is turning them into a pariah nation. So I marvel at the breathtaking courage demonstrated on Monday evening by Marina Ovsyannikova, an employee at Russia’s Channel 1, a state-run television channel, who burst into a live broadcast of Russia’s most-watched news show, yelling, “Stop the war!” and holding up a sign behind the anchorwoman saying, “They’re lying to you here.” She was interrogated and, for the moment, released — probably because Putin feared making her into a martyr.

Marina Ovsyannikova — remember her name. She dared to tell the czar that he had no clothes. What courage.

And finally, wars also reveal extraordinary acts of kindness."

Bystander Revolution: Take The Power Out Of Bullying

Bystander Revolution: Take The Power Out Of Bullying:

"What is Bystander Revolution?

Simple acts of kindness, courage, and inclusion anyone can use to take the power out of bullying.

Whether you're feeling afraid, ready to help, stuck, or inspired to change, you can find advice from someone who has dealt with a similar issue. Search by problem or solution to find tips from people who have been targets, people who have been bystanders, and people who have bullied.

Try one of the ideas. Share one of your own. You can be of real help right away. And if these ideas spread and become habits, it could change the dynamics forever.

Mission and History

Bystander Revolution was founded by author and parent MacKenzie Bezos to create a source of direct, peer-to-peer advice about practical things individuals can do to help defuse bullying. The ultimate goal is the discussion and spread of simple habits of leadership, kindness, and inclusion."