PLAN OUT A RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS

Stories of random acts of kindness have been flowing into the Regina Leader-post and Saskatoon Starphoenix in recent days.

There is the story of Bob Lauder, a patient in a Regina hospital being treated for dementia. He and his wife Dee shared the difference made by a stranger named Kevin, the son of the patient in the bed next to Bob’s.

Bob had admired Kevin’s haircut, and for most people it would have ended there. But Kevin made arrangements for his barber to come in and treat Bob.

Bob had always loved going to the barber, and took pride in his appearance. There could have been no better gift.

“I must confess, the day that I heard about the haircut and the shave I had just about reached the end,” said Dee.

In Saskatoon, there was a veritable outbreak of generosity in a Montana’s restaurant after one man — the father of a young family — offered to pay the bill of the people at the next table. This prompted the recipient to do the same thing. The chain of events kept going until there were no tables left to pay it forward.

“When these things happen, it just reminds you how great people are,” said server Cheryl Chappell, who worked that magical shift and shared the story.

“With all the negative that’s always going on … it’s really great when you hear a good story, and it was even cooler to be there for it.” Don’t get left out of this warm holiday trend. We expect people to be generous and to give to charities at this time of year, but it’s not something we should take for granted.

Postmedia Saskatchewan has some giving opportunities we hold close to our hearts. The Leader-post has its Christmas Cheer Fund, with proceeds going to four women’s shelters. To give online, go to leaderpost.com/cheerfund.

Sporting Christmas is the longtime campaign of the Starphoenix, where donations go to the annual holiday hamper program. To give online, visit thestarphoenix.com/sportingchristmas and click the donation link.

Of course, there are many, many worthy charities and causes just waiting for us to give our time and send treasures their way.

As the generous souls in the examples above show, all we need to do is just look around us and we will find opportunities to change the life of someone else. Those chances could be at the next table in a restaurant or in the same room at the hospital.