10 of 2017’s most heartwarming acts of kindness

There’s no doubt that 2017 has had its ups and downs – but for all the rocky moments we have witnessed there have also been some incredible acts of kindness.

Whether it be strangers helping each other in times of crisis or thousands of retweets to help reunite a man with his wages – 2017 has proved that there are good people in the world.

To celebrate all the kindness out there we’ve compiled a list of some of the particularly memorable acts of compassion.

1. The time a South London pub launched a social media campaign to help reunite a man with his Christmas wages

When a pub in Wimbledon found that someone had left £600 under their seat just four days before Christmas they made it their mission to reunite the owner with his money.

So pub managers Mike Dore and his wife Sarah launched a social media campaign searching for “Mariusz” – in the hope that he would come back to claim his money. Turns out Mariusz had gone home to Poland for Christmas and he doesn’t use social media – but luckily his son spotted the tweets and told his dad.

On returning back to the UK Mariusz visited the pub to collect his money and even tipped the barman who found it £50.

2. The time a young Huddersfield Town fan returned £5 to Aaron Mooy after a win over Manchester United

Little Adam Bhana was at the Kirklees Stadium to see Huddersfield’s 2-1 victory over Manchester United and wanted to thank goalscorer Mooy for his hard work.

He wrote a letter to Huddersfield director Sean Jarvis, explaining that he found £5 at the stadium and as “we cannot keep what is not ours” he wanted the money to be given to Aaron Mooy for his great performance.

3. The teenagers who invited an elderly lady to join their night out

Mahri Smith, 18, and her friends were taking photos of themselves in the bathroom of a casino when a “sweet and chatty” elderly woman began speaking to them.

She offered to take a picture of them and said: “I remember when my girlfriends and I would get dressed up and go out like this.”

Mahri was so touched by this that she asked the woman to join their night, insisting, “Why miss it, we are all out right now, aren’t we?”

The series of photos have since gone viral on Twitter, and it’s clear that the encounter made the elderly woman extremely happy.

4. The woman who paid for someone’s shopping and received a beautiful thank you three years later

Rachaele paid for the single mother’s shopping that day, and three years later received a surprising email from the woman she helped thanking her for her kindness.

In the email, single mother Tash said that Rachaele had “saved her whole world” that day.

5. Parents who thanked Twitter users for helping them find a discontinued Postman Pat video for their autistic son

James and Cindy Dutton, from Ruislip in west London, took to social media after son Thomas, 19, asked for Postman Pat’s Prize Postbag on VHS on his handwritten gift list.

Ms Dutton’s plea on Facebook was shared several times, but Mr Dutton’s tweet received a huge response with more than 7,500 retweets.

Jill Hulme, from Bournemouth, saw the tweet after Strictly Come Dancing performer Brendan Cole shared it, and contacted Mr Dutton to tell him she had a copy she was about to give to charity.

6. The moment baseball fans united to throw a woman’s lost hat up a car park

This one shows kindness on a major scale with hundreds of people getting involved.

During the Houston Astros’ World Series celebrations the crowd pulled together to return a hat to a woman who dropped it off a car park. And it was actually a pretty thrilling watch.

7. Everyday heroes who saved people and pets after Hurricane Harvey

Adam, who is an animal lover – loaded family after family along with their pets into his boat to take them to safety.

According to Good Morning America, one of the families Adam rescued included a 90-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s, her daughter, and the family’s three dogs and three cats.

8. The time a Trump voter left a £350 tip for a black waitress along with a moving note

Jason White, 37, visited a Busboys and Poets restaurant in Washington DC while visiting for Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The bill, posted to the restaurant’s Twitter page, read: “We may come from different cultures and may disagree on certain issues, but if everyone would share their smile and kindness like your beautiful smile, our country will come together as one people. Not race. Not gender. Just American.”

9. The friendship between Bradley Lowery and Jermain Defoe

Defoe said of Lowery in an interview with the BBC’s Football Focus: “That story of Brad’s is just special, my best friend, it was genuine. He loved his football, he loved me, I loved him.

“There was nothing I could give him, apart from being a friend.”

10. The time a police officer joined a 92-year-old woman dancing in the street

So she pulled up in her patrol car, turned up the radio and leapt out to join her.