This post is inspired by Shot@Life, an initiative of the United Nations Foundation dedicated to using vaccines as a cost-effective way to save children’s lives in developing countries. (Image courtesy United Nations Foundation.)
Hi team, I need help. Here’s why:
For every comment on this post, Shot@Life gets $20 to vaccinate a kid.
Twenty. Dollars.
Twenty dollars is what it costs to give one child four vaccines that help protect them against measles, pneumonia, diarrhea, and polio. During Shot@Life’s Blogust: Blog Relay for Good, 31 bloggers have been helping to secure $200,000 in sponsor donations. We need 10,000 comments, and we’re about 1,000 away from that goal right now.
Over the years, your comments have shaped my life. Whether you were celebrating Hank’s birth with me, or cheering my Life List, or comforting me when things took a difficult turn. I know you guys care about helping other people because of how much help you’ve already heaped on me.
So let’s do this.
Can you comment twice? Yes. Yes you can. And if you have a means of spreading the word, please Tweet, Pin, link on Facebook, or post a quick link on your own site.
Let us know the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you in comments. And thanks to you for being so nice to other people. I like you.
Yesterday Fadra Nally of All Things Fadra wrote about the comments you never see. Tomorrow, I’m passing the baton to my friend Stacey Ferguson of Justice Fergie — so you can help us reach our final goal by commenting on her site as well. We have until August 31. Thanks again.
Mighty Girl 
My best friend asked me to marry him. 10 years and 1.5 kids and it’s still the nicest thing.
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One of the best things that happened to me was that my grandpa woke me up with a song on my 15th birthday!
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I am blessed to have lots of examples to choose from. I will pick: I left my script on the El one day and a stranger found it and worked through enough of the cast list and info therein to get it back to me a few days later.
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My honey bringing me my pillow and blanket when I start to drift on the couch.
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what a great gesture
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In my early 20s I was very unhappy, having just moved to a new city where I didn’t know anyone. My sister asked for a list of interests (just 3 or 4 of them). She returned it to me a few days later with ideas under each interest of activities or ways I could pursue them. It meant so much that she recognized my loneliness and took the time to think up some ideas for me.
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My parents’ unconditional love and support. They’re the best!
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Loved me for living from my heart!
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People who take the time to listen. Really stop and listen and process what you’re saying.
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Often when I travel to other parts of the world, I realize how thankful I should be for every. little. thing. I think this is a wonderful opportunity.
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I have been blessed by so many nice things – it is hard to pick the nicest. Here are three near the top of the list:
When I hosted my parents’ 25th anniversary as a dessert buffet, my then boyfriend (now husband) went to my apartment after I left for the party 250 miles away, and washed all the dishes I had dirtied cooking for the party.
When my father died, friends called specifically to tell me what my dad meant to them.
When I was at a party recently, graciously accepting compliment after compliment about how beautiful my daughter is (and she is, and I never tire of hearing it), one of the women leaned over and whispered quietly in my ear, “She looks just like you, you know.”
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What my husband does every day: treats me as an equal partner and works as hard as I do to make sure our visions for the future are aligned and exciting for us 🙂
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I am a single mum, and my son does the nicest things for me every day. Every day when he gets home from school, he cleans the kitchen and gets dinner started so that when I come home exhausted from work, a lot of chores are already done. At fifteen, I know he would rather be out with his friends or practicing guitar, but he is the absolute best kid in the world.
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The nicest thing anyone has ever done has been to take care of me when I’m sick.
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My friends and family give me their unconditional love and that’s the most I could ever ask for!
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When my husband and I got married, I was a first-year teacher and he was a grad student. Our next door neighbors, a married couple with kids of the own who I had occasionally baby sat for, without asking, paid our rent for the first two months of our married life. They sent a small card explaining that they remember bring young and poor but in love, and that they wanted to pass on the kindness others had shown to them. We’ve been married almost 10 years and have a small savings account set up so that we can do the same thing for our friend’s children in the future.
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There have been so many, but last Feb, my good friend & her husband retrieved and babysat my children overnight when I called them while lying on the ground outside my garage with a broken wrist. (My husband was out of the country on a business trip). She also picked me up from ER late that night, brought me to an all-night pharmacy to pick up pain meds, and did my sinkful of dirty dishes when she brought me home. It was so reassuring to know my kids would be well taken care of while I was taking an ambulance ride to the ER and that they would mind them as long as necessary. What a blessing!
Side note: You know how the top step of a ladder says, “Not A Step”? They really mean that.
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In college, my grandma died suddenly and unexpectedly. My boyfriend (now husband) was going to school in another city, 3 hours away with no car. I called him in tears as I was driving back to my hometown. After calming me, he asked me to give him 15 minutes to call me back. After that time, he called and said he was on his way. He convinced his roommate to let him borrow his car. I’ll never forget the comfort I felt to have him there.
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The best thing my son (now an adult and a father) ever said to me when someone complimented him on his amazing parenting skills was “Well I learned it from my Mom”. Still makes me feel like the most lucky person in the world to have such an amazing child – and grandchild.
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Right at the start of college, my class got out late. It was pitch black outside, and being new to the campus, I was terrified that I had to find my car in the giant, dark garage. A stranger in the class must have sensed my fear, and offered to walk me to my car (in a genuine, nice way). Such a random, greatly appreciated act of kindness.
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Lord– I need to proofread:
Kids of *their own
They remember *being young
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I probably don’t know the nicest thing anyone has done for me because it was something done so discretely I probably didn’t notice. I hope I did. Every day, my parents and friends do nice things for me and I’m very grateful.
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The nicest thing anyone has done for me is donate to the alzheimer’s association in remembrance of my grandpa. He is like my second dad and the fact that a random friend would feel so kind to donate such a large amount of money meant the world to me.
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I am lucky to have been surrounded my whole life by kind people who do nice things. I don’t know if the big things mean more than the little things. My grandmother would wake me up when I was a child with a song that would set my day off right. I sing it to my child now and it puts us both in splendid moods. After my grandmother passed away another student in my university class made a point of taking me out for walks and to do things when I was too depressed to do anything for myself. She didn’t really know me before but what she did helped me through that period of my life. We lost touch but I will always admire her for what she did. I’ve made a point of doing the same for others since. Being nice means sharing in the beauty of life, big and small.
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Yesterday I had to put my wife and two little girls on a plane. The ticket agent gave me a pass to go with them to the gate, then personally came and let them onboard before the “preferred/elite/gold member” passengers to make sure they were comfortable. Thanks Wayne of American Eagle.
That being said, I’m not entirely clear why those donating the vaccines make it dependent on numbers of comments. Why not just donate the maximum amount of money or vaccines? I mean, it lets me pat myself on the back, I guess but still . . .
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Count me in!
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I moved back to SF a few years ago, and had no place to stay when I arrived with my car full of possessions. Without hesitating, my buddy said I could stay on his couch as long as I needed. Having great friends makes all the difference.
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my dear friend took me and 2 other girls to bali for vacation–that was a dream I probably still would not have made come true but beyond that she is the dearest friend ever.
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The nicest thing someone has done for me was leave their home, travel thousands of miles, go to my home, knock on my door, and teach me the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I then joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which changed my life forever. I cherish my life and those of others because of the Gospel of Christ.
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A good friend offered to hang out at the house with my sick monther-in-law so my husband and I could go out by ourselves.
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I am so lucky to have people in my life who make me feel loved and appreciated every day just by being nice. I couldn’t possibly choose the nicest thing anyone has done for me 🙂
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I’m not really a commenter by preference, but this seems like a worthwhile cause. I’m in!
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This is such an amazing idea!
The nicest thing is the unwavering love and support I receive from my family and friends everyday. I know that I am incredibly lucky.
Thanks for doing this, Maggie!
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I’m an event planner, and at the end of my biggest event of the year (which takes nearly a whole year to plan), I came home to a spotlessly clean house, jazz music playing, and my smiling soon-to-be husband, who swooped me up in one of the best hugs ever. Heaven.
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I’ve been involved in so many discussions with friends lately regarding the AWFUL, hate-filled comments posted online after almost any sort of article (especially given an election year)… it makes me so happy (and hopeful) to see nothing but wonderful comments for once! (I realize I didn’t follow directions here – but I hope my comment still counts haha).
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So hard to pick just one. It’s always nice when a loved one acknowledges your hardship and provides a listening ear.
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My husband drove 3 hours to see me before we were dating, while I was still dating someone else, just to see me for the day at my cousin’s grad party. Just to see me. 🙂
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Without fail, my husband loves me unconditionally and without strings everyday. That’s pretty nice.
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I can’t pick just one, but I’ll go with my parents putting up with me and supporting me through all my never ending nonsense and ridiculous plans and ambitions (which change weekly).
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Nicest thing EVER is pretty hard, so I’ll go with flowers. Someone sending flowers is always so touching, especially when you’re not expecting it.
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I have nothing to add, but wanted to post a second time. 🙂
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Someone I didn’t know well insisted on being my friend when I was new in town and struggling with grief and depression. She made me dinner and continued to invite me out even when I wasn’t great company. Now she is one of my closest friends.
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My husband to be stood up to my parents for me
when I left a lucrative job for an unpaid once because he believed in my purpose and my abilities.
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When a friend ran with me when I felt that I could go no further. It may not seem like much but in that recent moment I wasn’t sure I could continue (even after 6+ months of prep).
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Wahooooo!!! this rocks!!!
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Aww, I can relate to Heather, the very first comment. Same story, down to our age. But probably the nicest thing anyone did for me was my parents adopting me as an infant. Even though they both died by the time I was 19, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. Best family ever.
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Okay, since we can leave two… I will. 😉 Being forgiven… and not made to feel worse in the moment. These are the moments that shape how you treat others in the future.
Thanks for sharing this opportunity with us and for sharing the beautiful photo.
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I’m thankful for amazing friends and family who are always there to comfort me.
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Well, the nice thing right now is being flooded by memories of nice things people have done over the years. But for just one, I’d have to say how my husband wakes me up every day. The alarm makes me angry (obviously not a morning person) and so he wakes me up instead (very much a morning person). It’s a little thing but sweet as anything.
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Awesome cause. The use of vaccines is a cause worth fighting for for EVERY individual around the world!
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