“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Meade

By Jaime Thurston, Founder of 52 Lives, www.52-lives.org

52 weeks ago, I came across a wanted ad on a classified website. A young mum was looking for a rug to cover her broken floor so her children wouldn’t cut their feet.

I could read the desperation between the lines, and contacted her to find out if there was anything else she needed. The more I learned about her, the more I wanted to help. She had escaped a bad domestic situation and was starting over again with her three children. After periods of homelessness, and even living in a garden shed, the family had a home but were still very much in need of help.

I remember thinking that if only people knew about her, so many would want to help. And so, at 5am one morning, I started a Facebook page called 52 Lives. The aim was to help one stranger every week of the year.

Within a month, the page had gained a huge amount of support, and I launched the 52 Lives website.

And so, for the past 51 weeks, thousands of strangers all over the world have helped to spread kindness and change lives, in so many different and wonderful ways.

Here are just a few:

• A woman from Scotland bought a new car for a single mum and son in Australia, who both had cancer and no way of getting to the hospital for treatment.
• A homeless man was given gift vouchers so he could buy his children Christmas presents for the first time in years.
• A team of tradespeople and artists created a sensory shed for a young girl on the verge of losing her eyesight.
• An elderly Brighton lady who had been conned out of £1200 was given back her money, thanks to some kind donors.
• Some generous donors paid for dentures for a 25 year old man in Alabama with no teeth.
• Twin boys from Nottingham with Batten disease were sent on the holiday of a lifetime by a kind man from Jersey.
• A young single mum trying to study for a qualification to make a better life for her baby was given a brand new laptop.
• A teenage boy being bullied because of scars he has on his head was sent video messages and words of support from strangers all over the world.

There have been so many amazing stories of kindness. And to me, it’s kindness in its purest form – helping someone you don’t know, who will never thank you, and who will never be able to repay you. Our supporters are amazing people, who offer help without judgement every single week.

Although 52 Lives gives people tangible help, that isn’t what is changing people’s lives. It is the simple fact that there are strangers out there who care about them and who want to help. It’s the unexpected kindness. It’s seeing the good in people.

I don’t think our happiness or well-being can come from external things. They are innate. So while I know the help we offer can’t really change people, I do hope that these little unexpected acts of kindness can perhaps, at the very least, prompt some fresh thinking  or a temporary new outlook on the world – not just from the people we help, but those who read the stories every week. The ripple effect of a kind act is far reaching and has the potential to be incredibly powerful.

– See more at: www.52-lives.org