If you’re a grown-up reading this, you might be thinking “it’s just a sticker book.” If you’re a kid, or the parent of one, you know better.

A little girl in Randpark Ridge, Johannesburg, had nearly finished hers. It was a Checkers Little Shop Sticky Book, and the stickers aren’t handed out freely. You get one for every R200 your family spends, and there are 50 to collect. That’s a lot of groceries. On top of that there’s all the swapping to find the ones you’re missing.

She’d done almost all of it. Then the book was stolen at school.

Enter Fae

Her mum, Tarryn Du Preez, wrote about it in a local neighbourhood group on Facebook. Her daughter was heartbroken, and Tarryn said the whole family felt the disappointment.

Then Fae got in touch. Fae, a stranger to them, offered to give the little girl a replacement sticker book with all the stickers already in it.

That evening the family went to collect it. Tarryn had said her daughter had no idea that something was waiting that would put a huge smile on her face. In her post she wrote that the excitement, the surprise and the thoughtfulness behind it meant more to her than words could say.

I’d love to have seen the girl’s face at that moment.

And then it kept going

Tarryn and her family weren’t content to just say thank you. They found out Fae is collecting food and other essentials for families in the Weltevreden community, and decided to help.

Tarryn put a post up in the same Facebook group asking Randpark Ridge and Weltevreden neighbours to pitch in. Fae is collecting:

  • Non-perishable food
  • School stationery
  • Clothes
  • Toiletries
  • Other essentials for anyone who could use a hand

So one kind thing, a replacement sticker book, has turned into a bunch of neighbours helping other neighbours.

Why this one stuck with me

Nobody was in danger here and nobody’s life changed overnight. A kid had her sticker book taken, and an adult who probably didn’t have to do anything decided to sort it out. A thank-you turned into a donation drive.

Tarryn put it simply in her post: even the smallest acts of kindness can make the biggest difference. It’s hard to argue with that after a story like this, where a sticker book ended up helping a whole community.

Missed previous Kindness Reports? Read them here: The Kindness Report

Seen something kind around you? Tell us about it. We’d love to share it in a future Kindness Report.

Source: The Good Things Guy: Stolen Sticker Book Sparks Ripple Acts of Kindness in Randpark Ridge

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