When I was younger, I was at a friend's house and she and her mom were getting ready to get in the car. They had me join and said, we're going to Erin's house.

The van was full of groceries. Apparently Erin's family was having huge financial issues and could barely afford food. My friend and I ran the bags of groceries ($100 worth) to the porch, rang the doorbell, and we ran off.

She still doesn't know to this day who did that.

My friend's parents were some of the best examples of why you should care and give, whether the good comes back to you or not. Since then I've always given whatever bit I could afford to people who asked for it.

An exception when I was living in San Francisco was when I came across a homeless guy begging for cash to get tobacco. He had these tears in his eyes like he felt like he is going to die. Of course he wouldn't, but I guess I appreciated his honesty and something about the expression in these eyes really moved me. and pulled out my wallet, but I only had $20 bills coming from an ATM. I was a near-broke college student, but too bad he already saw me pull my wallet out. So I handed him a 20 and made him promise me he'd also get something to eat.

I walked off to a bus stop and waited with a group of people. Next thing I knew, he found me at the stop smoking a cigarette happily, pointed and yelled, "I'd die in a fire for you! I would!" Everyone at the bus stop stared at me as he walked away. I just smiled, and it totally made my day and I will never forget his face.

And you never know what your act will lead them to do. One guy used the money to buy calling cards to call family. A nice mother went into an internet cafe with whatever cash I had to look for jobs online.

Point is, an act of kindness toward anyone can seem like no big deal to you and cost you nearly nothing. But I believe in the effects it can have on people, that hopefully they still have faith in humanity. It's this interaction that is more valuable than money and may save some from living in solitude, depression, crime, poverty, or addiction. Maybe that's a big impossible dream, but if it's no big deal to you, then why not help out a little?