Bustos has been helping the homeless since 2012, when he traveled to the Philippines to visit family members. While abroad, he paid an owner of a barbershop to rent a chair and provide services to impoverished children in need of a fresh look. “The feeling was so rewarding, I decided to bring the positive energy back to NYC,” Bustos, 30, told The Huffington Post in an email, noting he’s also given haircuts to the needy in Jamaica, Costa Rica and Los Angeles. According to Bustos, of all the people he has helped over the years, one particular man sticks out. “Jemar Banks — I’ll never forget the name. After offering him a haircut and whatever food he wanted to eat, he didn’t have much to say throughout the whole process, until after I showed him what he looked like when I was done … The first thing he said to me was, ‘Do you know anyone that’s hiring?’”.
While Bustos provides the free haircut, he is often accompanied by his girlfriend, who asks recipients what food they’d like to eat. “One response we’ve gotten is, ‘Nobody ever asks me what I actually want. I usually just get leftovers and scraps’”. (
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6. In the terrible aftermath of 9/11, the Masai tribe in Kenya wanted to show its support for the United States and its people. So, the tribesmen donated 14 cows, one of its most precious resources, as a major gesture of goodwill.
The Masai people are a semi-nomadic tribe who live in Kenya and Tanzania. They are dependent on cows, since they provide the tribesmen with milk, and dung, which is dried and used to insulate their huts from heat. Cattle is an important part of their culture and most families survive with the help of these animals. At the same time, the Masai are known for their generosity. When one of the tribes members and Masai warrior named Wilson Kimel Naiyomah informed them that he wished to go to school, become and doctor and serve his people, the tribe sold cattle and raised $5,000 in 1996 and sent him to school.
When the World Trade Center was destroyed in 2001, the Masai were unaware of it until 2002. When Naiyomah returned to his home for a visit in 2002, he told the story from his perspective as a witness and informed student. The villagers were saddened by the loss of life and felt that they had to do something to help the United States in their time of need. Naiyomah offered one of his cows and asked the elders to bless it. Instead of just a blessing, the elders of the tribe donated 13 of their cows as a gift to America.
“The cow is almost the center of life for us,” said Mr. Naiyomah. “It’s sacred. It’s more than property. You give it a name. You talk to it. You perform rituals with it. I don’t know if you have any sacred food in America, something that has a supernatural feel as you eat it. That’s the cow for us. The gift was meant to help Americans through their time of sorrow.”
Since transporting cattle overseas is a tough job, they stayed in Kenya. In 2006, the US ambassador to Kenya decided that the cattle will be sold and funds used to provide educational opportunities for Masai children. To thank the Masai for their kind gesture, the US provided high school scholarships for 14 students. (
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7. After winning the lottery, Rachel Lapierre used the funds to create her own nonprofit foundation that helps people in need. Lapierre’s nonprofit has spent around $70,000 on operations all around the world.
When most of us would think of buying an expensive sports car or a million dollar mansion after winning the lottery, one woman pursued her dream of becoming a humanitarian. Rachel Lapierre, a former Miss Quebec, was running her own modeling agency and working as a nurse in 2013, when she won a lifetime salary of C$1,000 (£605) a week in the Quebecois lottery “Gagnant à vie”, or “winner for life”.
“At first I couldn’t believe it, but I didn’t celebrate or shout it from the rooftop because I had made a promise to the universe and I was determined to keep it. I wanted to do something I loved for the rest of my life. I wanted to help others,” she says.
Following her dreams, Lapierre quit her job and set up her own charity, Le Book Humanitaire. The non-profit organization connects those in need with people who can help. Some of the charity work the organization undertakes is driving a cancer patient to and back from a doctor’s appointment. According to the BBC, Lapierre’s nonprofit has spent around $70,000 on operations and most of the charity’s . donations go to schools, hospitals and communities in impoverished countries. (
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8. Shelby Hudgens, a homeless man, spent hours helping push stuck cars up a slippery, snow covered street in Colorado. One of the men he helped was overpowered by Hudgens’ generosity and setup a GoFundMe page, that raised more than $23,000 for him to get back on his feet.
Shelby Hudgens was working in an assisted living facility and dreaming of becoming a certified medical assistant but his dreams were derailed. After being evicted and left with no other choice, Hudgens began living in his car along with his dog. When a snowstorm hit Colorado Springs in 2015, Hudgens noticed that cars were having trouble going through a snow covered street, so he rushed to help. With limited clothing to keep him warm, the homeless man pushed one car after another to help fellow samaritans.
His generosity however, did not go unnoticed. A passerby saw Hudgens helping strangers and took a video, which then made headlines in the local TV channels. Soon after that, his story went viral and strangers from all around the world started donating to help him get back on his feet. An anonymous person put him up in a hotel, while another started a GoFundMe account, and a third offered him a job. He added, “I’d rather make the world a better place. It’s not all about me and I’ve got enough to get by”. (
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9. When a group of firefighters who had spent more than 24 hours battling the blaze at a local warehouse went to eat at a diner, the waitress, Liz Woodward, brought them a thank you note instead of the bill. In order to pay it forward, the firefighters made a plea to donate to the woman who was struggling to buy her father a wheelchair accessible van. Their efforts paid off when locals donated more than $67,000 in a few days.
In 2015, a group of New Jersey firefighters went to eat at a local diner after an extremely long shift. They had just battled a blaze that lasted more than 24 hours and were exhausted. Liz Woodward was the waitress who took their order and upon delivering their food, she also delivered a note thanking them. “Your breakfast is on me today,” the note read, along with little drawings of a fire ax and helmet. “Thank you for all that you do”.
Her generosity touched Firefighter Tim Young, who posted the picture on Facebook and urged people to eat at the diner where she worked. That’s when Young found out that Liz had a GoFundMe campaign that she was using to raise $17,000 to buy her father a wheelchair-accessible van. “Turns out, the young lady who gave us a free meal is really the one that could use the help,” Young wrote in another post. Young pleaded to the public, asking to help the kind woman and his efforts paid off. In less than a month, locals donated more than $67,000 — $50,000 above her goal. “This is just one example of how so many people in this world have incredible hearts and they pay it forward, so the circle keeps on moving,” Woodward told TODAY. (source)
10. Billy Ray Harris, a homeless man was asking for change when a stranger emptied her purse into his change cup. Unintentionally, she dropped her diamond engagement ring, which Harris returned to her the next day. For his honesty, the woman’s fiancé raised more than $190,000, so that Harris can get back on his feet.
Billy Ray Harris was homeless and depending on strangers’ generosity to get by. One day, Sarah Darling, who was walking home, decided to give Harris all the change she had in her purse. Unintentionally, she dropped her diamond ring in his cup. He debated selling it, since it would provide him with enough money to rent a motel for a month and get off the streets, but decided to hold onto it instead in case the woman returned. As expected, a worried Sarah returned the next day, asking for the ring. Without hesitation, Harris returned the ring.
Sarah and her fiancé were surprised by his act and decided to help him. They set up a GoFundMe page with a goal of $1,000. However, when the story of his goodwill was heard, people from all over the world donated more than $190,000. Harris now owns a car and has put a down payment on a home. He hopes to launch a house painting company, too. (
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