Kindness is what gives a community its heartbeat. And every year, we see it beating strongest in the hands of the next generation. From planting trees to filling a soup kitchen with sunshine, four inspiring young people are turning ideas into real, lasting impact. Each one started with a simple thought — and the decision to act on it. Meet these four young changemakers as we highlight their kindness stories.
Planting Hope in São Paulo
Our first story starts with something many of us take for granted: trees. In summer, their lush green branches provide shaded islands in a sweltering city, and in autumn, we marvel at the colors of their leaves being swept through the air by a cold breeze. Meet Daniel Finney, who knows trees provide much more than a pleasant view. Urban trees improve air quality, keep the city shaded and cooler, and provide habitat and food for local wildlife. Besides intercepting rainfall and decreasing flooding, they also alleviate stress and stabilize blood pressure.
If urban trees bring so many proven benefits, why doesn’t every neighborhood have them? The answer is simple: Not every community has the resources to plant them. Daniel saw this problem firsthand in his home city of São Paulo — the largest city in both Brazil and the Americas. He noticed that São Paulo’s many low-income neighborhoods had very few trees. When Daniel’s father, who works in environmental protection, told him about Random Acts, Daniel did not hesitate. He quickly reached out to Random Acts to apply for funding. Daniel had a plan for his own act of kindness: planting urban trees where they are needed most.
Before acting comes preparing — so Daniel did extensive research to choose the right trees. Native trees or fruit trees? Ultimately, he chose fruit trees, knowing the community would enjoy them more. Next came the question of size. As Daniel learned, small seedlings have a higher mortality rate, and newly planted small fruit trees are at risk of being stolen. With funding from Random Acts, Daniel bought larger young trees between four and seven feet tall, along with the equipment to plant them. With help from his father and sister, Daniel planted 20 fruit trees across São Paulo. Along the way, they met others already doing similar volunteer work, and they even spotted signs of other recent plantings.
With soil on his hands and his heart full of happiness, Daniel says, “The project helped me feel more like a member of the community.”
A Stuffy for Comfort
Our next changemaker, Patrick Hanley from Calgary, Canada, shows us how a negative experience can spark a beautiful tradition. Patrick’s story began when he was 4 years old and was admitted to the hospital with a severe cough. To comfort himself, Patrick brought along his stuffed animal. Soon, however, he realized that many of the kids at the hospital did not have a fluffy companion. When Patrick asked his parents why the hospital could not give stuffed animals to the children who did not have one, they explained that hospitals simply do not have the funding. Knowing how much comfort his own stuffed animal brought him, Patrick wished the same for other young patients.
“Seeing other kids that didn’t have a stuffy to comfort them is what inspired me to do this,” he says. “Knowing that it helped me so much made me want to help those kids.”
When his fifth birthday came around on Dec. 22, instead of gifts for himself, Patrick asked for stuffed animals to donate to the hospital. That was the start of an annual tradition. For 11 years, Patrick has collected stuffed animals to donate to the South Health Campus Emergency Room on Christmas Eve. His first donation was 12 stuffed toys. In the years that followed, with the help of friends, neighbors, and others in his community, Patrick’s collections have grown to over 150 stuffies. But Patrick wished to do more. To make his biggest donation yet, Patrick reached out to Random Acts. The funding helped him donate a record 395 stuffies in a single year.
As the number of stuffed-animal donations has grown, so has the number of people inspired by Patrick’s kindness. Each year, Patrick receives letters and emails from grateful families who received one of his stuffed animals and now want to help out too. Patrick’s efforts also inspired other children to use their own birthday money to donate stuffed animals to the hospital.
Looking ahead to his next stuffy drive, Patrick reflects, “Doing this Act brings me great joy. It is a family tradition that me, my dad and my mom truly love, and we look forward to it every year.”
Sunny Sacks for Brighter Days
Our next story brings us to Palm Beach County, Florida, and another extraordinary person: 15-year-old Ayel Morgenstern. Ayel began spreading kindness when she was just 6 years old and has never stopped. Today, the high school student has founded her own nonprofit, The HeARTful Hub, given two TED Talks, and performed numerous acts of kindness. When Ayel saw another opportunity to support her community, she and her sister Avi created Sunny Sacks. Sunny Sacks is a student-led initiative which assembles and delivers care packages filled with essential personal items to local families in need.
Thinking about how to expand the project’s reach, Ayel turned to The Soup Kitchen of Boynton Beach. She knew that many people in need already visited regularly. The Soup Kitchen serves a diverse group of people ranging from young children to seniors and distribute about 1,400 hot meals daily to roughly 700 people. So Ayel thought: Why not distribute Sunny Sacks there? To make this ambitious plan possible, Ayel partnered with Random Acts. With the funding from Random Acts, Ayel and Avi filled their bright yellow bags with basic necessities like soap, shampoo, sunscreen, Band-Aids, toothbrushes, socks, deodorant, and other nonperishable items. Since May 2025, Ayel’s initiative has delivered 670 Sunny Sacks to The Soup Kitchen.
“By giving out these bags filled with essentials, I want to bring some love and happiness to those who receive them,” Ayel says. “I want to create a sense of community and support for everyone in Palm Beach County.”
Spreading Joy, One Card at a Time
Kindness doesn’t need to be big or bold to matter. Sometimes, small gestures are all it takes to brighten someone’s day. That is what Logan and Brooke Kim had in mind when they founded the Joy Card Project in 2023. Run by a passionate team of students, the nonprofit organization is on a mission to spread happiness through art and human connection, focusing particularly on seniors who struggle with loneliness or depression. The Joy Card Project’s team understands how much simple human connection matters. They craft uplifting handmade Joy Cards and partner with local care facilities to distribute them to seniors, hospital patients, and others experiencing loneliness. As the team explains in their mission statement,
“We strive to spread cheer and uplift spirits, helping to combat loneliness and depression with a simple but heartfelt gesture.”
With volunteers in 10 countries, the organization has created and delivered 44,124 Joy Cards over the past three years.
In an effort to amplify their impact, empower their young volunteers, and spread even more joy and kindness to those who need it most, the Joy Card Project partnered with Random Acts. Funding from Random Acts enabled the team to buy craft supplies, coloring and puzzle books, and comfort items like cozy socks, teas, and nail care products. With these supplies, they created and delivered 60 to 70 Joy Kits to senior citizens living in assisted-living and long-term care facilities.
As the Joy Card Project team explains, “We demonstrate how small acts — like handmade cards or comfort kits — can create real emotional impact.”
