Acts of kindness make the world go round. Here, we profile seven women who have changed lives with their generosity, including Chrissy Teigen, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
Do as you would be done by, as they say. Especially given that there is extensive research to support the theory that philanthropy is beneficial to your health.
Random acts of kindness can take so little from the doer, but mean the world to the receiver.
So if you need some inspiration, we’ve rounded up seven remarkable women who have paid it forward with incredible acts of kindness.
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Acts of kindness: Taylor Swift helped a pregnant fan buy a house
Credit: The singer Taylor Swift. Getty photos.
Over her many years in the spotlight, Taylor Swift has proven her philanthropic credentials time and time again.
The popstar is known for generous donations, both to charitable causes and directly to fans in need, as well as more personal gestures like surprise visits.
But in 2018, she made headlines for one particular act of kindness. A dedicated Swiftie in Manchester, named Stephanie, shared her heartwarming story with other fans on The Swift Life app.
She wrote: “What many of you don’t know is that for eight months of my pregnancy I was homeless. Our first flat was condemned for health and safety reasons and we lost everything.”
Stephanie’s mother reportedly asked the Reputation singer to make Stephanie feel special at her show in Manchester.
“After the show Taylor took us back to her dressing room where she told me, ‘Stephanie, you’ve been in my life for a long time and you’ve never asked me for anything. You could have reached out and I would have helped you’.”
Stephanie continued her story by revealing that the popstar then helped her and her husband buy a new home for them and their baby, as well as supplies for the newborn.
“She told me, ‘I want you to be able to enjoy your little girl, not have to worry about all this stuff’… That night she gave me her hand and lifted me off the ground.”
Acts of kindness: Chrissy Teigen paid for a fan to go to school
We can all admit it - Chrissy Teigen is the woman we want to be online.
Smart, successful and spectacularly funny, the model’s Twitter and Instagram accounts are a pure delight. But it was actually a fan’s Instagram that revealed an act of kindness that caught our attention.
In a post, a woman named Mercedes revealed that Teigen had seen her online fundraiser for her esthetician school fees – and donated the outstanding balance needed: $6,000.
“Something absolutely amazing happened last night,” Mercedes wrote.
“Last month I posted my tuition fundraiser on Twitter and something I never in my wildest dreams happened. My PayPal alert went off, and as I looked at my phone, there was an amount of $5,605 … I then look at my email and realise it came from my fundraiser. Chrissy Teigen donated my entire tuition money for school.”
She continued: “I have been crying all night and I cried in the office this morning as I paid my downpayment for esthetician school. I haven’t been this happy in a very long time. Thank you Chrissy and thank you to everyone else who voted or rtd my link or have supported me this entire time. It means more to me than you’ll ever know.”
Acts of kindness: Nicki Minaj launched an ongoing college tuition fund
Nobody slays with a gesture quite like rapper Nicki Minaj.
In 2017, the rap megastar tweeted that she would pay the airfare of whoever won a competition to spend time with her at that year’s Billboard music awards in Las Vegas.
In response, CJ, a 21-year-old student, replied saying: “Well you wanna pay for my tuition?”
Minaj’s response? Sure – provided the student could prove that she had achieved straight As at school.
Next thing you know, more than 30 students had joined CJ’s plea with similar messages about their student fees and college debt.
Minaj was as good as her word, promising to help them all, provided that they could send her proof of their straight-A grades.
She then posted an image on Instagram showing that she had paid more than $18,000 for students who needed help.
The generosity didn’t stop there, with the rapper going on to launch an ongoing college tuition fund for her fans. Called “Student Of The Game”, the fund regularly helps students pay their debts and tuition, with 37 additional “winners” receiving financial support from Minaj in 2018.
Acts of kindness: Beyoncé announced a scholarship program
Credit: Getty Images
The global phenomenon that is Beyoncé is certainly no stranger to acts of kindness.
Just a few examples from her extensive charity work: in 2005, the singer teamed up with former Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland to found the Survivor Foundation in order to help people displaced by Hurricane Katrina, as well as holding food drives before her tour the following year.
Since 2013, she has been involved with Goodwill, trying to combat unemployment and homelessness, and has also launched her own foundation, BeyGOOD, to help homeless children in need.
In 2016, she was named the Most Charitable Celebrity of 2016 by DoSomething.org, an organisation that recognises those who use their fame to help social causes.
But it’s something a little more personal that got our attention.
In 2017, to mark the one-year anniversary of her award-winning album Lemonade, Beyoncé announced a college scholarship program called The Formation Scholars, for the school year 2017-2018.
The awards, worth $25,000 each, were set up to support “young women who are unafraid to think outside the box”.
Acts of kindness: Sia went undercover to pay for people’s shopping
Credit: Getty
Sia’s acts of kindness have not gone unnoticed.
In November 2019 the Australian singer/songwriter, who usually wears a wig over her face, told a woman at Walmart in Palm Springs, California, that she had just won the lottery.
Calling herself CiCi, she said that she would be paying for strangers’ shopping as a Thanksgiving treat. She later did the same at a TJ Maxx.
This was no cheap thrill - it was true generosity.
It just so happens that she was recognised by a superfan this time. And who knows how many other times the elusive superstar has gone undercover for similar acts of kindness?
Acts of kindness: Nikki Hamblin and Abbey D’Agostino supported each other during the 2016 Olympics
Credit: Getty
While we applaud competitive spirit and the drive to win, we also applaud sisterhood.
During the women’s 5,000 metre race at the Rio 2016 Olympics, US runner Abbey D’Agostino accidentally clipped the ankle of rival Nikki Hamblin, of New Zealand, and sent them both tumbling.
D’Agostino got up, but saw that Hamblin was faltering with an injured foot, and so stopped to help her up. Later, when D’Agostino fell down again, it was Hamblin’s turn to help her. The pair then embraced at the finish line.
The women could have left each other behind and gone for gold, but instead chose to show a camaraderie that would instead earn them both awards for exemplary sportsmanship.
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