ECHO readers have been sharing their acts of kindness, with one woman recalling the moment she had to act just weeks before we went into lockdown.
Sarah, 40, from Litherland, was with friends at happy hour at the Greek Taverna in Sefton when she spotted a table of elderly people, "who looked like friends," sitting down for a meal together. At the time other countries had started going into lockdown due to covid, and Sarah, who works at a bank, was overcome with fear this might be the cheerful groups last meeting in a long time.
She decided to make the occasion particularly memorable for them, and when the group came to pay they found a note on the bill informing them it had already been paid.
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Sarah shared her story with the ECHO as part of our acts of kindness campaign - we're encouraging readers to share things they've done that have made another person's day, or things that people have done to them that've left them with a smile on their face. There's still time to tell us about your acts of kindness.
Sarah told the ECHO: "The only reason it sticks in my mind is because we were about to go into lockdown and me and my friends knew it was about to come and wanted to go out before that.
"I thought how scary it would have been for them knowing they might've been separated. It was two weeks before went into the first lockdown.
"I think kindness costs nothing. My mum always told us to be kind no matter what. She said 'build a longer table and not a bigger wall.
"Me and my friends were speaking about this the other day. We actually don't know if they made it out of the lockdown.
"It's scary because we don't know what was going to happen. I couldn't imagine being in such a vulnerable position at that time."
Other readers have been sending in their acts of kindness. One man spoke of how he always picks up dog muck even though he doesn't own a dog - being spurred on by the good example set by his nan.
One woman said how she had been buying bunches of daffodils and handing them out to people walking home from work. Another said she was planning on giving her kidney to a man she found on Tiktok.
Kellie from Liverpool said she's due to give her kidney to a man named Warren from Oxford after discovering him the app.
Kellie said she'd began to feel "her life was worth nothing" after breaking up with her partner of nine years, before she began to spread positivity on the app, telling people "how amazing and strong and loved they are."
Kellie said she travelled down south, paying for everything herself, to get tests done. She said the tests revealed her and Warren were a match, and so she decided to give him her kidney.
One reader told the ECHO about how they make an extra portion when they cook dinner for their family and give it to someone in need. Another spoke about how once a month they will pay it forward when in a queue.
They said: "It can be a packet of mints or a newspaper, a coffee or a basket of shopping (depending...). Sharing is caring.
"[It's] just a reminder to myself that despite all that's going on in the UK, despite everyone's hardships, caring still matters."
Another reader spoke about the "warm glow" they were given by a stranger's simple act of kindness. They said: "!I was feeling very sad walking home from work when a stranger just stopped, smiled and nodded, like he knew I was sad.
"[It] gave me a warm glow. Just to make someone smile. A smile speaks a thousand words."
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