Oct. 9 - Kindness on the Court

Day 281 of a year of kindness

Kindness ambassador #36, Amy White, shared a story of kindness on the pickleball court.

This morning, my friend Amy White attended a round robin pickleball event. After one of her games, she admired another player’s pickleball sneakers and mentioned that she was thinking about getting a pair of sneakers like hers - specifically for pickleball.

The woman asked Amy what size shoe she wore. Amy told her. The woman shared that she was wearing that exact size but it was a little tight on her. Would Amy want to try on her shoes? She would happily give them to her if they fit. She asked Amy if she minded putting on a stranger’s sweaty sneakers? Amy didn’t mind at all. They fit her perfectly and the woman gave them to her right there on the spot. (I’m assuming she had another pair handy.)

Later, Amy shared the story with a group of us and wondered if she should repay the woman in some way for the sneakers. We all said no. The woman gave them as a gift - freely given with no strings attached. Hopefully, one day down the road Amy can treat her to a meal or a drink. But for now, we encouraged her to enjoy her sneakers and the serendipitous kindness from a stranger.

Science of Kindness: Research reveals that kindness often benefits the giver and the receiver. In this case, it did that and more. Amy’s friends (including me) got to benefit from such a lovely story. The sneaker story made us all smile. #bekind #kindnessmatters#KindnessCounts #KindnessCounts2025 #kindness #pickleball