Kindness is Contagious - Spread It

A simple act of kindness can be life changing.  

If you’ve ever experienced a mail call while deployed, you know the flood of emotions: "Will I get something?" "Is anyone thinking of me?" For one Vietnam veteran, a care package labeled to "any service member” answered those questions and more. 

Inside, he found simple comforts: socks, a pillowcase, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a deck of cards, and something even more precious: slightly stale homemade cookies. That small gesture, from a stranger he will never meet, brought a sense of hope.  

Years later, he remembers sending a similar package to "any service member" in Afghanistan. His pay-it-forward attitude was rooted in the kindness he experienced during his time in Vietnam, and he hoped his small act would have a similar impact on someone in need of encouragement ("any service member"). 

You don't need a care package to make a difference today. Acts of kindness are all around us: 

• Hold the door. 
• Help with a task. 
• Buy someone coffee at your local Marine Mart. 
• Let a car into line while waiting to get through the gate. 
• Let someone with just an item or two go in front of you at the Marine Corps Exchange. 

Whether big or small, your actions matter. They might even change someone’s life. 

Kindness is contagious. Spread it.