6 Acts of Kindness That Will Inspire You

Our round-up includes an inventive and safe hug tunnel created for an elderly home in Brazil and a father and military veteran helped make over 5,000 PPEs for his son's Air Force base

By Tierney Bricker Jun 26, 2020 7:00 PMTags
Watch: Military Vet Makes PPE for Essential Workers - Friday Feels

Like Harry Styles so beautifully sang: "Maybe we can find a place to feel good and treat people with kindness."

And that's what E!'s Acts of Kindness series is all about, finding stories, big and small, about people coming together to help one another and hopefully feel a little better.

In this week's round-up of inspiring stories, one father and military veteran talks to E! about helping to make over 2 million PPEs (personal protective equipment) for essential workers, including 200,000 face coverings for military personnel. And that includes the base his son is currently stationed at. 

Plus, an elderly home in Brazil hoping to help their patients struggling with the loss of close contact with their loved ones ended up creating a safe invention to bring family members together, and two of the world's biggest superstars stepped up to surprise some of their fans, including an emergency room nurse who has been on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Here are six acts of kindness sure to start your weekend off on a positive note...

Tunnel of Hugs

An elderly care home in Brazil has come up with an innovative way for their patients to see their loved ones and physically touch them.

The staff at the Três Figueiras facility in the state of Rio Grande do Sul created a "hug tunnel," which allows the home's 28 senior residents to safely embrace the family members they have been separated from due to the coronavirus pandemic since mid-March.

In a video posted to its official Facebook page, the facility explained the visits are scheduled ahead of time and the tunnel area is disinfected every 20 minutes to maintain its safety. 

"We noticed that our senior residents were feeling sad," owner Luciana Brito told CNN. "We thought they would be much happier if we found a way for them to hug their relatives."

It's Never Too Celebrate Father's Day

Robert Parker, a military veteran and Ford plant worker, has been assembling face shields for essential workers since COVID-19 caused Ford to halt automotive manufacturing, and was able to donate somewhere close to home: Robert was able to send a big shipment to his son's army base.

John Paul Parker is currently serving in the Air Force, with Robert saying, "They had no shields at all." After one of his bosses learned they were in need, his plant was able to send around 5,000 PPEs to the base his family is stationed at. And overall, Robert and his co-workers have made about 20 million shields for essential workers across the country, with 200,000 going to military personnel. 

"He felt proud," Robert said of his son's response, going on to explain why he loves being a father and grandfather to his six grandchildren: "Anyone can be a dad, but it takes someone special to be a father."

Pure Puppy Love

"We taught our 2 year old Aussie to wake up his deaf, visually impaired younger brother."

Excuse us while we cry over the friendship between Cooper and Lenny, two rescued Aussies whose close bond was highlighted in a TikTok video from their owners, @aussiebears_coop_len.

"'Luckily,' Lenny is only deaf and visually-impaired, and as far as we know, has no neurological issues," the couple wrote on the brothers' shared Instagram account. "Cooper, our 'normal' Aussie, doesn't let Lenny miss a beat, he acts as his eyes and ears for him and they're two (sometimes mischievous) peas in a pod."

Always Meet Your Heroes

A two-year-old in Philadelphia was so enamored with his local garbage men that his parents decided to make him his own mini-truck "so he'd be ready when they stopped by today," Pat Egan explained on Twitter.

In two photos, Connor, the little boy, is seen happily sitting in his cardboard truck greeting the trash collectors, with his father telling Fox29 that he runs outside to greet them every time the truck drives by. 

Thank U, Rest and Refuel

Ariana Grande sent food and coffee trucks to people exercising their right to vote outside the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville, Kentucky this week on Primary Day, tweeting, "please pull up, enjoy and use your voice today we need u."

We literally have no choice but to stan. 

J. Lo's Surprise Hello

Jennifer Lopez teamed up with Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie and NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock to send a sweet thank you message to New York emergency room nurse Cassidy Toben.

Working at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan for nine years, Toben has been on the frontlines of the battle against the coronavirus pandemic. And the J.Lo fan received the sweetest surprise when she appeared on The At-Home Variety Show on Peacock: the super star joining the viral chat, with Toben "freaking out" over the unexpected visit. 

Calling Toben and her fellow hospital workers "heroic," Lopez invited the group to her first concert once social distancing ends.

(E! and Peacock are both part of of the NBCUniversal family.)