6 ordinary North Carolinians who performed extraordinary acts of kindness in 2025
Read heartwarming stories of everyday N.C. residents doing kind deeds and helping the community.
Now that the days are getting shorter, roughly 10 million Americans will deal with Seasonal Affective Disorder—a condition in which a lack of sunlight and serotonin production causes symptoms of depression. Coupled with the common practice of doomscrolling on our smartphones, it can be a recipe for a wary, rather than merry, Christmas. If you haven’t had much faith in humanity recently, the good news is that there have been plenty of ordinary North Carolinians who have performed extraordinary acts of kindness this year.
Because good Samaritans don’t always make the top headlines on your Google Newsfeed, we compiled the stories of how everyday people helped their corner of N.C. in 2025 and left an even greater impact beyond their doorsteps.
Turning tragedy into a global movement of good
For many, April 15 is Tax Day, but for Raleigh native Pooja Mehta, the day holds much deeper meaning. Pooja’s brother, Raj Mehta, died by suicide in March 2020. Since then, Pooja has honored her brother every year on April 15, which was his birthday.
Pooja asks everyone to use the day to connect with someone and try to make a positive impact on their life—whether that means buying groceries for a neighbor or calling a friend you’ve lost touch with. The day, known as Raj Mehta Day of Good, has now grown into a global movement. This year, Pooja partnered with various Wake County-based nonprofits, such as Note in the Pocket, NC Asian Americans Together, A Place at the Table, and Kiran.
Pooja is now a prominent mental health advocate who is working to address the stigma Asian-Americans often face in their communities regarding mental health and “promote policy solutions to the systemic issues in America’s mental health system.” She is also a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness’s Board of Directors and the current AAPI community outreach lead for the N.C. Dept of Health and Human Services, per LinkedIn.
If you want to get involved in 2026, you can sign up to commit by clicking on this link. The goal of the initiative is to have at least five participants from each U.S. state, as well as one from 10 different countries.
Assisting a Spanish-speaking family with a newborn at a crash scene
For Quennie Rodriguez, June 4, 2025, was just another day working at the Jason G. Goins Law Office in Asheboro until she heard a loud crash followed by cries of “mi bebe.” Recognizing the Spanish words for “my baby,” Rodriguez rushed outside to the scene of a car crash. Police officers had been investigating a theft when the suspects fled in a U-Haul van, prompting a chase.
During the chase, the suspects hit the back of a car that had two women and a newborn baby in it. Without hesitation, Rodriguez checked on the car that got hit and even acted as a Spanish translator when she realized the crash victims couldn’t speak English. Luckily, the baby was unharmed as the women had properly secured her into the car seat. In fact, the baby was still sleeping and completely unaware of the accident.
There were several other good Samaritans who helped at the scene, including a registered nurse and another worker at the law office. Rodriguez’s quick thinking and ability to translate especially helped the two women, who felt shaken right after the accident. They both reached out to Rodriguez to thank her and to let her know they were doing much better. They were also grateful to the other kind people who stepped up to help.
Breaking bread to feed those in need
The 2025 government shutdown started on Oct. 1, but many wouldn’t have guessed it would go down in history as the longest shutdown, lasting 43 days. From flight cancellations to federal workers not getting paid, the shutdown severely disrupted everyday Americans’ daily lives. However, it was the most economically disadvantaged people who faced hopelessness when many SNAP recipients lost access to their benefits.
According to the North Carolina Democratic Party, 1.4 million N.C. residents depend on food assistance programs. Several N.C. restaurants stepped up during the shutdown period and offered free food to SNAP recipients. One of those restaurants, Guglhupf Bakery, offered free loaves of bread to people who showed their EBT cards at its two locations in Durham and Chapel Hill.
It was a symbolic act for the owner, Sean Scott. “I remember I came from a pretty meager upbringing and bread was important,” Scott told ABC11. When he learned that food-insecure individuals in the Triangle area were going hungry, he felt like it was his “responsibility” to step up and give back.
After posting about the free bread offer for SNAP recipients, other community members and food distributors, including US Foods, gathered together and sent monetary donations to the bakery to use toward supplies like flour.
Feeding drivers who are frozen in traffic
On Nov. 10, many commuters in western N.C. were stuck in standstill traffic on I-40 due to wintry weather. Hungry, thirsty, and tired, many drivers were stranded and faced delayed commutes back home. Richard Gray, a U.S. Army veteran, was one of those drivers who left work only to get stuck on the gridlocked interstate.
He had finished up an event with his seafood food truck business, The Bell Buoy, and was headed back home. On his way, he found out that “there was somebody up by the weigh station that had been sitting there for about four and a half hours, and they needed something to drink.” That’s when Gray decided to park his food truck right off exit 37 near Candler, N.C., and post on social media to stop by the exit if anyone was hungry or needed water while being stuck in traffic.
He gave away food and water to many stranded drivers, including paramedic Destiny Burgess, who was finishing a 36-hour shift. Stuck in the bumper-to-bumper traffic, Burgess was scrolling through her phone when she found Gray’s post about food and water. When she went to the truck, she was surprised when Gray gave her a “full meal, drinks, chips, and sweets.”
Burgess’s commute home had extended to five hours because of the conditions, and she was grateful to be able to get sustenance for her journey back. She told WLOS, “It helped a lot to get me back across the mountain.” Gray added, “I didn’t do this expecting anything to happen. I did this to help people out that were stuck like we were.”
Transforming a routine traffic stop into a moment of humanity
You may have heard the saying, “When it rains, it pours.” For Katelyn Ricchini, this couldn’t have felt more true than on March 23, 2025, when Cabarrus County Deputy Shawn Singleton pulled her over for speeding. Singleton clocked Ricchini driving 61 mph in a 45 mph zone.
Ricchini told Singleton, “You didn’t put your lights on until after I slowed down. I was going the speed limit.” What seemed like one of those bad days turned around after Singleton ran her license through the system.
“I understand you’re having a s— day, so I’m not trying to make it any worse. This is a warning ticket for you to slow down,” Singleton told Ricchini.
Singleton followed up and asked how Ricchini was feeling. She responded by telling Singleton that she had experienced several negative run-ins with police officers in the past—often ending up in handcuffs. Singleton offered Ricchini a hug, and it turned out to be a life-changing moment for her.
She revealed to Singleton that she had moved to North Carolina to escape an abusive relationship and that she was trying to stay sober so that she could get her 5-year-old son back, who was in Maryland. She felt like this was the first time a police officer saw her as a human being and not an addict.
She just surpassed one year of sobriety in November with her son and invited Singleton to join her in celebrating her anniversary. The body camera footage went viral for the happy ending, with national outlets like People Magazine even covering it.
Gifting a guitar to the gifted teen musician
For teenager Evan Sterling, it was Christmas in May when he walked into a music shop in Craven County. Sterling came into the shop with his dad to test out guitars. His dad had gifted him an electric guitar during Christmas 2024, and within those five months, Evan quickly got the hang of it.
In fact, Evan already wanted to upgrade his guitar two months into learning to play it. He started testing out the guitars at the music shop when a fellow shopper came up to him and told him he sounded great. The shopper left the store and re-entered with a guitar case containing a Fender Telecaster guitar inside (worth over $1,500) and handed it to Evan.
The kind stranger then told Evan that it was his to keep and that the guitar’s paperwork was inside the case. Shocked by the generous stranger’s act of kindness, the owner of the shop told the teenager and his dad that the gentleman was known to do this from time to time. For Evan, it wasn’t just a mere coincidence but a divine gift that he wants to pay forward someday.
He is inspired to pursue his talent on the guitar by forming a band and going on tour, and hopes to buy a guitar to give to a kid when he grows up. It’s a reminder that sometimes, everyday strangers perform the kindest of acts without any expectation of recognition.
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