By Jackie Kurtz, Author of Kindness Heroes: Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

There was a time when my life felt settled, predictable, and safe. I was a retired data analyst living on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with my husband, enjoying the rhythms of family visits, nature, and the quiet comfort of a life well lived. Then everything changed. When our son Matt died in 2017, grief didn’t just break my heart, it imploded the life I knew. The future I had imagined vanished overnight, replaced by a silence and emptiness I didn’t know how to navigate. I was completely shattered.

Our beautiful son, Matt, was contagiously happy. With charismatic charm, a bright beaming smile, and genuine goodness, he drew everyone he met to him. For more than 30 years, he lived as a positive, joyful, compassionate person. Matt had a way of making people feel seen. He made people laugh. He made people feel better just by being near him. His kindness was effortless and natural, woven into everything he did

At first, I didn’t think I would survive. But through the thick fog of grief, I knew I had to find a way to honor Matt. I didn’t know how, and I didn’t know what it would look like, but I knew I couldn’t let his kindness disappear with him. That’s how Matt’s Kindness Ripples On was born.

I had no experience building websites, but I went online and taught myself how to do it anyway. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I just kept going. It was a steep learning curve, and there were plenty of moments when I felt completely frustrated. I made mistakes constantly. Pages disappearing, things not lining up, buttons that didn’t work the way I thought they should. More than once I wondered what on earth I had gotten myself into.

But little by little, I figured things out. I watched tutorials, tried things, broke things, fixed them, and tried again. Each small success felt like a victory. Over time, what started as a confusing mess slowly turned into something real. We made a simple commitment: each year, we would give two awards to people who made kindness a way of life, and two grants to people who were working on kindness projects but needed help with funding to bring their ideas to life. They are our Matt Kurtz Kindness Awards and Grants.

What started as a small idea grew quickly. Our mission spread. Donations came in allowing us to support more grants and awards. Matt’s spirit, his love, his generosity, his goodness, began rippling outward into the world. As it still does, every single day.

So far, we’ve given away more than $20,000 to support acts of kindness in communities near and far. Over time, I realized something else: the stories themselves needed a wider audience. That realization led to my book, Kindness Heroes, a collection of real people whose actions remind us that hope is still alive in everyday moments and that goodness still exists in the everyday actions of people who choose to care and create positive ripples in their communities.

The pages of Kindness Heroes are filled with the stories of 61 of our Kindness Award and Grant winners. These are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. They are students, teachers, veterans, caregivers, artists, advocates, and quiet helpers who saw a need and chose to act. Their stories are hopeful, inspiring, and sometimes heartbreaking, but always rooted in compassion. And with so much negativity in the world, I knew these stories needed to reach more people.

But Kindness Heroes isn’t just a collection of stories. I wanted it to be something you could interact with, something that invites reflection rather than just being read and set aside. Throughout the book, you’ll find personal reflections, kindness questions meant to spark thought and conversation, and quotes that remind us, especially on hard days, why this work matters.

My hope is that when you read Kindness Heroes, it restores your faith in humanity, inspires you to spread kindness in your own way, and expands your idea of what true heroes look like. Most of all, I hope you come away feeling uplifted, encouraged, and reminded of the extraordinary good that ordinary people can do. Kindness became the bridge between who my son was and how his spirit continues to ripple outward in the world. And through that journey, I learned something simple but powerful: Sometimes the smallest acts, starting a website, sharing a story, reaching out to one person, can change more lives than we ever expect, including our own.

A Question for Readers

Kindness often begins with one small moment.

What is one act of kindness, either something someone did for you or something you did for someone else, that stayed with you and made a difference in your life? I’d love to hear your story in the comments.

 

Kindness always,
Jackie Kurtz
Author, Kindness Heroes (Release Date: April 21, 2026)
Founder, MattsKindnessRipplesOn.com

Available on Amazon: Kindness Heroes.

Jackie Kurtz is an author of Kindness Heroes, and a blogger and founder of Matt’s Kindness Ripples On (MKRO), a kindness movement born from unimaginable loss and enduring love.

After her son Matt passed away in 2017, Jackie transformed grief into purpose by sharing stories that remind us how ordinary people can create extraordinary ripples through compassion. Her work inspires readers to rediscover hope, human connection, and the powerful impact of small acts of kindness.

She lives on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with her husband, Ron, drawing inspiration from nature, meaningful connection, and treasured visits with her son, Brian, in Boulder, Colorado.

Use your kindness superpower!

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