Over the past 4 years Jon Potter of Pittsburgh says yes to anyone who asks for help.
It started when he was pumping gas and a woman asked him if he would give her a ride to a woman's shelter. He said no and as she walked away he felt a wave of regret. He promised himself that whomever asked him for help next he would say yes. He began by helping someone repair vinyl siding, he fixed a leaky roof, he changed a grandmother’s tire on the side of the road. He then told himself that it would be a year long experiment. "Just say yes if anyone asks me for help, as long as it’s legal and as long as it won’t harm anyone else, I’d do it. It sounds ridiculous, but I did it.”
At the end of the year he said he felt so good that he just wanted to keep going. He has done everything from cat sitting to helping people move to giving rides in the middle of the night.
But his biggest act of kindness has been donating a kidney to a stranger online. Earlier this year Potter saw a photo of fellow Pittsburgh resident Michael Moore on Instagram with a sign asking for a kidney donation. Jon had to persuade his wife of a year, Rachel Adler, but she consented. Then he was told he needed to lose 20lbs. So Jon started a new diet and exercise routine and within a month had lost the weight. The surgery was Aug. 13, and both men are recovering and doing great. The surgery was Aug. 13, and both men are recovering and doing great.
"It's amazing what kind of energy you have whenever you say yes all the time I can't even describe it."