88 Favorite Social Good Quotes (in 140 or less)

21 Nov

What are you thankful for in this beautiful world?


Thank you to everyone who makes a difference in big and small ways every day!  This is a perfect time of year to express gratitude and thanks.  Here are 88 Tweetable social good quotes to inspire and share positive ideas.

I am grateful for so many things, including great friends around the world, online and off! ~Amy          aka @CharityIdeas

New! Download the printable color PDF version above!

Wherever one turns he can find someone who needs him.  ~Albert Schweitzer
Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in the biography of souls.  ~David Thomas
The breeze, the trees, the honey bees – All volunteers! ~Juliet Carinreap
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.  ~Edith Wharton
The time is always right to do what’s right. ~Martin Luther King Jr.
I can no other answer make, but thanks, and thanks. ~Shakespeare
It’s easy to make a buck.  It’s a lot tougher to make a difference.  ~Tom Brokaw
Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.  ~Elizabeth Andrew
Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.  ~William A. Ward
No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.  ~James Allen
Thanks are the highest form of thought; gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.  ~G.K. Chesterton
How beautiful a day can be, when kindness touches it! ~George Elliston
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle. Happiness never decreases by being shared. ~Buddha
Appreciation is a wonderful thing.  It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.  ~Voltaire
The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.  ~Eric Hoffer
No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. ~Aesop
The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.  ~William James
The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.  ~Oscar Wilde
Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. ~Martin Luther
Gratitude is the memory of the heart.  ~Jean Baptiste Massieu
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.  ~Anne Frank
I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.  ~Mother Teresa
Better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness. ~Chinese Proverb
We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone. ~Dr. Loretta Scott
It matters if you just don’t give up. ~Stephen Hawking
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.  ~Winston Churchill
Things of the spirit differ from things material in that the more you give the more you have.  ~Christopher Morley
Act as if what you do makes a difference.  It does.  ~William James
You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star. ~Nietzsche
Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.  ~Edmund Burke
Philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. ~Eleanor Roosevelt
Not only must we be good, but we must also be good for something.  ~Henry David Thoreau
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.  ~Kahlil Gibran
The willingness to share does not make one charitable; it makes one free.  ~Robert Brault
You shouldn’t go through life with a catchers mitt on both hands.  You need to be able to throw something back.  ~Maya Angelou
The highest forms of understanding we can achieve are laughter and human compassion. ~ Richard P. Feynman
Every person feels instinctively that all the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action.  ~James R. Lowell
It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little – do what you can.  ~Sydney Smith
If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.  ~Betty Reese
We cannot live only for ourselves.  A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.  ~Herman Melville
Among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver. ~ Maya Angelou
Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.  ~Seneca
Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.  ~James Matthew Barrie
Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and start with the person nearest you. ~ Mother Teresa
If you haven’t any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.  ~Bob Hope
What this world needs is a new kind of army – the army of the kind.  ~Cleveland Amory
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion.  ~Dalai Lama
I always prefer to believe the best of everybody, it saves so much trouble.  ~Rudyard Kipling
There is no greater loan than a sympathetic ear.  ~Frank Tyger
A kind word is like a Spring day.  ~Russian Proverb
Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not.  ~Samuel Johnson
The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway.  ~Henry Boye
When I was young, I admired clever people.  Now that I am old, I admire kind people.  ~Abraham Heschel
Let no person pull you low enough to hate him. ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
The best portion of a good life – little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.  ~William Wordsworth
You cannot do a kindness too soon.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another. ~Dalai Lama
By swallowing evil words unsaid, no one has ever harmed his stomach.  ~Winston Churchill
Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree.  ~Marian Wright Edelman
The power of a touch, smile, kind word, listening ear, smallest act of caring… all have potential to turn a life around.  ~Leo Buscaglia
Peace, like charity, begins at home. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles.  ~Washington Irving
I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious. ~ Albert Einstein
If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else. ~ Booker T. Washington
I’m always doing things I can’t do.  That’s how I get to do them. ~ Pablo Picasso
Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. ~ St. Francis of Assisi
Peace begins with a smile. ~ Mother Teresa
Don’t raise your voice; improve your argument. ~ Desmond Tutu
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. ~Theodore Roosevelt
It only seems impossible until it’s done. ~ Nelson Mandela
Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something and has lost something.  ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.  ~Alexander Pope
If we cannot be clever, we can always be kind.  ~Alfred Fripp
The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.  ~John E. Southard
To cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life.  ~Samuel Johnson
I was born not knowing and have only had a little time to change that here and there. ~Richard Feynman
The more sympathy you give, the less you need.  ~Malcolm S. Forbes
In about the same degree as you are helpful, you will be happy.  ~Karl Reiland
The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.  ~Benjamin Disraeli
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. ~ Gandhi
Always be a little kinder than necessary.  ~James M. Barrie
Action expresses priorities.  ~ Gandhi
Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more. ~ Tony Robbins
The highest use of capital is not to make more money but to make money do more for the betterment of life. ~ Henry Ford
If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one. ~ Mother Teresa

If you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right. ~ Henry Ford

Be the change you wish to see in the world. ~ Gandhi
Smile at a stranger, and make two people happy. ~Amy Neumann

Make it a wonderful day!

6 Responses to “88 Favorite Social Good Quotes (in 140 or less)”

  1. tara rogers (@dubaitara) March 1, 2012 at 12:28 pm #

    Wonderful thoughts and messages you have compiled here Amy, thank you for inspiring. So glad I found you on Twitter and can now follow your blog.

  2. Marie Ennis-O'Connor (@JBBC) April 6, 2012 at 9:28 am #

    What a terrific list Amy, Can I add one more? It’s one I use all the time in presentations on health advocacy:

    “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has” – Margaret Mead

    • Janice Sprow/ SNUGGLELADY January 1, 2013 at 7:00 am #

      tHATS A NICE ONE TOO.

  3. Yevgeniya_Gozenpud December 20, 2012 at 10:19 pm #

    Reblogged this on Grow and Evolve… and commented:
    Here are some good thoughts for you in this time of holidays and good spirit.

  4. Janice Sprow/ SNUGGLELADY January 1, 2013 at 7:00 am #

    This is a fantastic list of quotes!!! I always love your quotes on twitter. Thanks for helping to keep us inspired.

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