Family, friends and strangers – you can brighten anyone’s day with a random act of kindness. Your good deed may have an even greater impact when it is completely unexpected. There are many things you can do to celebrate and participate in this day that is designed to make people happy.

Compliment people. It’s usually impossible to hold back a smile when someone says something nice about you, so take some initiative and make positive comments to people throughout the day. It will give them a nice boost, and make you feel good in return.

Surprise someone. You can leave surprises for people all day long; put extra money in a parking meter, bring a street vendor a cup of coffee, pay the bridge toll for the car behind you. The recipients of your surprises may never know your identity, but they will feel great knowing that someone they’ve never met took the time to do something kind.

Leave gifts. Take small gifts to friends, family, coworkers or anyone else you interact with regularly. It doesn’t have to be expensive, just a little something to let them know that you’re thinking of them. An unexpected present is guaranteed to bring a smile to anyone’s face.

Reconnect. The kindest thing anyone can do is to make time for another person. February 17 is a great day to reach out to family and friends that you’ve lost touch with over the years. Find people from your past and reestablish a cherished relationship.

Send a note. It always feels wonderful to receive a letter or email from someone you care about, so why not share that joy on Random Acts of Kindness Day. Take a few minutes to write to anyone whose day you’d like to brighten.

Random Acts of Kindness Day is February 17, but you don’t have to wait. You can make every day an opportunity to do something thoughtful and out-of-the-blue for the people who share your life, or even for someone you’ve never met. Get out there and pay it forward, bask in the joy that comes from sharing a simple act of kindness and thank you for reading the PeopleFinders People Search blog.

Laurie with her sister Kathy, aunt Peggie and brother Kevin

Jeri is a people finding sleuth who goes by the nickname “Sherlock”. She has utilized The PeopleFinders Network to find hundreds of people, and was kind enough to share a few of her success stories with us. One of our favorites is about a woman named Laurie…

Laurie was separated from her mother as an infant in the 1940’s. She would never see her mother again.

Years later, Laurie hoped to find her family, but only had a few clues: her mother’s name (which was very common), the name of her mother’s husband (Bruno Vernazza) and the fact that her mother had a sister named Peggy. After some intense investigating, Laurie found an address for Bruno, but it was not current, and the trail dried up.

That’s when Jeri got involved. Jeri used the old address to find more recent information through The PeopleFinders Network. Sadly, Bruno had passed away, but Jeri also found someone who used to live with him. That person was able to provide a few of Bruno’s personal belongings, including a marriage certificate. It was the lead Jeri had been looking for.

After a little more searching, Jeri tracked down a man in Arizona who had the same name as Laurie’s grandfather. That man turned out to be Laurie’s uncle. He helped fill in even more blanks, which led to the discovery of several of Laurie’s family members – including her aunt Peggy, her sister and a brother she never knew existed. Today they all enjoy a larger and very loving family.

Laurie’s case was difficult to crack. It was full of twists, dead-ends and false hope. During her search, Laurie discovered that her name was listed differently on four official documents. The name on her birth certificate was Doran Doran, and officially changing that name only led to more complications. Her search for relatives took more than eleven years, but she finally reunited with her family … and it happened on her 60th birthday!

It took a large amount of ingenuity and perseverance from Laurie and Jeri, but the end result was a happy ending worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. Laurie loves to share her story, and to give others hope that they too can find their family members – no matter how much time has gone by. As she likes to say, her story shows that you just have to be persistent.

If you have someone that you’ve been missing, we can help. Visit us today to search for anyone in the United States. We’ll show you how to reconnect with a family member, friend, classmate, military buddy or anyone else.

We love reading heart-warming tales like this one. If you’ve had your own people finding adventure with help from PeopleFinders, please let us know.  Share your story with us … and we’ll share it with the world.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to write and remind us of why we do what we do. We appreciate the messages and love to hear about how we helped you plan your own reunion. Keep searching until you find the people who mean the world to you, and thank you for reading the PeopleFinders People Search blog.

Developing a business involves an incalculable amount of time, work and effort. It is not a venture that is entered into lightly; the desire to found a company stems from the pursuit of a dream and the need to carve your own niche in this world.

At PeopleFinders, we believe in people. We believe that family and friends are the most important part of life, and that it is the love, friendship and companionship of others that truly keep us going. That’s why PeopleFinders was created, and why we continue to do what we do.

PeopleFinders is dedicated to helping people find and reconnect with others. Now and then we receive emails from people who have used our services to reunite with someone they lost touch with years ago. These messages remind us of why we continuously endeavor to provide our customers with the most powerful people search tool available: we want to help you find anyone, anywhere.

We thought we’d take a moment to look back at some comments that made us smile, laugh or just stop for a moment and enjoy a sense of pride for our work. Like this message from our friend Will:

“I decided to join PeopleFinders to locate my old classmates. I was so thrilled when I started finding people. I had the daunting task of finding 455 people. Over a two month period, I was able to locate 413 classmates. Being able to cross-reference people who are associated with an individual really helped. Last month, we had a great reunion…”

Will finishes by saying that using PeopleFinders has been fun and rewarding. Thank you, Will, we’re glad we could help.

Most families share a bond that cannot be broken – at least not permanently. When we hear from someone who reunited with family members through PeopleFinders.com, it makes our day. Like this letter from Samuel:

“5 days ago I got onto this site to see if I could find my mom and my brother, and within minutes I found out where she was. Now, just today my mom contacted me, and after 23 years I am finally reunited with my mom, brother, uncle and two sisters I didn’t even know about. I encourage anyone that has lost communication with someone or never really met a family member to give this site 5 days the way I did and see the results this site can produce.”

Samuel enjoyed a family reunion that included siblings he never knew existed. We know that this meant everything to Samuel, and we were excited to play a small part.

We are proud that our services help people – and that some people use our websites to help others. Take Jeri from California, who goes by the nickname Sherlock. Jeri helped find “missing” classmates for a High School Reunion Committee, and then continued to help friends, other committees and complete strangers find their long lost loved ones. Read more about it in part two of this blog.

The second week of August is National Smile Week! It’s a time when people everywhere are encouraged to wear a smile and share it with others. Luckily a smile is usually contagious, and once you start to show your joy by displaying a smiling face other people are likely to do the same.

Everyone has something that makes them smile. It can be anything from a beloved pet to a funny movie or a happy memory. At PeopleFinders.com the thing that brings a smile to our faces the fastest is helping people. When we help people reconnect with loved ones that they haven’t seen in years, we know that we’ve played a small part in rebuilding a strong bond that could last a lifetime.

Reconnecting with people from your past can be an amazing and uplifting experience. Most people have someone that they can’t help thinking about now and then, and just that thought will often bring on a smile. When you are able to reunite with people from your past you can reestablish a connection with someone who will make your future brighter.

So how do you celebrate during National Smile Week? All you have to do is smile, and help others smile with you. It’s usually easy to make someone you care about smile, and sometimes all it takes is the sight of your own toothy grin. Do something that makes you happy this week, and do something that makes other people happy. It doesn’t even have to be someone you know –a small act of kindness or silliness can bring a smile to a stranger’s face and keep it their all day long.

Of course you don’t have to wait until National Smile Week to start smiling … and you shouldn’t. For years smile experts have proclaimed the benefits of wearing a happy grin.  Some even claim that smiling on a regular basis can improve your health. Frequent smilers are said to have low blood pressure, less stress, strong immune systems, and they often seem to be happier overall. Smiling causes your body to produce more serotonin, which can alleviate depression and put you in a better mood.

However you spend the week of August 9th – 15th, we hope it will be full of happiness and laughter. Get together with family members, old and new friends, and share the warmth of a simple smile. Have a week filled with smiles, and thank you for reading the PeopleFidners.com People Search blog.

People all over the country are being affected by layoffs. Many companies have stopped hiring and cut their work force drastically, leaving thousands of people suddenly unemployed. That, in turn, makes for a much more aggressive job market. Fewer jobs and more people applying for them means that it’s more important than ever to get an edge over the competition.

One of the best advantages a job seeker can have during a recession is a recommendation from someone who is well established in a company that is hiring. Sometimes a positive reference from the right person is the fastest way to get your foot in the door. This often presents a big problem – what if you haven’t kept up with the people you used to work with or for over the years?

Don’t panic. Remember that people often lose touch for the same reasons, life gets too busy and time is scarce, but others will be just as happy to reconnect with you as you are with them. Your former colleagues are also likely to be interested in building up their professional network, so finding them again can be mutually beneficial.

You can start to reestablish old connections by finding people online. Reach out to them on both a personal and professional level. Chances are you shared a common bond in the past, and a little bit of nostalgia can help restart a friendship in the present. Bring up old memories, and don’t be afraid to let people know your current situation. If you’ve been laid off, tell others about it and ask if they have any tips or suggestions. Getting laid off is not related to your performance and doesn’t come with the same negative connotations as being fired, and during a recession a large number of people lose their jobs.

Former colleagues probably won’t have access to the perfect job, but they may be able to offer advice and help you connect with others who are in their professional network. These days many people are branching out on business networking sites like LinkedIn, and using their friends’ list to gain even more contacts.

With a little luck and a lot of effort, a friend or former colleague may help with your job search, and you could reestablish a bond that has been missing from both of your lives. If someone is able to help you, don’t forget to thank them; people will appreciate your taking the time to express gratitude. Some day you may even be able to return the favor. That’s one of the powerful benefits of staying connected in any economy – when people work together they help each other achieve their goals.

Did you lose your job due to poor economic conditions? Then get out there and do everything you can to find a new one. Hit the want ads, get your resume posted on job sites and turn to the people you know for suggestions, tips and potential leads. Stay connected with the people who share your world, and thank you for reading the PeopleFinders People Search blog.

Part of the problem is that so many things can get in the way. People take on new jobs, move away, start families and it’s just so easy to drift apart. Sometimes people who were once very close end their friendship over an argument, and years later they don’t even remember how it started. That’s why PeopleFinders decided to visit some real experts; we met with a group of people who were better than 80 years of age and listened closely to their thoughts on the subject of long-term friendships.

At times they told us what we already knew, that you have to work hard to make and keep your friends, and they gave us advice on how to make that happen. One individual gave a basic, but very solid tip: “The key to a lasting friendship, number one, is to communicate, communicate, communicate.” We got the message; if you want to stay close to your friends you have to talk to them, listen to them and really share your life with them.

Proper communication is a key factor, but sometimes the ability to know when to hold back is just as important. One of our friendship specialists told us: “In life and friendships, sometimes you just need to bite your tongue.” It boils down to the old saying that you have to pick and choose your battles. Now and then you won’t agree with your friends, but there are times when it’s better to let them have their say than to argue and risk losing your friendship.

Another bit of advice we received from our panel of authorities addressed the fact that sometimes friendships do come to an end. “A fight with a friend is like a sliver in your finger – it will stay there, fester, and get infected for days, months, or even years.” No two people will ever agree on everything, and one of the sad facts of life is that sometimes even the best of friends decide to go their separate ways.

So many people have lost touch with friends over an ancient argument, a long distance move or just the passing of time. What can you do when you want to reconnect with the people who once shared your life? PeopleFinders.com can help. Our People Search will help you find anyone, anywhere and we also offer a Membership that helps you find all the people you want. Turn to us when you decide to rebuild those long-lost friendships, because it’s never too late to reconnect.

Cherish your friends, and put in the time and effort it takes to keep them close. It can be tough, but in the end it’s always worthwhile. Friends are an essential part of our lives, and as another of our elderly experts expressed: “Friends are like a good set of teeth, you’ve got to treat them well or they won’t last.” We couldn’t agree more.

Read more about what our expert panel had to say here, and thank-you for reading the PeopleFinders.com People Search blog.

At PeopleFinders.com we fully support the concept of reconnecting with people from your past. Seeing former classmates can be a fun and rewarding experience, but the days leading up to the big event often leave people feeling anxious and stressed. The thrill of reminiscing about school days and catching up with old friends can sometimes be overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety.

It’s normal to be nervous about reuniting with a group of people you spent most of your time with when you were younger. You may wonder what they look like now, how their lives have changed, how they will perceive the “new” you and if you will get along after so much time has passed. Luckily, modern technology makes it easy to cheat and get some of your questions answered in advance.

Want to find some classmates before your High School reunion? Try a People Search to find anyone instantly. Once you’ve found them, you can learn a lot about their lives today. Use a Social Network Search to see the profiles, blogs, photos and other personal details they have posted on popular sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

Finding classmates online allows you to contact them and enjoy some time catching up away from the rest of your graduating class. You may want to make plans to get together with one person or the whole gang in advance. This gives you an opportunity to reconnect with your former social group in a private and more relaxed setting.

Before you head off to your class reunion, take some time for yourself. Request a few days off work so you aren’t rushed and have more time to spend with old friends. Set up your travel arrangements well in advance so you don’t have to worry about your accommodations when you’re already nervous about the reunion. Get some rest before the big day, and consider meeting up with others on the way to your High School reunion so you can all go in together.

If your class reunion is this summer, have a great time reconnecting with faces that are very familiar, just a little bit older. Thank you for reading the PeopleFinders.com People Search blog.

Finding people is easy these days. You can find anyone with a People Search or get someone’s most recent number using a Reverse Phone Lookup. PeopleFinders.com can show you how to get in touch with a long lost friend or relative, but when you see them again you may discover you’re at a loss for words. Here are a few ice breakers to help you get started.

We understand that reconnecting with people you haven’t seen in years can be nerve-racking. It’s difficult to communicate with anyone when you’re anxious, so take a moment to relax and collect your thoughts first. You’ve waited a long time to reunite with someone special, so make sure you’re calm and ready.

One of the easiest ways to get a conversation going is to reminisce about the past. Everyone loves a trip down Nostalgia Lane with an old friend, and it’s a great way to remind each other about the good times you shared and the things that brought you close in the first place. Talking about the ‘good old days’ often leads to discussions about what you’re doing currently.

If you prefer to focus on the present, remember that a lot has happened to you both since you last saw each other. Start the ball rolling by bringing up anything that is an important part of your life today. Share the news of promotion, marriage, children or any major event your friend hasn’t heard about yet. Once you get the conversation started, you’ll realize you both have a lot to discuss.

Another ice breaker is to meet somewhere that has personal significance. Try the old restaurant where you always ate, or that special park where you spent so much time together. You may also want to bring pictures with you. Looking at photos encourages chatter, so take a look at old pictures you haven’t seen in years or share new ones.

So what are you waiting for? If you’re missing someone just remember there was a reason you shared a connection, and chances are they’re also missing you. Start by finding people who have been on your mind, think about how you can break the ice when you reunite and prepare for a journey that will enrich the rest of your life.

Thank you for reading the PeopleFinders.com People Search blog.

For an entire week The Colbert Report was filmed, edited and broadcast from an actual war zone, where the host joked that “It must be nice in Iraq, because some of you keep coming back again and again.” During the shows, Colbert wore a specially designed camouflage suit as his personal uniform, aired exclusive messages from several major political figures and even shaved his head to show support for the troops. That got us thinking: if Mr. Colbert and his crew were willing to go that far to connect with people they didn’t know, how far would people go to reunite with someone who played an important part in their lives?

The answer is: they’ll go as far as it takes. Of course most people don’t have the resources that a television show can put together, but that won’t stop them. We looked for examples and found plenty, like the mother who drove from Utah to California to find her long lost son. She wasn’t able to fly, but the 800+ mile road trip did not deter her. Another great story came from a son who flew across the country to reunite with his long lost father. His journey to reconnect with a parent he hadn’t seen in nearly 4 decades took him from North Carolina to California.

Time after time we’ve seen that people will go to any length to reunite with someone special. We loved the story of sisters who were brought back together with help from The Red Cross. The women were separated during World War II and didn’t know what happened to each other for more than 60 years. One sister lived in the United States and the other in the Ukraine, but neither distance nor time could stop their tearful reunion.

So how far would you go to reconnect with someone you care about? Luckily, these days you don’t need to go anywhere to find and connect with anyone. PeopleFinders.com is proud to provide one-time People Searches as well as short and long-term Memberships so you can find anyone, anywhere from the comfort of your own home. We’ll help you find people; how far you’ll go to see them is up to you.

Do you have a story about reuniting with someone after using PeopleFinders.com? If so, we’d love to read it. Leave a comment, share your thoughts and thank you for reading our People Search Blog.

Take the tale of two sisters who were separated at a very young age and spent nearly 5 decades apart. One was so young when it happened that she didn’t even remember having a sibling, but after their reunion the pair immediately established a strong sisterly bond. Just goes to show that the passing of time is nothing compared to the power of emotion.

We were also touched by the story of a father and son who reunited after 48 years. Military obligations and foreign regulations caused them to be torn apart when the boy was only 3 months old, but his heartsick father never gave up hope. Thanks to the internet, the 2 were finally able to reestablish the connection that had been broken so long ago.

Stories like that motivate us to constantly maintain and upgrade the Web’s fastest and most reliable People Search feature.  We’re dedicated to helping you find the people you’ve been missing as quickly as possible.

When we receive messages from someone who used PeopleFinders.com to find people from their past it makes all the hard work we do worthwhile. Like the email from Richard Elam which said “I am a Vietnam veteran, and I have been looking for veterans that were in my company. I have found about 30 veterans so far using PeopleFinders and still looking for more. I have reunited myself and the ones that I have found together after 40 years. Thank you, PeopleFinders”.

Watch for upcoming articles about great ways to break the ice when you reconnect with someone you haven’t seen in years, and ideas on how to stay connected with everyone you know.  Let us know if you have any questions you’d like to have answered here. We’re always ready to help you find anyone, anywhere.

Thank you for reading the PeopleFinders.com People Search blog.