My father told me about a wonderful act of kindness that he does sometimes. When he travels, if his wife is not with him, he will stay in very, very inexpensive hotels. His attraction to these places, when he can afford better, had been a mystery to me until he told me about what he does there. There is a Gideon's Bible in each room, and in the front of the bible are suggested readings for different problems. Read this page for lonliness, this page for relationship problems,...etc. My father places a $50 or $100 bill in the page recommended for people with money problems. What a wonderful gift this must be for the person who is down on their luck.
I'd love to hear about other people's ideas for acts of kindness!