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10 times Tom Hanks quietly made someone's day

By Good Stories

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10 times Tom Hanks quietly made someone's day

Tom Hanks has a reputation as one of Hollywood's nicest people, and the record shows why. Over two decades, the actor has bought coffee for reporters, returned a lost college ID, and mailed vintage typewriters from his own collection to strangers who wrote to him. He has also lent his name and time to causes for veterans and military families. These are small gestures and long commitments alike, each reported at the time by news outlets. Here are ten documented moments of Hanks's generosity.

1. Hanks bought the White House press corps an espresso machine

Tom Hanks
2016: Photo: Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan / CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Over Memorial Day weekend in 2004, Tom Hanks toured the White House briefing room with his wife and one of their sons. He found that the hardworking reporters there didn't even have a coffee maker. Soon afterward, he had an Illy espresso machine delivered, reported to cost about $1,000, along with a typed note. "I hope this machine will make the 24-hour cycle of news a bit more pleasant," he wrote, adding, "Add water, insert pod, press button and REPORT." The president of the White House Correspondents' Association wrote back to thank him. It was the first of several machines Hanks would send to the press room.

2. Hanks spoke up for the National World War II Memorial

After starring in Saving Private Ryan, Tom Hanks became the national spokesman for the campaign to build the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. According to coverage of the memorial's dedication in 2004, he helped lead the effort to raise roughly $200 million in contributions for a project that took 17 years to complete. Hanks also spoke at the dedication ceremony, honoring everyone who did their part during the war. "Time demands that more than the fallen be remembered," he told the crowd. France later made him a Knight of the Legion of Honor, citing his support of World War II veterans.

3. Hanks returned a college student's lost ID card

In October 2015, Tom Hanks found a Fordham University student ID card lying in a New York City park. He posted a photo of it on Twitter, covering part of it with his finger, and offered to have his office get it back to her. The student, Lauren, had lost the card while running when it slipped out of her armband as she pulled out her phone to take a picture. A professor emailed her about the tweet. The next day she went to Hanks's New York office, where his staff gave her the ID along with a handwritten note signed by Hanks. She said she would gladly do the same for someone else.

4. Hanks thanked a fan artist with a signed typewriter

Artist Denise Esposito filled a Moleskine sketchbook with drawings of characters Tom Hanks had played on screen. She gave it to his publicity team while he was in Rome for a film festival. Hanks saw her artwork and made a point of meeting her. Then, in November 2016, a signed typewriter from Hanks, a well-known typewriter enthusiast, arrived at her door. Esposito shared the moment on Facebook, writing that the gesture "was worth a thousand words" and that Hanks had left her speechless. The story got wide attention the same week he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

5. Hanks became chair of a campaign for military caregivers

On September 27, 2016, Tom Hanks joined former Senator Elizabeth Dole and journalist Tom Brokaw at the U.S. Capitol to launch Hidden Heroes, a campaign run by the Elizabeth Dole Foundation. Hanks signed on as campaign chair. The campaign set out to raise awareness of the roughly 5.5 million military and veteran caregivers in America, connect them with resources, and help cities meet their needs. More than 50 caregivers attended the launch, and more than 50 cities pledged to become caregiver-friendly. Hanks appeared in the national public service announcement and on NBC's TODAY to promote it. He has remained chairman in the years since.

6. Hanks sent reporters another espresso machine with an encouraging note

In March 2017, White House reporters found a new Pasquini espresso machine from Tom Hanks waiting for them, along with a supply of espresso pods. Reports called it the third machine he had sent the press corps in 13 years. It came with a note typed on one of his typewriters: "To the White House Press Corps, Keep up the good fight for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Especially the Truth part." Several correspondents shared photos of the gift online and thanked him. Hanks had sent an earlier replacement in 2010, after a visit where he found the old machine in disarray.

7. Hanks mailed a vintage typewriter to a Massachusetts boy

Nick De Peyster of Wellesley, Massachusetts, wanted his son Rowan to make a habit of writing one thank-you note a week. After the family watched the documentary California Typewriter, which features Tom Hanks, Rowan wrote to the actor and asked for one of his typewriters. He promised to use it for his thank-you notes and to buy a typewriter for another family. About three months later, a package arrived holding an autographed vintage typewriter, instructions on how to use it, and a letter listing 11 reasons to use a typewriter. "My jaw pretty much hit the floor," his father told WHDH in December 2017.

8. Hanks sent a typewriter to a boy teased over his name

In 2020, Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, tested positive for COVID-19 while in Australia. An 8-year-old Australian boy named Corona De Vries wrote to ask if they were okay, and he mentioned that classmates teased him about his name. In April 2020, Hanks wrote back. "Your letter made my wife and I feel so wonderful," he wrote. "Thank you for being such a good friend. Friends make their friends feel good when they are down." With the letter, Hanks sent a Corona-brand typewriter and told the boy to ask a grown-up how it worked and then use it to write him back.

9. Hanks answered typewritten letters from a Houston high school

In November 2021, teacher Donna Kay Mergese and students at Heights High School in Houston mailed typewritten letters to Tom Hanks. Mergese's letter mentioned that she was typing on a Smith-Corona Galaxie II, and she enclosed fan letters from her students. In January 2022, Hanks wrote back on a typewriter. "Keep those kids writing letters!" he told her. "There is nothing better than getting/sending a missive." He even gave her a cleaning tip: scrub the machine's keys with a stiff toothbrush and a little alcohol. Mergese shared photos of his reply online and thanked him.

10. Hanks gifted a signed typewriter to a New Jersey shop owner

Ian McAndrew owns Iron Fox Typewriters in Lacey, New Jersey, where he restores and sells vintage machines. He also runs a Public Typewriter Project that sets up typewriters anyone can use for free in Ocean and Monmouth counties. In April 2023, Tom Hanks sent him a 1934 Underwood 4 Bank typewriter he had signed, along with a typed letter. According to Patch, Hanks often sends signed vintage typewriters to people working to keep typewriter culture alive. McAndrew called the gift "kismet" and said he planned to make the Underwood the centerpiece of a tattoo design.

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