With all of the negative news we hear on a daily basis, it's nice to be reminded that kindness is still a thing. That's why, when we saw the winners of the 2019 Envision Kindness "Our World Is Kind Photography Content" had been announced, we knew we had to share the news asap.

You may have read our earlier Sparkt story about the 2018 contest winners:

Photos of Kindness Spread Compassion Around the World

This year, the contest received over 1,800 submissions from 750+ photographers in over 85 countries who were tasked with capturing and sharing images of kindness, compassion, joy and love.

A total of 50 photographs were selected as finalists for the contest - 20 were chosen by the public, 20 were picked by the Envision Kindness Team and an additional 10 images were selected for the Nonprofit Honoree category.

This year's first place winner is from photographer Martin Buzora. The image (below), titled "The Caretaker," shows a ranger from the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Africa sitting face-to-face (or nose-to-nose) with a baby rhinoceros.

(Source: Martin Buzora )

Buzora writes about the ranger in the photograph, "He understands that just because we have the power to destroy other living things, does not give us the right. He recognizes the sentience of non-human beings, and protects those who do not have a voice. If there is any hope left for wildlife on Earth, it is because of people like him."

The public's choice photo award was given to Lloyd Ericson Rodriguez for his image (below) of young school children playing in Sapang Bato, Angeles City, Pampanga.

(Source: Lloyd Ericson Rodriguez)

With so many amazing images, we urge you to go and check out the entire gallery online .

Hint: you might want to grab a few Kleenexes before you do.

You can support Envision Kindness by visiting the donate page on their website . More than 90% of your contribution will go to supporting the organization's transformational programs.

And, if you want to submit a photo for next year's contest, you can follow the Envision Kindness Facebook page for updates.