A Louisiana man says an encounter while grocery shopping changed his outlook on the world. Jason Boudreaux was chatting with another shopper, Kevin Jones, while waiting in the checkout line. When he went to pay for his $30 worth of groceries, his card was declined. Jones immediately stepped up to help.
Boudreaux shared the story in a now-viral post on Facebook with the story of the kind act he experienced while out grabbing groceries. “Much respect for this young gentleman,” Boudreaux wrote in the post with a photo of him and Jones. Boudreaux explained that he had deposited his payroll check an hour prior to the photo thinking his check would have cleared and the money would appear in his account.
“This lil gentleman said I got you,” wrote Boudreaux. “I said no you don’t you probably didn’t hear the price. He responded yes Sir I did, and I got you. I scrambled to my car to give him my business card, so I can repay him. He said no problem, but it is a problem to me owing money to anyone. But the point of this is the dude just stepped up for a complete stranger, he should be recognized” Boudreaux wrote.
Boudreaux also said he intended to pay Jones back but in the ensuing excitement over the act of kindness, didn’t even get Jones’ name. Thankfully, a mutual friend saw his Facebook post and connected them. After getting in touch with him, Boudreaux invited Jones and his wife over for “Family Day,” a weekly event held by Boudreaux’s parents. While over at the house, word got out that it was Jones’ 28th birthday, so Boudreaux and the other attendees improvised a “cake” of sorts to commemorate the day.
Jones, a truck driver, said “Coming from where I come from in Louisiana, it’s not a very wealthy town. I know that feeling so not having the right amount of funds to pay for groceries, I know that feeling. I see a lot of people going through that, and not a lot of people are willing to make a sacrifice and step up and help the next person.”
Jones says, after he paid Boudreaux’s bill, he went on with his day, not expecting anything in return, not even telling his wife Marissa about the exchange until he received several calls and messages about the man wanting to return the favor made its way to him. Boudreaux and Jones keep in touch via text and have future plans for Family Days and weekend outings. Boudreaux says he describes their friendship more like brothers and that Jones is one of the most sincere souls he’s ever met.
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NFL player K.J. Osborn of the Minnesota Vikings found himself in the right place at the right time recently. Osborn was riding in an Uber in Austin, TX when he and his driver saw the car had crashed under a bridge and had flames coming out from under the hood. His Uber driver hopped out of the car and said they should call 911.
Osbornknew they had to see if the driver was ok. The two of them went to the burning car and realized the driver was still alive but unable to move. “I don’t have experience in this. So in my head, I’m thinking, ‘Oh, this car can blow up at any second. It’ll all be over. But my, you know, my Uber driver, he went right up to the car, he opened the door.” The two of them, along with two other people, pulled the driver away from the burning car before it was fully engulfed in flames.
Osborn tweeted about the incident on March 6 with pictures from the scene of the accident. “Last night myself and these 3 absolute heroes helped save a man’s life by rescuing him from a vehicle up in flames after a bad crash. A situation I’d never imagine being a part of in a million years.” Both Austin Fire and Police Departments confirmed there was a one car crash incident at 2:35 a.m. A spokesperson for the Austin Fire Department said the driver had driven off the road into a grassy area and then hit a concrete overpass pillar at a high rate of speed.
An Austin Police Department statement said when EMS arrived on the scene, the driver had already been rescued by Good Samaritans from the Audi A4 and the car was by then “fully involved” in fire. The driver was treated on scene and transported with serious but non-life threatening injuries. Osborn said that though the saying goes “wrong place at the wrong time,” he was glad to be there in that driver’s time of need. “I was at the exact place, the right place at the right time. So I was happy we were able to do that” he said.
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In a story that sounds like an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, a Philadelphia surgeon ran about a mile to and from a hospital to pick up a liver for his patient after a courier’s route was blocked by thousands of marathon runners. Charles Rowe, 66, was waiting on an operating table with his surgeon Adam Bodzin, scheduled for a life saving liver transplant. Meanwhile, an out-of-town van driver for Philly-based Gift of Life Donor Program found his route to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital would be blocked by the Dietz & Watson Philadelphia Half Marathon at two separate points.
Event organizers and police have access points for emergencies going towards the hospital, but the courier couldn’t find them even after consulting police. When Bodzin heard about the delay he decided to get the liver himself. Clad in sneakers and teal scrubs, Bodzin weaved his way at a full run from the hospital entrance through the stream of runners.
Reaching the driver and taking the sealed container with the liver on ice, he zigzagged back the same way before hitching a ride with the police back to the hospital on the other side of the marathon route. Thanks to Bodzin’s quick thinking, they managed to transplant the liver successfully, an hour after the time when the liver begins to deteriorate.
Rowe made a full recovery and left the hospital 6 days later and considers Bodzin a hero. “He went beyond the call of duty. I guess he’s got a cape underneath that white jacket” Rowe said. When asked about his hero status he modestly said he would describe himself as “more of a biker” and he hopes the story inspires people to become organ donors.
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Tiktok food reviewer Keith Lee has blessed another struggling business. On Jan. 19, Lee posted a video recounting the story about a food truck owner parked on a lonely street in Las Vegas. The video, which has since gone viral, describes how the life of Gary Shanks, owner and chef of Southern Taste Seafood, changed for the better, all because of a chance encounter with the influential social media star.
On the way home from the bike ride, Lee says he came across a food truck he hadn’t seen before. As he approached, Shanks asked Lee what he wanted to order, and that’s when the TikToker noticed the menu was seafood-based — and Lee has an allergy to shellfish. Shanks generously offered Lee other items on his menu, like burgers, fries and catfish, and offered to prepare those dishes in separate bowls, with separate dishes and fresh oil to accommodate him, if he showed up the next day. Lee agreed to return.
“He told me he’s just trying to survive right now. It’s very slow. He’s lucky if he gets five to 10 people in,” he recounts. Lee says the next day, Shanks served him a burger and fries made with new oil and separate utensils, just as he said he would. Shanks, surprised that Lee came back, offered to make him his order for free, but Lee wasn’t going to let that happen.
Lee explained to his fans in the Tiktok “I went live the other day with Miss Shirley, passing out food to the less fortunate. During that live, you sent $450 worth of gifts. I took all that money and I sent it directly to his Cash App.” Shanks, clearly shocked in the clip, was overcome with emotion at Lee’s generosity. After Shanks tried to return the gift multiple times, Lee assured him that the donation was not a mistake. “I love moments like that ‘cause I’m so thankful and grateful from the bottom of my heart to be a vessel, and to help people like that,” Lee says.
Lee went home and sampled Shanks’ food in the now viral TikTok, giving high scores for the burger and fries. “Delicious. It was juicy, it was cheesy … immaculate,” Lee says. “Especially to be a place that don’t specialize in burgers. He makes seafood!” Now Shanks and his business are feeling the love. In a follow-up TikTok, Lee shares that so many people were sending Shanks money that within 24 hours he had received $30,000 without even selling a thing. He’s also had to enlist help to keep up with the uptick in business. Shanks says he was making $50 to $200 dollars depending on the day, but he’s seen about a 900% increase in revenue since the review.
Keith Lee is now known for his ability to change the fortunes of businesses big and small. His viral TikTok review of a Chipotle quesadilla hack in December caused it to go so viral, it ended up being added to the national chain’s menu. Then, earlier this month, Lee’s sterling review of Frankensons, a once-struggling pizza shop in Las Vegas, led to lines down the block overnight. Shanks said Lee showing up at his food truck was God-sent.
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A dog lover in Clayton, Yorkshire, has been hailed a hero for using her drone to reunite families with their lost pups. Erica Hart believes she’s rescued more than 200 dogs in the last seven years. She started a Facebook group called ieye drone where users share lost dog posts and Erica heads to missing pups’ last known location to try to locate them. She shares the happy endings on her page.
When a pet owner contacts Hart, she meets them near the last location they were spotted and uses the drone to guide them to their pet. People also post sightings of loose dogs and Hart heads there to help round them up so they can eventually be reunited with their owner. “Once that drone’s above the dog, it’s not going anywhere because I can guide people in quick enough. It’s like a military operation.”
She doesn’t charge any money for the service and says she does it purely for the love of dogs – even if it means spending money on fuel for her car instead of treating herself. “I’ve gone without stuff for myself to put petrol in the car to find a dog. When I post the happy ending on Facebook and I see the comments I lay in bed with a smile on my face and realize why I do it.”
Hart’s work has saved countless animal lives and often, she’s able to quickly cover ground that would take hours for a traditional search team which can make the difference between a safe recovery and a tragic loss.
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A UPS driver in Iowa is being hailed as a hero for saving two dogs from drowning in a family’s swimming pool. Colin Mitchell dropped off a package at the home of Jeff and Rebecca Marra. As he walked back to his truck he noticed two dogs swimming in a pool without their owners anywhere in sight.
Feeling uneasy about the situation, Mitchell said he attempted to get the homeowners attention by knocking on the door, ringing the doorbell and yelling, “can your dogs swim?” which was caught on the ring camera. “I knocked a little louder, rang the doorbell… nothing. And then I just decided it was best to investigate,” Mitchell said.
As he got closer he saw one dog hanging on the side of the pool while the other was trying to get onto the solar cover. He ran to the pool and removed his socks and shoes to try to save them. After helping the smaller dog, Groot, and their bigger 90 lb dog, Remington, get out of the pool and back in the yard, Mitchell continued his route for the day.
The next day he stopped by to check on the dogs. The homeowners, Jeff and Rebecca Marra said the dogs had somehow gotten through the pool gate, typically locked, before jumping into the pool with no way out. They were shocked and thankful for Mitchell’s good deed saying the dogs would have been stuck in the pool another 3 hours had it not been for Mitchell’s actions.
“If it weren’t for him we wouldn’t have dogs, there’s no question about it,” Jeff Marra said. “I would say that he is a hero,” Rebecca added. They shared Mitchell’s heroics on social media and UPS caught wind of it and shared the post on the company’s page.
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Brian Schwartz, a former ad agency vice-president from Wayne, New Jersey started mowing lawns for free after being laid off due to the pandemic crisis in the summer of 2020. Schwartz said he started it just as a way of keeping himself busy during a difficult time while doing some good in the world.
I Want To Mow Your Lawn now operates in 42 different states, with 300 volunteers. They mow the lawns of the elderly, disabled, veterans, and anyone in need. They have mowed hundreds of lawns across the country. Anyone in need of help can submit a request on the website and they match them with a local volunteer or landscaping company volunteering their services.
They welcome any and all help, which can range from college students to professional landscapers, community service organizations, educational institutions, charitable corporations, families, busy working professionals, early retirees & their neighbors with a bit of extra time. Anyone with a desire to help however much time they can is welcome.
Vietnam veteran Larry Dbowsky and his wife Sandra met Brian two years ago, and since then, a volunteer has been showing up at their home twice a month to provide free mowing. Volunteers donate their time for various other landscaping tasks as well. Schwartz founded the non-profit I Want To Mow Your Lawn as what started out as a way to cope and help others but it has become a national movement that is still going strong.
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A beloved math teacher in L.A. entered what he believed was a faculty appreciation ceremony but instead walked out with the keys to a car. Julio Castro, 31, lives in Santa Clarita Valley and teaches at YULA Boys High School. He had been commuting about four hours a day by scooter and bus to get to and from school because he didn’t have a car, sometimes getting home as late as 9:30 p.m. — long after his three young children went to sleep.
Joshua Gerendash, a senior at the private, all boys school said “He still makes sure to devote all this time to students,“he made sure I understood all of the material by sitting down with me during his lunch breaks and sacrificing his time after school where he could be getting to the bus stop going back home.” Gerendash said Castro even helps students who aren’t in his class and that he’s “really dedicated to our futures.”
Gerendash was determined to get Castro a car after he happened to see him looking at cars online. After a months-long fundraising campaign, Castro’s students secretly raised more than $30,000 to buy him a 2019 Mazda CX-3. They also bought him a year’s worth of gasoline and car insurance.
Castro said “I feel surprised. I feel special. So thank you to my students. They are like my kids as well. Now that I have a car, I get to drop off my kids every morning. And then coming here with time to spare, I can use it on my lesson plans. Then on my way back, traffic is still bad, but I’ll be able to make it for dinner.”
Another senior at the school, Charlie Leeds said “No matter what happens with him, he is gonna find some way to pay it forward. We’ve been taught certain values like empathy” and to “treat your fellow person as you’d want to be treated. Mr. Castro is the embodiment of that. With this car, with this new opportunity, he’s only going to find more and more ways to help other people around him.”
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A British mother is channeling her grief in an effort to save other families from the devastating loss she’s experienced. Jamie Rees, 18, was at a friend’s house when he collapsed in the early hours of New Year’s Day. Though his friends performed CPR, he did not get enough oxygen before paramedics arrived and he died in hospital on January 5.
Through numerous fundraising efforts, his mom Naomi Rees-Issitt is getting 20 defibrillators installed across her son’s hometown of Rugby. The 43 year old mother of two said there are defibs out there but unfortunately for her son, the nearest kit was locked away in a school.
“You can’t pre-plan your cardiac arrest. Defibrillators that are locked in buildings are pretty pointless. The ambulance pulled up to Jamie’s side in 19.5 minutes,” Naomi explained. “If you reach a person in cardiac arrest in seven minutes the chances of getting his heart beating again is 70%.”
Within weeks of losing her son, she enlisted friends and family to raise enough money to equip Jamie’s hometown of Rugby with defibrillators. Through Jamie’s JustGiving campaign, they initially intended to raise enough money to have one defibrillator installed outside her son’s school but thanks to the overwhelming local support, that plan quickly turned into 20 kits at various locations in town.
They will be installing the 20 defibrillators by January 5, 2023—the one year anniversary of her son’s passing. Naomi said they can’t thank the community enough and the support has been amazing. “We know Jamie is out there. He’s meant to be saving lives” she said.
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A New York City Uber driver is being hailed as a hero after he stopped mid-ride to rush into a burning brownstone to help rescue people before firefighters arrived. Fritz Sam, 54, was taking a passenger to LaGuardia Airport when he noticed a commotion on the street in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood. He saw flames and dark smoke coming out of a second floor window of a brownstone.
Sam said he asked his passenger “Can I pull over? Maybe we can help.” They got out and joined a group of bystanders who were yelling for people to get out of the residence. When he asked if everyone was out of the building, someone said they thought at least one person remained inside. “At that moment, I was like, ‘You have to decide, you know, what are you going to do?'” Sam said. “I just knew that something had to be done at that moment. So I just took my phone, ran inside and around the staircase.”
Sam said that inside the building, he first found a man who said he had to retrieve something from another floor. Elsewhere, he found a woman who was hesitant about leaving the building. Sam was able to convince the woman to leave and walked out by her side. Once she was safely on the sidewalk, he went back into the building to find the man who he had encountered earlier. As he was leaving with the man, Sam said he ran into a police officer and a firefighter with a hose, who both ran into the building.
Sam’s passenger, Jemimah Wei, said that after firefighters arrived on the scene, they agreed the people would be safe and they could continue on their ride to the airport. “We got back into the Uber, and Sam was like, ‘Do I smell like smoke?'” Wei said. “I was like, ‘Dude, seriously? It’s fine, you just saved a life.'” Wei tweeted about the heroic experience and said she still caught her flight despite the unexpected detour.
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