“If you have the means to help someone, then you should.”
This is what young Nocholas’s mom taught him. He took her lesson to heart and stepped in to help a woman who was trying to get to the hospital to see her mom. He didn’t have much himself, but he used what he did to help her. This selfless act of kindness ended up earning him and his mother one million dollars.
An Act Of Kindness Worth One Million Dollars
AmoMama has many incredible stories of people doing good things in the world. This one, however, definitely had the biggest, unasked-for pay-off. They began by telling the story of Sandra Anderson. Sandra had recently fled her abusive husband and was staying at her friend Bethany’s house with her infant daughter in a nearby town. She hadn’t yet told her mother because she was ashamed. Her mother had warned her that her husband was bad news, but Sandra didn’t want to believe her.
As it turned out, her mother was right. Sandra just had to work up the courage to go and tell her. That’s when she received a call that her mother had suffered a heart attack and was in the hospital. Panicked, Sandra wrapped her baby girl Ava up in a blanket and rushed out to take the bus to the hospital.
A Cold Winter Day
It was winter and a recent snowfall meant that the roads were quite slick. It was also bitterly cold. When the bus arrived, Sandra hopped on quickly to get Ava out of the cold. She went to take a seat when the driver reminded her she still needed to pay her fare. Sandra reached into her bag only to realize that she had left her wallet on the counter in her rush to get out the door. She had no money on her.
Sandra begged the driver to let it slide and that she would have someone pay him once she got to the hospital. She needed to get to the hospital as quickly as possible, and she didn’t want to have to take Ava back out into the cold. The driver, however, didn’t believe her story. He said that he’d heard stories like this a thousand times. If she couldn’t pay her fare, she needed to get off the bus.
A Good Little Samaritan
Dejected, Sandra was about to get off the bus. That’s when a small but strong voice spoke out from the other riders.
“I will pay for her fare! Please don’t tell them to leave.”
Sandra turned to see a young boy standing there. Dressed in what she could only describe as somewhat shabby clothes, he had her bus fare in his outstretched hand. She was speechless, accepted the fare, and sat down. Finally, she gathered herself enough to thank him and ask the boy his name.
“I’m Nicholas!” the boy replied cheerfully. “You know you don’t need to thank me. My mother says that if you have the means to help someone, you should always do so!”
He explained that he was coming back from his grandmother’s house. She was sick and he had gone to give her medicine, at his mother’s request. Sandra then asked for his address, so she could come by and thank his mom for raising such a lovely young boy. He gave the address and then got off the bus.
Have A Little, Give A Lot
The next day, Sandra went by the house to thank Nicolas and his mom. When she arrived, however, she was shocked and a bit sad. Nicolas and his mom lived in a tiny, crumbling two-room cottage. When Nicolas answered the door and saw Sandra, he called his mom to come to say hello.
Nicolas’ mom came to the door. She was extremely thin and looked absolutely exhausted. Sandra knew by the state of the house and Nicolas’ mom that this family was clearly going through a hard time. She knew she needed to help.
The Power of CrowdFunding
Sandra went home and set up a GoFundMe page explaining hers and the family’s story. The father had abandoned the family when Nicolas’ mom was pregnant. Thankfully, her friend Bethany was a famous blogger with millions of followers on Instagram. Grateful for what Nicolas had done to help her friend, she posted about the fundraiser on her page.
Quickly, the page blew up. In three days, Sandra raised one million dollars for Nicolas and his mother. It didn’t stop there – the money kept on coming from there! At the end of the week, once the donations had slowed, Sandra collected the money and took it to Nicolas and his mother.
Nicolas’ mom was in tears. She couldn’t believe what an incredible gift this woman she barely knew was giving her. Now, the family could afford to move into a better house, take care of Nicolas’ grandmother, and afford to send Nicolas back to school.
Nicolas didn’t help Sandra with the thought that maybe she would help him, too. He did it because he saw someone in need and knew that he had the extra pocket change to help her. That couple of bucks was then returned to him a million times over. It goes to show that when you put kindness out into the world, in some way, shape, or form, that kindness will be returned to you.
Keep Reading: Woman Follows Little Boy Who Takes Leftovers from Her Restaurant Every Day
Sources
- “Poor Boy Pays Bus Fare for Woman with Kid, Then His Mother Receives $1 Million – Story of the Day.” Amomama. Sonali Bharadwaj. November 7, 2021.