Megan Shufflebarger was shopping with her three young children at Target. This was an especially important trip for her youngest, Kinley.
The two-year-old’s birthday was coming up and she was making her way down the toy aisle letting her mom know which items she might like to receive for her birthday.
Kinley stopped short in front of the doll section, mesmerized by all of the pretty dolls on display. Megan said dolls are her favorite toys and Kinley is rarely seen without one in her arms.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a young man approached Kinley and asked her which doll was her favorite.
“I really lub dis one,” the tiny tot told him, pointing to the last blonde doll left on the shelf.
The teen asked Kinley and Megan to stay where they were, took the doll, and walked away.
Kinley was disappointed that her favorite doll was gone and asked why the young man had taken it. Megan tried to reassure her there would be more.
Then, a few minutes later, the young man came back with the doll in a bag and a receipt.
“Happy Birthday,” he told Kinley, handing her the bag, “you enjoy your dolly.”
Without another word he walked away.
“I was speechless,” Megan said of his kind act.
She posted a photo of the young man standing with Kinley on Facebook, hoping someone would be able to identify him so Megan could thank him.
“What a reminder to never loose faith in humanity and to be generous and pay it forward,” Megan wrote. “To this generous young man, whoever you are, I hope you see this and more importantly, I hope you know what a good young man you are.”
The post quickly went viral and, after being shared more than 55,000 times, someone finally recognized the teen as 19-year-old Tario Fuller II, a freshman football player at Purdue University.
Megan was glad to be able to properly thank Tario for his kindness and told him she was grateful to him for showing her – and the world – that “hope is in fact not lost in society as a whole.”
“This one act of kindness has likely generated thousands of smiles, softened many hearts and inspired others,” she said. “That in and of itself makes my heart full and happy.”
She hopes others will take note of Tario’s kindness and follow suit.
“Maybe this will inspire and humble others to pay it forward more often,” she said.
Were you inspired by what Tario did for little Kinley? So share this!