Most of us tend to look at the world with a little bit of skepticism. We may feel that things just aren’t the same as when we were children and although that may be the case to a certain extent, there is also something else that we need to recognize about the world around us. When you really take the opportunity to look around and see what is going on, you often find that there is a chance to do something good for someone else. You might also find that other people are taking advantage of those opportunities as well.
That was the experience of a 16-year-old young man who lived with his mother. His name is Chauncy Jones and he was hungry. He was also a very good child because he was a straight A student and was trying to get a job so he could help his mom pay the bills and buy food. That is when he ran into a man from Memphis named Matt White. He was shopping at Kroger.
Chauncy was at Kroger because he considered it to be the “rich people store” and he was hoping he could get something to eat. He walked over to Matt and asked if he could carry his bags to the car. In exchange for the deed, he asked for some glazed donuts.
Matt was heartbroken over what this young man asked and he decided to do more than just give him a sweet treat. He bought cereal, toiletry items and a number of other staples for him and his mother, Barbara. He even took the time to deliver the groceries and he wrote about it on Facebook.
“I just met the most inspiring person ever. His name is Chauncy Jones. He’s a 16-year-old from Memphis … He approached me while I was shopping for produce asking if he could help me carry my grocery bags to my car in exchange for buying him a pack of glazed donuts.
“This kid looked like he had been turned down 100 times. He looked ashamed, hungry and broken. In my heart I screamed a loud “yes!”, but to him I just chuckled and said, “yeah dude, we’ll get you some donuts”. I asked him if he was by himself and he said that he had come all the way out here with the hopes of someone buying him something to eat because he and his mother had nothing at home. He had no phone, a bus pass, and he was depending on the graces of a stranger to feed him within the hour before the bus left.”
“So, needless to say, he and I went on a shopping spree. We had so much fun! We got cereal and chips and frozen veggies, pizzas, Cheetos, melons and pasta, peanut butter, milk, soap, tooth brushes, just a little bit of everything. All the while we talked and he told me how he makes straight A’s in school and is trying to get a job to help his mom pay rent. This kid was amazing.
“Chauncy kept calling himself poor, but he told me that one day he was gonna be wealthy and own his own businesses so that he could help other people in his neighborhood and buy them groceries like me. I was in awe.”
“I gave him a ride home so that he didn’t have to take the bus and when we got to his house I was truly humbled. He wasn’t kidding. He and his mom had nothing. They didn’t even have beds or furniture. They were sleeping on pads made out of sleeping bags, they had two lamps and nothing in their fridge. Nothing. His mother was so sweet but very fragile. I couldn’t tell what it was, but she had some sort of physical and/ or mental disability that made her shake and made walking difficult. I thought I was going to cry.”
“As we unpacked the food into their kitchen, you could see the hope coming back into Chauncy’s eyes. He knew he wasn’t going to be hungry. He looked like a kid again. As I was leaving I gave him a hug and told him how much God loved him and that he was going to grow up to be an incredible man. I’ll never forget that hug. It meant more to me than any possession I have. Our God is an awesome God, and we can never be thankful enough for the blessings we have.”
We look forward to seeing more of what this young man and his mother are able to do. We also hope that he will pay it forward and show kindness to others.