Sometimes it can be overwhelming how much negativity there is in the world. Luckily though, there’s a lot of beauty in it too.
The story below about one teen’s act of kindness is sure to warm your heart.
It all started when Eliana Martin, a resident of California, lost her purse on a grocery shopping trip.
On the same day, a teenage boy found her purse in a supermarket shopping cart.
But instead of keeping the contents, the youngster rang Melina Marquez’s doorbell, a friend Eliana used to be housemates with.
Inside the purse was a driver’s license which belonged to Eliana, but she had not updated her address yet during the time of the incident.
So the teenager easily found Melina’s home.
“So my aunt heard the ring go off so she opened the door and receives the purse,” she told Inside Edition. “She was a little confused.”
The surveillance camera caught the guy explaining the bag was “in the parking lot” before respectfully driving off.
Melina wasn’t able to meet the good Samaritan.
“So I asked my aunt, I said ‘Did you get his name or did you at least give him 20 bucks?'” Melina recalled. “And she’s like ‘No, I didn’t know!'”
At that moment, Melina knew that she needed to find this pure-hearted person.
So she posted the CCTV video of the teenage guy on social media in the hopes of locating him.
Amazingly, a lot of people in San Diego ended up spreading the post.
Then, 17-year-old Adrian Rodriguez showed up.
He identified himself as the good kid who went out of his way to return the purse.
Of course, Melina had to ask why he ended up doing what he did, to which he answered:
“My mom has told me since I was little to always do the right thing even when no one’s watching.”
He also said that if he lost something, he’d also wish that someone would bring it back to him.
There’s no question that this teen was raised the right way.
When people around Melina heard about this incredible story, they started reaching out and expressed their desire to reward Adrian.
Melina then started raising funds to reward him with a goal of $1000. As of today’s writing, the GoFundMe page has raised over $22,900!
Goodness like this is rare, so everyone wanted to reward him.
Melina shared with Inside Edition:
“He could’ve just taken whatever was in the purse, you know. And he didn’t. He brought it back and I think this just speaks a lot about him.”
A lot of donors also left comments praising the young man.
One wrote,
“It’s nice to see a young man with a strong moral code to do the right thing with no expectation of personal gain. You will go far in life, my friend.”
According to the GoFundMe page, Adrian was able to use a portion of the money to purchase a car and planned on saving the rest.
Indeed, he deserved all the money raised for him.
Great job to Adrian’s parents for raising such a giant-hearted human being. Let this story inspire all of us to always do the right thing – even if we have nothing to gain from it.
Watch the video below to see more about this unforgettable act of kindness!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
Source: YouTube – Inside Edition
