When Dylan asked his mother for a second lunch, Josette Duran was shocked to learn why.
“Are you not getting full boo?” the New Mexico mother had initially asked her son, according to a post on Facebook.
Upon hearing her son’s answer, concern quickly melted into pride.
“Yes Mom, it’s for this boy,” responded Dylan, Little Things reports. “He only eats a fruit cup for lunch can you make him lunch too? I don’t think he has lunch money.”
Dylan added his friend’s mother had just lost her job, plunging the family into financial hardship.
A shocked Josette could completely empathize.
“This hits home to me because a few years ago, me and my son were homeless,” Josette said “I was living in my car and I was washing him in bathrooms. And we didn’t have food.”
Without hesitation, Josette began packing the second lunch.
It would be one of many she’d quietly make for her son’s friend, expecting nothing in return.
Josette thought it was just a secret between them when one day, the school rang. They’d found out what she’d been doing and requested she meet the mother.
“I know this isn’t much, but I just got a job, and I know you’ve been feeding my son,” the mother said to Josette — she was offering money.
Josette refused to take the cash. Even more amazingly, she decided to go one step further.
With the help of the girl’s volleyball team she coaches, Josette was able to raise $400, which paid off all past due accounts for all the students who needed lunch.
“So now, nobody in that school owes any money, and now everyone can eat,” she said.
While many have praised the mother for her generosity, it wasn’t about getting recognition as far as Josette is concerned.
“Always be the best person you can be,” writes Josette. “Be kind even when you’re tired. Be understanding even when you’re angry. Do more than you’re asked, and don’t ask for anything in return. Don’t silently expect anything either.”
“Go out of your way to do things for people,” she adds. “Be the greatest person you can possibly be.”
