Thrift shops offer up some tremendous deals, so it’s not unlikely to see people loading up with money saving purchases, but when a teen was seen buying six coats, it made another customer curious. Why would a teenager want to buy six winter coats? It turned out he wasn’t even shopping for himself that day, but the reason why he had all of those coats was inspiring.
The customer at the Goodwill in Canton, Ohio asked the teen about his purchase, but never could have expected the answer. The coats weren’t for him at all, in fact, he was buying them to help the homeless.
The customer couldn’t believe this heartwarming show of generosity and took a photo of the teen with the coats. The customer also picked up the bill, paying $65 for the items. He went home to share the story with his daughter and she posted the details online, which was shared by Love What Matters.
She wrote: “We don’t know who you are, Sir, but you deserve recognition! Keep being an amazing person! A very sweet and kind young man… My dad snapped his photo while shopping, after asking him what the coats were for, and it really touched his heart. We need more people like him, in this world.”
The photo naturally went viral and the teenager was identified as 19-year-old Fredrick White. The teen told Channel 3 News that he “woke up, got dressed, came in, and just started selecting coats.”
Then he later saw his photo land on social media, saying he was so surprised: “I was at work and I was like ‘Oh my god,’ like they snapped a picture of me.”
Frederick also explained: “Basically when I was younger we really didn’t have much money, so it wasn’t like every year we could just go out and get a new coat, so I had to kind of stick with what I had.” That perspective, he said, as well as “just helping others out and giving back” is all the motivation he needs to carry out his helpful plan.
The teen said he got the idea from Facebook, seeing a project where people would hang coats on poles and fences around the city to help the homeless. He shared: “One good deed for each person. Just wake up and do something different.”
For his act of kindness, Goodwill gave him a reward, a $200 gift card he could use at their stores. No doubt Frederick will put the gift to good use and help even more people in need.
He hopes his good deed will spread too, saying, “It makes me feel like it’s going to make an even bigger change for people” because others will see what he did and hopefully be inspired to do the same.
Among those who commented on the Facebook post about Frederick were those who were impressed that this young man is helping others. One person also offered this idea: “Hope everybody who has read this post, pays it forward. If you don’t have the money to buy a coat, go through your closet… Thank you Fred for the reminder. You are an inspiration young man.”
