Hero: How a Young Boy’s Kindness Started a Ripple of Love
Kelvin Ellis checked his pocket for the dozenth time—the single dollar bill was still there. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 9-year-old and his dad, Kelvin Sr., were in the eye doctor’s waiting room—for his dad’s appointment. On their way, they stopped at the pharmacy.
“I made the honor roll!” Kelvin had told the pharmacist assistant, proudly showing his report card.
“Wonderful,” the woman said, and slipped him a congratulatory dollar from the till.
Meanwhile, in a condo a block away, Matt Busbice was awakened by the building’s fire alarm. It was probably another false alarm—there had been several recently—but he got up anyway. He slipped on an old pullover and ratty shorts. Then he stepped into his old fishing boots and pulled a cap over his unruly mop of hair.
Sure enough, it was a false alarm, but already up, Matt, the owner of a sports equipment manufacturing company, decided to get a cup of coffee.
Matt strode off through a light drizzle, but just as he reached the shop door, he remembered he hadn’t yet said his morning prayers. Without exception, Matt starts every day offering up a prayer of gratitude for another blessed day.
Kelvin Ellis Sr
So he went to a quiet corner of the parking lot, and sheltered beneath a roof overhang, bowed his head and murmured his prayers. But it wasn’t long before he sensed someone watching him. Looking up, he spotted a young boy dashing toward him with a raised, clenched fist.
As he left the eye doctor’s office with his dad, Kelvin spotted Matt across the mini mall parking lot and, immediately, took out his dollar bill and rushed to him. “Sir, are you homeless? If you are, I’d like to give you this dollar,” he blurted.
Matt was confused…until he remembered how he was dressed, and that he’d been standing huddled in the rain, mumbling to himself.
“No, I’m not homeless,” he smiled, and pointed, “I have a nice home right there.”
Kelvin was deflated. “I always wanted to be able to give a dollar to a homeless person, and today I have one.”
“Let’s talk about it over breakfast,” Matt invited Kelvin, and after getting his dad’s permission, the two chatted about life, friends and sports over sausage and egg croissants.
Matt was so impressed with Kelvin’s generous spirit, he invited him and his dad back to his showroom to look around and play with his company’s newest product—a virtual archery set called Accubow that lets you hunt dinosaurs. Then Matt pointed to his watch.
“You’ve got 40 seconds to grab whatever you want,” he said, and Kelvin was off like a shot. He grabbed an electric off-road bike, an Accubow and a BB gun, and Matt threw in several company sweatshirts.
As word spread of Kelvin’s good deed, a wildlife camp offered him a summer slot and strangers contributed $600 to a savings account in his name!
“I’m going to use part of the money to help some homeless people,” he says, quickly adding, “Not because I think I’ll get something back, but because it’s the right thing to do.”
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