Acts of Kindness
Resident spots 4 teens helping elderly man on sidewalk and hits record
When a stranger approached these high schoolers looking for help, they didn't hesitate to act.
Alissa Gaskell
04.27.21

In a world that seems to get bleaker by the day, it’s quite refreshing and comforting to know that there are still kind souls who make their mark one good deed at a time. It could be as simple as holding the door open for someone or giving a warm, friendly smile. Just simply showing empathy and compassion is enough to set off a ripple of comfort and assurance.

Pixabay/Sammy-Williams
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Pixabay/Sammy-Williams

And speaking of random acts of kindness, one was witnessed by a passerby down Hamilton Street in Allentown. In the Allentown School District, most of the adults were busy trying to come up with a solution to budget issues they were currently facing.

The kids, on the other hand, were preoccupied with something else: extending compassion towards a stranger.

YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV
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YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV

Four students from William Allen High School were approached by a stranger who asked them for help. Makayla Ward recalled,

“A lady comes to us and she is like ‘can you watch that man over there,’ and we see the man in a distance.”

It somehow caught the students by surprise but there were no second thoughts as they approached the man.

YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV
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YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV

One of the students, Jose Cerda, explained to WFMZ:

“We saw him walking at a steady pace for a second and then he looked like he was staggering a little bit. He was holding on to things.”

YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV
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YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV

Lashante Smith added,

“We went up to him, asked him did he need help. He said yeah.”

YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV
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YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV

The students kept the man company and helped him sit down as they waited for an ambulance to arrive.

YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV
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YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV

Oblivious to the fact that someone was recording a video the entire time, they only realized it was all caught on camera when the video went viral on Facebook.

Jose Cerda commented,

“I don’t think this was going to be such a big deal, we just did what anyone should do.”

YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV
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YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV

To the four students, it may not have been a big deal but school administrators were beyond proud of the act of kindness.

Principal Shannon Mayfield enthused,

“It makes me proud, it makes the community proud. That’s the way to lift people up, that’s what we are all about.”

YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV
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YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV

The friends are hoping the simple act of helping the man would positively impact people’s perception of their classmates.

“There’s actually good kids at Allen that you actually can depend on,” Mikayla Ward maintained.

Hopefully, more grownups realize that the younger generation shouldn’t be generalized as troublemakers who are just focused on their own pleasure and entertainment. Thanks to the good example set by the students, more people will see that the young ones are actually incredible gamechangers.

YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV
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YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV

There truly is no doubt that there still are kind-hearted individuals like the students who would readily come to one’s aid in times of struggle.

While the four don’t know the man’s identity, what mattered to them most was being there to make sure he was okay.

YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV
Source:
YouTube Screenshot - 69News WFMZ-TV

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