WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — An act of kindness from a complete stranger at a Walmart in Winston-Salem touched the lives of a Forsyth County family, and a social media post sharing the heartwarming story has reached thousands online.
This past Thursday, Bobby Clayton and his two sons, Harvi and Ryder, were purchasing supplies for the Fourth of July at the Walmart on East Hanes Mill Road in Winston-Salem.
While the Clayton family was wrapping up their shopping at the self-checkout, a complete stranger began chatting with them about their Independence Day plans.
"She was almost done ringing her stuff up, and she just kind of looked over at me and asked me if she could buy the kids something," said dad, Bobby Clayton. "I just said, 'Yes, sure.' She looked at the kids and said 'Pick out whatever candy you want on the shelves,' and she said 'I don't care what it is, you can have it."
The two kids picked out packages of gummy bears, and the woman bought them for the kids to brighten their day.
"I have no clue who she is, and I even asked her her name, and she just kind of walked off, like she didn't want me to know, she just wanted to do it," said Bobby.
While the family didn't catch the woman's name, they say her small act of kindness had a huge positive impact on their lives for the next several days.
"She didn't know us at all, and the only thing she seemed to care about was to put a smile on my kids' faces. And to me that just says a lot," said Bobby. "She just wanted to bring joy to my kids."
Bobby shared the joyful encounter in a heartfelt post on Facebook. It has since been shared 100 times and earned more than 100 comments.
Clayton posted the update in a Facebook group he founded, Stokes and Surry County Incident Alerts. He is also a volunteer with the Belews Creek Fire Department.
People commenting shared how the small gesture of generosity also touched their lives.
"During this time we are in right now, everybody has got to come together and have a heart. Even if its a stranger, it doesn't mean you can't show them love and compassion. Everybody lives their lives differently, nobody is perfect, none of us do the same thing, and we should accept everyone for who they are and what they do," said Bobby.
The Clayton family hopes this act of kindness will spur others around the state and country to perform good deeds for others.
"To this lady, I want to say thank you again from the bottom of my heart for making my kids smile today and showing them love and respect. I encourage everyone to try and do one good thing for somebody each and every day.'