Sometimes an act of kindness isn’t its own reward after all.
A 9-year-old Louisiana boy was treated to a shopping spree after donating his only dollar to a man he thought was homeless.
Without thinking, Kelvin Ellis Jr. made the generous offering last month after spotting the disheveled-looking man standing outside a Baton Rouge coffee shop.
The stranger was wearing pajamas and had his eyes closed.
“‘If you’re homeless, here’s a dollar,’” the youngster recalled saying, according to CBS News.
But the man wasn’t homeless after all — it was local sporting goods store owner Matt Busbice.
Busbice — who built and sold several outdoor companies worth hundreds of millions of dollars — found himself standing outside that morning in mismatched clothes after he was forced outside of his condo complex by a blaring fire alarm.
The 42-year-old owner of BuckFeather decided to go for a cup of coffee while he waited, but had stopped outside to say his morning prayers.
“And I started to slowly open my eyes, and there’s a kid coming at me, about my height,” Busbice said.
Busbice noticed the boy had a clenched fist and prepared himself for a confrontation — until Kelvin opened his hand to reveal the single bill.
He had earned the dollar only days before for receiving good grades, he said.
Even though it was the only money he had to his name, Kelvin was eager to pass it on to someone he thought needed it more.
“I always wanted to help a homeless person, and I finally had the opportunity,” Kelvin said.
Busbice was so touched that he invited Kelvin for a snack and connected with the boy’s father before ultimately inviting the kind-hearted child to a shopping spree at his sporting goods store.
Kelvin had 40 seconds to pick out whatever he wanted in BuckFeather, including a new bike.
Although happy with the bike, Kelvin said he wasn’t looking for a reward when he gave up his dollar.
“Joy, because I helped someone,” Kelvin said. “Give something away, and you feel like you’ve got a lot of things from it.”
Kelvin’s compassion has inspired Busbice, who said the boy restored his faith in humanity.
“If you give, you’re actually going to get more out of that,” Busbice said. “I couldn’t grasp that as a kid. And if we can spread that around, everything changes.”
