After shoppers near Winston-Salem, North Carolina, read this story, they will never look at their local Costco the same ever again. Everyone has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic in some way – some more than others. Millions of workers are without jobs, which puts them at risk of homelessness and health problems. Wall Street investors, on the other hand, continue to rake in billions of dollars as the stock market charges upward despite the reality that the American economy is in tatters.
Chartable organizations have been hit particularly hard. As people hold onto all the cash they can out of fear of the impending economic collapse, they are not giving away as many donations as they had been previously. The other day I heard someone say that if you have not felt that you’ve been hit too hard during the pandemic, it is your duty to do something to help others.
One Costco worker did just that. When a Salvation Army church circle went grocery shopping for a homeless shelter called the Center of Hope, they were shocked by what happened at checkout. They rang up several items until the bill came to $77.55.
That’s when the Costco cashier did something unexpected. The person decided to take out their wallet and pay for the food for homeless people as a way to help.
The Salvation Army volunteers knew that North Carolina’s thousands of homeless individuals are in desperate need all the time – but especially as the global pandemic puts their lives in increased danger. Thanks to the Costco cashier, they were able to feed even more people than previously thought.
The man working for Costco was named Patrick. He learned what the church group was trying to do for the homeless of Winston-Salem, and he felt empathy for the cause. Instead of letting them spend their limited funds, he decided to give a one-time donation to the people in need.
“I want to pay for it,” Patrick, the Costco employee, told the women in the church group. He took out his wallet and swiped his credit card at the register. Without missing a beat, he had paid for the food donation before the women even knew what happened.
Patrick knew that his donation would be going to people in need of basics like food, water, and shelter. Although he does not have much extra money, he was glad to know that his $77.55 donation would feed families in need. He wanted to contribute to a cause the matter, so he invested his cash in his local community like an exemplar Good Samaritan.
Patrick’s donation included about half a dozen containers of lasagna, salad ingredients, and more. Every bit of that food would go into the mouths of North Carolina’s most desperate families. The pandemic has hit millions of Americans hard – ending the lives of nearly 200,000 Americans – but the homeless are dealing with a very tough situation.
When FOX 8 WGHP reported on Patrick’s good deed, one person wrote the following message to the Costco worker.
“It will come back to you a hundredfold, Patrick. Not that it is what motivated you to help the homeless. God bless you a thousand times.”