Young people don’t have the best of reputations these days. People assume they’re self-centred, too busy looking at their phones to pay attention to what’s going on around them.

In reality, this assumption rarely applies to the majority of teens. Young people have hearts, and many of them see kindness as an intrinsic value, as instilled in them by their parents.

So when a young person recognises that someone else is having a bad time, don’t be surprised to see them do something about it.

One youngster who proved exactly why we should keep faith in our next generation is 19-year-old John Lopez, Jr., of Princeton, Texas. The teen worked as a cashier in the local Walmart, where he was already known for his polite approach to serving customers.

But Lopez’ kindness ran far deeper than he showed on the surface. And one day, one of his customers, Laci Simms, saw him do something that she could only describe as “remarkable”.

Simms’ Facebook post has since been made private, but her story was this:

“I just witnessed this ‘kid’ pay for a cart of merchandise for a woman in obvious distress about her inability to pay. She was a few people ahead of us and when she had trouble paying her bill he stepped in and told her if she’d wait he would pay her total. Ya’ll, it was $110 dollars! He is always singing, upbeat, courteous, joyful and efficient. I don’t know John’s story, but I don’t think he is even 20 years old. He just renewed my faith in humanity and the generation we are raising! Everyone share this so the world knows what a blessing John is to our community!”

Walmart caught hold of Simms’ story and shared a partial quote from her on their own Facebook page:

What makes Lopez’ act of kindness even more wholesome is that he expected absolutely nothing back from it. He said in a later interview with CBS DFW that he didn’t even realize anyone had seen him do it. This kid wasn’t looking for attention. He just saw someone in need and wanted to help.

“She started crying and I was like ‘okay I got you – I got you’,” Lopez told the outlet. “I just felt in my heart that the lord told me I had to help her.”

It’s no secret that a supermarket worker’s wage isn’t the highest, and Lopez was apparently putting his hard-earned cash straight into his savings for college. But when he realized that this woman was in a worse financial situation then him, he stepped in like a true hero.

Lopez’ parents had clearly raised him well, as he told DFW:

“My parents basically taught me if someone needs help, you should be able to help them and if someone is down, bring them up. I make it my goal to at least in one way make someone smile.”

This kid is an angel!

It turns out Simms, who made the post about Lopez, wasn’t the only one to notice the kind young man’s actions. Another customer, Brandon Weddle, spoke to Inside Edition about his own experience with Lopez:

“I’ve been through his line a couple of times, my wife has too, and we’ve spoken about him, how he touches people on a daily basis.”

And Weddle was so impressed with Lopez’s behaviour that he decided to give the lad something back. He set up a GoFundMe to help Lopez save up for college. Despite the initial goal being just $1,000, donations surpassed a whopping $37,000.

Lopez was also awarded a certificate by the Mayor of Princetown, John-Mark Caldwell, and he was presented with a medallion by Police Chief James Waters.

We believe Lopez deserves every bit of the good karma that has been returned to him. The world would certainly be a better place if we all behaved like him and helped out those in need.

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Source: Spotlight, Inside Edition & CBS DFW