An 18-year-old named Jordan Hope was outside a Walgreens in Maricopa, Arizona, when he noticed an older man whose shoes were barely holding together. Hope pulled over and handed the man his own shoes. A bystander, Yareli Madrid, filmed the exchange without him knowing and posted it to Facebook, where it picked up hundreds of comments and got traced back to Hope the following day.
What happened after the camera stopped is the better part of the story. Hope returned, bought the man candy, and learned his wife had died just two weeks earlier. He took him to lunch, paid for a rideshare, and now calls him daily to check in. A GoFundMe set up for the man has raised more than $2,000, and Hope credits his parents, his youth pastor, and his faith for the decision to stop in the first place.
For those of us along the Gulf Coast, the takeaway practically writes itself. Retirees and snowbirds here know how quiet a house can get after a loss, and how much a phone call can carry. Hope says a tug pulled on his heart and he simply followed it. No campaign, no audience, no plan.
Who’s the person in your life who could use a check-in call this week?
