When Megan Shufflebarger took her soon to be three-year-old daughter Kinley on a little shopping trip to pick out her birthday present, the inevitable happened: Kinley picked the last doll of its kind as what she wanted. The doll had blonde hair, just like the adorable toddler.
Also strolling the toy aisle at the same time was a young man, who struck up a conversation with Kinley, asking her which doll she liked the most.
“I really lub dis one,” said Kinley, pointing to her favourite.
But before Shufflebarger could pick up the toy for her daughter, the young man took the doll right off the shelf and walked away with it.
That's right. The teenage boy walked off with the last doll.
As Shufflebarger tried to explain to Kinley that there were no other dolls like that left on the shelf (and if you have a toddler, you can probably imagine how that went), the same young man came back and handed the birthday girl her doll.
"I was speechless," Shufflebarger told CBS News.
She snapped a photo of her daughter and the kind stranger, and when they got home, Shufflebarger took the random act of kindness to Facebook.
In a post that she hoped would give him 'true thanks' for his kindness she wrote:
“What a reminder to never loose [sic] faith in humanity and to be generous and pay it forward. To this generous young man, whoever you are, I hope you see this and more importantly, I hope you know what a good young man you are.”
The post went viral, and after more than 60,000 shares, it was revealed that her daughter's mystery birthday gift giver was Purdue University freshman student Tario Fuller II. Originally from Georgia, Fuller is the university's football team running back. Fuller definitely scored a touchdown with the Internet with his generosity.
Teens are often given a bad rap for being selfish and narcissistic (who are we kidding, toddlers can be like that too), but Fuller's kindness proves otherwise. If Shufflebarger hadn't had her phone with her to snap the now viral picture, Fuller's good deed would have likely gone unnoticed. We're so happy that Fuller proved that teens really do have hearts of gold, but that Shufflebarger took the time to share this happy family moment on social media.
"This one act of kindness has likely generated thousands of smiles, softened many hearts and inspired others," Shufflebarger said in an interview with CBS News. "That in and of itself makes my heart full and happy. Maybe this will inspire and humble others to pay it forward more often."
We hope so too.
RELATED: The Random Act Of Kindness That Will Blow Your Mind
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