One teenager’s simple act of kindness has melted hearts worldwide. To him, it was no big deal.
Dontarius Caldwell, 15, was captured on camera helping a blind, elderly woman cross the street when he saw she was struggling.
He never expected that his Good Samaritan attitude would spread so quickly.
“I was just trying to help,” he told NBC-affiliate WLWT-TV. “I really didn’t think I would be on camera.”
“I was just helping the elderly, giving a helping hand. The key word is helping hand. Everybody has got to get a helping hand.”
Facebook user Mike Garibay shared the photo on Facebook, writing: “This young man held this blind woman’s hand and helped her across Hamilton Avenue and then again across North Bend Rd. I have faith in humanity again! Kudos, young man.”
“I just thought, man, that is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” Garibay told Fox 19. “When they stopped at that corner. I had to take a picture.”
Before the sweet moment happened, Caldwell was, perhaps like any other teenager, playing games on his phone while waiting for his bus home after school.
His sister Dyamond first noticed the woman struggling to click the crosswalk button, he told Local 12.
“Dyamond was listening to music, then she looked over and I looked over to see what she was looking at,” Caldwell said, adding that his sister encouraged him to go help her out.
“I told Dontarius that I think she’s blind, you should get up and go help her, and he got up and went to go help her cross the street two times while I waited for the bus to come,” Dyamond said.
According to WLWT-TV, he walked right over and asked if he could help her.
“She said, ‘Yes.’ She gave me her hand and I held it,” he said.
Caldwell’s high school recognized him with a ceremonial key to the school for his generous efforts.
His mom, Sheena Ferrell, says she learned of the photo through social media.
“A friend of mine had shared it and I was like, ‘that looks like my son!’ and I was like, ‘that is my baby!’ I’m just really proud and excited,” Ferrell told Fox 19.
Apparently, her son helps the woman cross at this intersection multiple times a week now.
“He’s always willing to help,” she continued. “He’s such a good kid. I just love him so much.”
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