While it may not always seem like it, there is still kindness in this world and sometimes that kindness is rewarded.
Melina Marquez of California came home from a shopping trip and realized she had accidentally left her purse in her shopping cart. Little did she know that by the time she realized it was gone, the purse was already on its way back to her.
The purse had been found by a 17-year-old boy who drove it directly to the address on the drivers license he saw inside. Melina wasn’t at home, but her aunt was. She saw the young man appear on the Ring doorbell video, but was wary to answer the door.
“So my aunt heard the ring go off so she opened the door and receives the purse,” Melina explained. “She was a little confused.”
The teen explained he found the purse in a parking lot before leaving it on the doorstep and respectfully driving away.
“So I asked my aunt, I said ‘Did you get his name or did you at least give him 20 bucks?’” Melina recalled. “And she’s like ‘No, I didn’t know!’”
Melina wasn’t going to let this Good Samaritan go without some sort of reward, but all she had was his image from the doorbell camera. She posted the image on social media where it quickly went viral in the San Diego area.
The kind young man was identified as Adrian Rodriguez. When Melina asked him why he went out of his way to return her purse, Adrian explained “My mom has told me since I was little to always do the right thing even when no one’s watching.”
As the story went viral, more and more people showed an interest in rewarding Adrian for his gesture of good will. A GoFundMe page was started with the goal of raising $1,000 as a reward. Unbelievably, over $14,000 was raised!
Watch the full news story below to learn more about this incredible story of kindness.