A 16-year-old boy named Chauncy Jones Black took a bus from his town near Memphis, Tennessee to visit what he calls the “rich people’s Kroger.” Kroger is a popular grocery chain in the South East United States. While offering to help people carry their bags in exchange for food, Chauncy met Matt White and his life changed forever.
Matt wrote about the experience in a Facebook post that quickly went viral:
I just met the most inspiring person ever. His name is Chauncy Jones. He’s a 16 year old from Memphis. He had taken the bus at 9:00 at night to get to the “rich people’s Kroger” on Highland as he called it. He approached me while I was shopping for produce asking if he could help me carry my grocery bags to my car in exchange for buying him a pack of glazed donuts.
This kid looked like he had been turned down 100 times. He looked ashamed, hungry and broken. In my heart I screamed a loud “yes!”, but to him I just chuckled and said, “yeah dude, we’ll get you some donuts”.
I asked him if he was by himself and he said that he had come all the way out here with the hopes of someone buying him something to eat because he and his mother had nothing at home. He had no phone, a bus pass, and he was depending on the graces of a stranger to feed him within the hour before the bus left. So, needless to say, he and I went on a shopping spree.
We had so much fun! We got cereal and chips and frozen veggies, pizzas, Cheetos, melons and pasta, peanut butter, milk, soap, tooth brushes, just a little bit of everything. All the while we talked and he told me how he makes straight A’s in school and is trying to get a job to help his mom pay rent.
This kid was amazing.
Chauncy kept calling himself poor, but he told me that one day he was gonna be wealthy and own his own businesses so that he could help other people in his neighborhood and buy them groceries like me. I was in awe.
I gave him a ride home so that he didn’t have to take the bus and when we got to his house I was truly humbled.
He wasn’t kidding. He and his mom had nothing.
They didn’t even have beds or furniture. They were sleeping on pads made out of sleeping bags, they had two lamps and nothing in their fridge.
Nothing.
His mother was so sweet but very fragile. I couldn’t tell what it was, but she had some sort of physical and/ or mental disability that made her shake and made walking difficult. I thought I was going to cry.
As we unpacked the food into their kitchen, you could see the hope coming back into Chauncy’s eyes. He knew he wasn’t going to be hungry. He looked like a kid again. As I was leaving I gave him a hug and told him how much God loved him and that he was going to grow up to be an incredible man.
I’ll never forget that hug.
It meant more to me than any possession I have. Our God is an awesome God, and we can never be thankful enough for the blessings we have.
(Edit) I never thought in my wildest dreams that this single post would create such a tidal wave of kindness and encouragement from everyone. So, I decided to create a page for Chauncy and his mom with lists of things they need here: https://www.gofundme.com/293uu9x3
Thank you so so much to everyone who has taken he time to donate, reach out and overall just show that they care. It means the world.
Matt’s story went viral overnight and a GoFundMe page hoping to raise $350 for a new lawnmower ended up raising $210,000 in 11 days. When the fundraiser finally closed 9 months later, more than 14,000 people chipped in to raise over $340,000 for Chauncy and his mother.
Matt was dumbfounded. He left a final update a few months ago to let everyone know that their generosity changed the world for one struggling family.
I’ve been trying to think of what to say for days now. I know in my heart that today will be the beginning of something glorious, because it will start with the closing of something divine. Today will be the last update for what has been my life’s greatest privilege: Chauncy’s Chance (the fundraiser). However, it is with overwhelming joy that I announce today marks the beginning of Chauncy’s Chance (the movement).
As of today, Barbara and Chauncy have a new life. God has provided for them a home, a car, a new school, he has restored Barbara’s health and continues to present them with endless opportunities for the future. Every dollar donated to Chauncy’s Chance was put into a protected trust that will provide them a secure future for decades. In every sense of the word, God has provided. But there were so many more miraculous things that happened along the way. And in the process of creating all the miracles for Chauncy’s Chance, God pieced together the most beautiful tapestry of fellowship and community I have ever witnessed: one that is so strong that we believe He intends to use it to uplift yet another family in need. And so, with God’s blessing, we are stepping out in faith to fulfill that mission.
Matt was so impressed by the kindness of strangers, he decided to keep the movement going and created Chauncy’s Chance volunteer foundation. Each year Chauncy’s Chance will select another individual or family in need, tell their story, and try to raise whatever support they need.
Learn more about Chauncy and Matt’s story in their interview with ABC News in the video below.
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