BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A lesson in love and kindness, from a Buffalo student is going viral.
One young man bought his friend new shoes, after he was bullied over his old ones.
This selfless act has now caught the attention of some people at One Bills Drive.
The saying goes, "Walk a mile in someone else's shoes", but what if the feet that wears them may be ready for a new journey?
It is something 12-year-old Mello Early thought of as his friend, Melvin Anderson was being made fun of for having old sneakers.
"I really did not like it. It made my stomach feel real bad, so one day I went home crying on the phone with my mom because I felt so bad. I asked her to take me to the shoe store with my saved-up allowance and got him some shoes. The next day at school I gave them to him and he had a little smile on his face and I was happy," Mello Early said.
The situation hit close to home, for Mello. The 7th graders told me that Mello knew first-hand what it was like to be ridiculed.
Melvin Anderson said, "It made me feel happy and grateful and because of the act of kindness, I'm going to try to help him out when he has troubles. Some people try to bully him because of his height."
After Mello gifted Melvin, the two savored the moment, not realizing it would be posted to Facebook.
Buffalo Creek Academy Dean of Culture, Mr. Brown, shared it on Facebook which then collected more than 3,000 likes.
Early said, "Then, Mr. Brown had called me out of my classroom, and I was like, 'Okay.' Then I go to his office and he was like, 'We're going viral'. I thought he was playing. He showed me the thing and I was like, 'Oh my God. We're getting 30 likes every 30 seconds."
The photo even catching the attention of a local nonprofit, now taking them to a bills game, when they play the Vikings in Orchard Park, next month.
"Bringing hope to situations like this, and shining the light on situations like this. Letting Mello an Melvin know that they are both appreciated, they are both needed and highlighting them through the resources we have and through our community partnerships," Candles in the S.U.N. president and founder, Dakarai Singletary said. "I instantly reached out to my network and saw how what I can get and bring to them, what I can get to show there's gratitude in that. Just a few months ago, we had a tragedy. Just had a shooting. Often times, you see news every night, you see troubles of tragedy of murder. We don't really see much highlight of good situations like this."
The act of kindness is no surprise to Mr. Brown, who teaches the culture of being a positive influence to peers at the Charter School.
"Having love and kindness in your heart goes a long way. I always preach that and when I saw them bring those shoes into my office and knowing they were for someone else, just brought me to tears. Love and kindness always wins," Buffalo Creek Academy dean of culture, Bryant Brown, Jr. said. "Mello embodies that by coming to school every day, always caring for the next person. He can be very infectious, so I always love seeing Mello. He always brings a smile on my face. I also recruit. We do recruitment and I recruited Mello and we bonded. The first time we met, we talked and just had a really strong bond."
