Kind man pays for struggling 17-year-old student's work shoes and asks for nothing in return, sparks others to share times they experience kindness from a stranger: ‘Pay it forward.’

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Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Jul 23, 2025 6:00 PM EDT

It doesn't matter where you are in your life, sometimes you need a helping hand. Whether that hand is emotional, financial, physical, or whatever, it's important you pay it forward. When we stumble upon a story that warms our hearts and brightens our outlook on the day, we have to share it! Kind of like paying it forward! We want everyone to have their faith in humanity restored. 

 

This woman posted a story about a random stranger who paid for her work shoes without asking for anything in return. The older gentleman just said that he's been helped like this before and that she should also spread the kindness. This sparked many others to share their stories of experiencing a stranger's kindness. 

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  • From helping a struggling new mom to giving a struggling teen a new take on life, spreading kindness is what really makes the world go round! See how others' faith in humanity have been restored below!

  • Cheezburger Image 10532757504
    via Unsplash+ (and Yunus Tuğ)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "I Still Don’t Know Why That Man Paid for My Shoes"

    I was maybe 17, broke, and standing in a crowded store holding a pair of work shoes I couldn't quite afford. The cheap pair I owned had finally fallen apart, and I needed something to get me through shifts at the café.
    via Individual_Agent452
  • I must've stood in that aisle for a solid 15 minutes, doing math in my head. Rent, school, tips, how many hours I could pick up if I skipped lunch. I was about to put them back and just figure it out later when this
    via Individual_Agent452
  • older man, maybe late 60s, tapped my shoulder and said, "Get them. You need them." I was so thrown off I laughed awkwardly and said something like, "I'll be okay."
    via Individual_Agent452
  • He shook his head, walked up to the cashier, and paid for them. Full stop. Didn't ask for anything. Didn't want thanks. Just said, "Someone did it for me once. Keep going." Then he left.
    via Individual_Agent452
  • I never caught his name. I never saw him again. I wore those shoes until they were basically fabric and memory. I think about him more often than I should.
    via Individual_Agent452
  • shomenee I got an oil change at jiffy lube a few months back. When they were checking my air filter they somehow detached it from my engine. I pulled out and my car immediately d d. Put my hazards on and started pushing it into the nearest
    via shomenee
  • parking lot from the driver side. I was surprised how easy it was to push. Then I turned around and saw that there were actually 2 guys. behind me helping me push. They must have been right behind me and saw me struggling. People are awesome sometimes.
    via shomenee
  • WeddingFickle6... When my first child was a very colicky newborn, I was in a low traffick aisle trying to get her to latch in the middle of grocery shopping, and an older woman came out of nowhere and fixed the nursing cover over us and showed me to spot
    via WeddingFickle6513
  • where I could sit and nurse. I was battling PPD, struggling with breastfeeding, and my baby was always crying, so a stranger helping me navigate that moment when I was overwhelmed meant the world to me.
    via WeddingFickle6513
  • Tree-Hugger42 I've given as often as I can. But there's such good karma in the act, I always seem to end up getting some sort of surprise money coming back to me for some reason. Or I end up winning something. Not
    via Tree-Hugger42
  • Cheezburger Image 10532767744
    via Unsplash+ (and A.C. )

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • that I do it for that reason, it's that I am an empath and when you sense how people are feeling you instinctively want to help. It feels good to be able to help people, even if it's in a small way.
    via Tree-Hugger42
  • One time I was at Walmart and it was a little bit before Christmas and I also was doing the head calculation if I could afford all of these groceries and a couple other items that we needed. Then a man behind me at the checkout said I'll pay for her stuff, and I was
    via Tree-Hugger42
  • shocked, I had a hard time accepting, but I did and was gracious about it. It was $120 worth of stuff! I've also had where people have been in a store trying to hand out like 20s or 50s and if I'm in a good place, I just refuse it because I want somebody who needs it to get it.
    via Tree-Hugger42
  • wisemonkey101 I was 8 months pregnant, living a few hours from my parents. Husband worked long hours. I was lonely and needed my mom. I was driving my crappy car to spend the day with my parents and my car got a flat tire. I know how to
    via wisemonkey101
  • change a tire but not pregnant and in that heat. I started walking towards the nearest exit to call my dad. A man about my dad's age stopped and offered to fix the tire. He backed his car up to mine and changed my
    via wisemonkey101
  • tire. He told me he hoped someone would do this for his daughter. I asked my husband to do something like this some time and he did several times as a pay back. I will always remember that kindness. Always.
    via wisemonkey101
  • Forget_Me_Not_... This exact thing happened to my daughter. She was 14 at the time and saw a pair of cherry red Dr Martin boots. in the op shop. She didn't have quite enough money, and really wanting them, I'd say she'd hovered around them long enough for
    via Forget_Me_Not_Again
  • somebody to take notice. This much older lady, took the shoes from her hand and said, let me buy them for you. She said, I just want you to know that you are beautiful, loved and God has great things in store for you.
    via Forget_Me_Not_Again
  • Here is the thing, my daughter at the time was not attending school, due to PTSD, following a significant trauma and was really struggling day to day. She had no friends, and things were very bleak. This wonderful lady, sat with my daughter for 20 minutes
    via Forget_Me_Not_Again
  • and asked her about her hopes and dreams, encouraged her, and was such a blessing. Later we found out that we knew mutual people, and we are now Facebook friends and she checks in regularly on my daughter.
    via Forget_Me_Not_Again
  • I cannot say, how much the kindness of a stranger can impact somebody. For my daughter to be "seen" by a stranger and receive such kindness had a profound impact on her.
    via Forget_Me_Not_Again

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optimistic wholesome random act of kindness optimism kindness hopeful r-story faith in humanity friends uplifting pay it forward family happy Reddit happiness
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