Source: Mike Mozart via Flickr
When Kari Diaz saw a viral video of a man chasing 60-year-old Charles Reynolds out of a nearby Walmart, after stealing $500 from him, she knew something had to be done. LittleThings.com shares that after clocking in a weekend of 10-hour days, Diaz had enough money to pay it forward to the stranger—just like someone had done for her.
Originally posted on littlethings.com
Sometimes, we see something that makes us want to change the world. That’s exactly what happened to Kari Diaz.
When Kari saw a viral video of one man chasing another out of a Walmart near her home, she knew she had to do something. The video showed 60-year-old Charles Reynolds chasing a stranger who had just stolen $500 from him.
Those $500 came out of Charles’ paycheck, which he had just cashed.
Charles wasn’t able to catch the thief in the Walmart parking lot, but those $500 were crucial. Charles says he is “pretty much homeless, and I’m doing the best I can to get up and get out of there. And, yeah, that money meant a lot.”
When Kari saw the video, she knew just how Charles felt. Just a few years ago, she was living in low-income housing and raising her kids as a single mom. She says she knows “what it is to be poor.”
Kari wanted to help Charles out, but she didn’t just have $500 to give away to him. So, she worked all weekend for it, clocking in 10-hour days to set aside the money for a complete stranger.
Kari and Charles met up at the Largo Police Department so she could give him the money. Even though Walmart replaced the stolen money, Kari still wanted to pay it forward. She says someone helped her out when she was struggling, and she wanted to keep the chain going.
Hopefully, in part with Kari’s help, Charles will be “up and out of there” soon and can continue to pay it forward as well.