It’s a feel-good story that’s traveling the globe and involves a young man, a younger man and 12,000+ strangers. A teenager makes a deal for a package of doughnuts, and what followed is simply magical.
1. The Deal
Chauncy Black went shopping for doughnuts at a supermarket in Memphis, TN. Glazed. Problem was, he had no money. Stealing was not in his heart, nor was begging. So he found a customer in the produce aisle and made him an offer, “I’ll carry your groceries to your car if you buy me these doughnuts.”
2. The Customer
The customer was Matt White, a 30 year-old local music producer, singer and songwriter. He’s also a holistic health coach who plans to launch an information product company based on his coaching. He was just the guy Chauncy needed to chance upon that night.
3. A Full Shopping Cart
White realized Chauncy needed more than doughnuts. So the two set off on a “fun-filled” shopping spree together. While Chauncy pulled a week’s worth of groceries off shelves, he shared his story. White later wrote about the exchange, “I was able to share in Chauncy’s life, learn his story, and for at least one night, help him with his struggle.” “One night,” White would later learn, was just the beginning…
4. Chauncy’s Story
He is 16 and lives with his disabled mother. He’s a straight-A student. He sleeps on the floor because their home has one sofa…and some lamps. No A/C. (Everything was recently stolen.) He aspires to own a business one day for two reasons: to employ others in his community to give them opportunities and to be wealthy to be able to buy groceries for somebody…like White was doing for him this night.
5. Kroger’s
Chauncy took the bus at 9:00 p.m. from his neighborhood to get to the “rich people’s Kroger.” He went with the hope of finding a friendly stranger with a big heart who would feed him before the bus left in an hour. He had no phone, just a bus pass. When he approached White, Chauncy looked “ashamed, hungry and broken.”
6. Facebook
Later that night, White went home and posted his encounter on Facebook. Excerpts include: “I just met the most inspiring person ever. He’s trying to get a job to help his mom pay rent. I gave him a ride home so that he didn’t have to take the bus. He wasn’t kidding. He and his mom had nothing.” 18,000 likes and 13,000 comments led to…
7. GoFundMe
After the overwhelming response to his Facebook post, Matt White did what any aspiring American without funds with a vision does: he started a GoFundMe campaign. “I’ve created this GoFundMe page to help Chauncy have that chance.” The goal was $250 to buy him the tools he needed to start his first business.
8. The Goal
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. So the saying goes. Matt White wanted to get Chauncy a push lawnmower. (And a bed.) Matt thought he might be able to provide the “fishing pole” by relying on the kindness of a few others and the reach of the Internet.
9. A Sea Of Kindness
At least one person did offer to buy Chauncy a lawn mower. Others offered to purchase clothes for him and for his mom. The rest showered dollars on him. Lots of dollars. Four days later, Matt edited his page to offer a wistful prophecy, “Can you imagine?! They could go from not being able to pay rent to becoming home owners!!! All because of the love of strangers.”
10. GoFundMe Succe$$es
GoFundMe is the way to go. After Jo Cox, a popular British lawmaker, was violently killed in the street, her husband set up a campaign to support Jo’s favorite charities. It became the largest GoFundMe campaign to date in the UK. In weeks it raised over £1,431,500. Across the sea and in just one week, over $5 million was raised for victims’ families of the Orlando night club shooting. Go GoFundMe!
11. Chauncy’s Page
Matt White’s GoFundMe campaign is called Chauncy’s Chance. In 14 days, 12,500+ kind-hearted people shattered the goal, donating more than $300K. One person wrote, “Matt White thank you for showing all of us that sometimes all a person needs is a little kindness. Chauncy thanks for showing all of us what determination and courage truly means after being rejected by so many.”
12. Rejection
When they first met in the supermarket, White said Chauncy looked as if he was rejected 100 times. A note of inspiration about rejections: Dr. Seuss’s first book, And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected by 27 publishers. Seuss went on to revolutionize the children’s book industry with more than 60 titles. He’s famous for The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. Sometimes you just need to dig through 27 — or 100 — rejections to hit pay dirt.
13. Fame
It’s Chauncy’s moment. (And Matt’s, too.) Their story is on TV, radio, print and the Web. They were covered by CNN, The NY Daily News, ABC News, The Examiner, Vibe, Fox News, The Huffington Post, Ellen, People, and now, LIFE’d. Their story is spreading and so is the good will and good feelings. Thanks Matt and Chauncy for bringing out the best in so many people in so many places.
[Featured Image Credit: android.brothersoft.com]