It's easy for us to see kids as selfish beings. It's not a bad thing, necessarily. They're young and haven't always grasped the concept of giving back or helping others. That's why we as adults need to do what we can to show them the difference between right and wrong.
Nine-year-old Brooke already seems to know what giving back looks like, and she stunned her local police department with not one, but two acts of kindness.
Brooke was in line at a local snack bar waiting to buy some donut holes, and when it came her turn to pay, she young girl realized she didn't have enough money to do so. Lucky for Brooke, there was someone behind her who was willing to help out...State Trooper Chad Savannah.
"I was standing in line and I didn't have enough money and I'm like, frozen," Brooke said to the Butler Eagle. "I didn't know what to do."
Savannah didn't hesitate to add Brooke's order to his own, which caught the nine-year-old off guard. Once she got the donuts, she hurried out of the store. But after she got home, Brooke realized that she needed to do something more for the kind officer who helped her out.
Brooke decided to write a "thank you" note to the local police department, thanking them for not only helping her buy her donuts, but also for everything else that they do. She chose to enclose a $10 bill in the note as well, in the hopes that it would cover the cost of the donuts. Brooke didn't know who the officer who helped her was, but she just hoped it would get into the right hands.
When the letter got to the police department, every officer was moved at the generosity and thoughtfulness of Brooke. Trooper Savannah, along with his colleagues, knew he wanted to reward the young girl for her kind gesture.
"I think everybody here was very moved by the kindness of this 9 year old," the captain of the police department told KDKA News.
Together, the troopers gathered up $50 and bought a Toys R Us gift card for Brooke, thinking she could go to the popular toy store and buy herself some new toys. But rather than spoil herself, Brooke chose to spend the money on toys for the charity Toys for Tots. Brooke's mom said this was all Brooke's choice, and no one forced her to do it.
"We're trying to teach our kids right. To take care of what they owe for," said Brooke's mom Beth Yost to KDKA News.
When the officers found out that Brooke didn't spend the money on herself, they chose to give her a different kind of gift. They invited Brooke to the police station and gave her a tour of the department. She even got to sit in a squad car, which was her favorite part of the day.
[H/T: KDKA]
