When college student Casey Fischer went to a Dunkin Donuts shop one morning to grab her coffee, she never expected to have an interaction with a stranger that would change both of their lives forever.
She saw a man singing on the roadside and collecting change. Later, she noticed that same man walking into Dunkin as he counted his change to see if he had enough to buy something. The sight of him fumbling for enough change to buy a simple cup of coffee was heartbreaking.
Casey describes herself as getting “super annoying” as she tries to strike up a convo with a man who clearly didn’t want to be talked to, but she kept going anyway. She found out his name was Chris.
She bought Chris a bagel and coffee and asked him to sit down with her to talk.
Shocked by her kindness, he began to open up to Casey and tell her that people are generally pretty mean to him because he’s homeless.
As their conversation continued for another hour, he poured out about how he never knew his father and he lost his mom to cancer. He admitted that all he wants to do is turn into a man that his mother could be proud of.
Lost in his story, Casey realized that she needed to get back to class, but Chris asked for her to hold on just a moment so he could write something down real quick.
He said sorry for the bad handwriting and handed her the note with a smile.
Casey was in shock when she saw what he left behind on the crumpled piece of paper.
It read: “I wanted to kill myself today. Because of you, now I do not. Thank you, beautiful person.”
If it wasn’t for Casey’s simple act of kindness and time investment in a random stranger, he may not be here today. She doesn’t exactly know why she was led to talk to that man, but she’s so glad she did.
Read Casey’s full story that she posted along with the note on Facebook here:
Casey’s encounter has now touched the hearts of thousands. Just between the Love What Matters Facebook page and Casey’s post, the story has been shared over 160,000 times.
Let’s continue to circulate what matters by sharing this story with your friends. It’s easy for us to underestimate the power of a small act of generosity, but Casey’s story is proof that sometimes a $3 cup of coffee can save a life.
We don’t always know what’s going on under the surface when we meet people on the street, but we can be certain that we will never regret having been kind to them.
Homeless people in particular have a much higher rate of depression and suicide. So instead of judging how they got into the position they’re in, let’s love them through it, with a bagel, coffee…or just a friendly pat on the back that says “hey, I’m so glad you’re here.”
