We’ve all heard of an “Aha! moment”—when something confusing suddenly makes sense or a brilliant idea shows up out of the blue. Well, it seems that in Hawaii, there’s also something known as an “Aloha! moment”—an occasion that offers the opportunity to bestow an act of love or kindness.
Chloe Marino was shopping at a Kahului, Hawaii supermarket with her 5-month-old son. As sometimes happens, she got distracted and accidentally left her wallet behind.
Luckily, the wallet was spotted by eagle-eyed store security guard Aina Townsend, who volunteered to return it to its owner after his shift. Not having a car, the plucky 22-year-old took it upon himself to bicycle for nearly an hour—uphill three miles in the dark—to the Marinos’ door.
“You know, I lost a wallet before too and it’s the worst thing in the world,” Townsend said. “I was just doing what I felt was the right thing to do.”
Chloe, who didn’t even realize she’d misplaced her wallet, was blown away by Townsend’s determination as well as his willingness to help out a total stranger.
Her husband, Gray, was so impressed that he posted an account of Townsend’s good deed to his Facebook page, and one reader was so moved that he started a GoFundMe campaign after learning Aina’s story:
“This young man moved to Maui 5 years ago, and works as a security guard at the grocery store to support the family and put himself through college. What really got me was that he rides his bike to work and school everyday because he doesn’t have a car, and has been doing this for 5 years,” wrote Gregory Gaudet on GoFundMe.
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“When I put myself in his position after a long day of work and school, wanting to go home to see my family and go to bed, but choosing to ride my bike to the next town miles away, instead, to return this women’s wallet, I know this guy has a huge heart.”
On New Year’s Eve, the friends and family of Aina and Gray gathered at a local car dealership and presented a brand new automobile to the Townsend family after collecting $25,000 in Aloha donations.
WATCH the moment below…
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