Every mother knows the struggle of walking down the toy aisle as she battles the desperate cries and puppy-dog eyes of her children who “ooh” and “ah” at each shiny piece of plastic.
Megan Shufflebarger, a mother of three, was all too familiar with this little spiel as she walked with her daughter Kinley through the aisles of Target.
Kinley pointed out her pre-birthday wish list as they strolled through the toys. The toddler stopped in front of a row of dolls as she gazed at the last pretty blonde one left on the shelf.
She was star struck by THE toy her two-year-old little heart was set on.
But before she could even utter the words, “Mom, can I?…” a young man came over and asked her which doll was her favorite.
She pointed at the doll and said, “I lub dis one.”
He chuckled, took the doll off the shelf and walked away, to the toddler’s dismay.
Her mom told her not to worry, as there would be more dolls. But Kinley only wanted that “dolly.”
Just a few minutes later, the stranger came back to the same aisle with the doll in hand. He pulled it out of the bag, gave the receipt to Megan, and said, “Have a very happy birthday.”
“I was speechless,” Megan told CBS.
Photo/Megan Shufflebarger
She thanked him, as he simply nodded, grinned and walked away.
The touched mother recounted the story on Facebook, and it’s since been shared over 70,000 times.
She was hoping somebody would recognize him and identify her daughter’s birthday hero.
55,000 shares later, somebody tagged the man in the post. His name was Tario Fuller II, and he’s a freshman player on the Purdue University football team.
“We couldn’t be more proud of the type of young men and women in our athletics department,” wrote Purdue Athletics on its Facebook page.
Megan reached out to Fuller telling him how grateful she was for showing her that “hope is in fact not lost in society as a whole.”
“This one act of kindness has likely generated thousands of smiles, softened many hearts and inspired others,” she said. “That in and of itself makes my heart full and happy.” She hopes it will “inspire and humble others to pay it forward more often.”
And so is little miss Kinley.
The adorable tot can rarely be found without a baby doll in her arms…and now she’s got her new favorite to tagalong in her 3-year-old adventures.
