Kelvin Ellis Jr., at just nine years old, showed a heart bigger than his pocket. He didn’t think twice when he saw a man at the corner of a coffee patio with his head bowed in what appeared to be a moment of despair. He approached the man, hands stretched, his only dollar clenched in his fist, hoping to bring a little joy to the man’s day.
Kelvin didn’t know that this disheveled man was a millionaire who had just stopped for coffee after a startling start that day. 42-year-old Matt Busbice, the man Kelvin had offered a dollar to, is the developer of several outdoor brands and owner of sporting goods store BuckFeather in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Still, he says that was a special moment in his life, and the kindness gesture perfectly embodied “faith in humanity restored. I haven’t had that much faith in humanity in a long time,” Busbice told CBS News.
A rude awakening leads to a fortunate meeting
Matt Busbice says he was startled by a fire alarm outside his condo complex early in the morning. He wore whatever clothes he found nearby and rushed downstairs, only to find it was a false alarm.
But he was awake now, and even though he was scruffy, he decided to grab coffee to kick-start his day. He entered a nearby coffee shop and placed his order, but remembered he hadn’t prayed that morning. That’s when he stepped outside, and the coffee shop camera showed him praying at the corner of the outdoor sitting area to get as much privacy as possible. Meanwhile, young Kelvin had accompanied his father to an eyeglass shop next door. Kelvin stepped out while his father was getting his eyes examined, and that’s when he saw Busbice and approached.
“And I started to open my eyes slowly, and a kid is coming at me, about my height,” Busbice said. He was ready for a confrontation, but when young Kelvin opened his fist, he had a dollar in his hand. “And I go, ‘What?'” Busbice said. ‘If you’re homeless, here’s a dollar,’ 9-year-old Kelvin Ellis Jr. recalls telling Busbice. “…I always wanted to help a homeless person, and I finally had the opportunity.”
Kelvin says his father had given him the dollar for good grades; it was his only money. Still, he felt compelled to help Busbice, who was so touched by the incident. Busbice invited Kelvin in for a snack, and in the video clip, we see Kelvin asking for his father’s permission before returning.
One good turn deserves another
After grabbing their snacks, the video in the coffee shop shows Busbice and Kelvin seated and chatting. After that, Busbice connected with Kelvin’s father at the eyeglass shop and promised to contact them. As a reward for his kindness, Busbice surprised Kelvin with a 40-second shopping spree at his high-end store, BuckFeather. He grabbed a compound bow, a new bike, and other smaller items, but said that’s not what he hoped to get for his dollar.
“Joy, because I helped someone,” Kelvin said in an interview with CBS. “Give something away, and you feel like you’ve got a lot of things from it.” Busbice, on the other hand, says he learned a great lesson and feels the world would be a great place if everyone emulated Kelvin’s compassion. “If you give, you’re going to get more out of that,” Busbice said. “I couldn’t grasp that as a kid. And if we can spread that around, everything changes.”
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