‘I wanted to cry’: Young man’s generous act for elderly lady goes viral

A young man in New South Wales has warmed the hearts of onlookers with his entirely selfless act for an elderly woman, giving us exactly the kind of good news story we need at the moment.

An onlooker shared the story on the Coles Facebook page, describing the heartwarming moment a shop assistant stepped up to help an elderly woman who had become confused with the checkout technology.

The shopper, named Lyn, was shopping at Coles in Medowie, Port Stephens, north of Newcastle when she saw the older woman’s attempt to make payment had been declined twice.

Lyn said the woman was clearly confused as to why the payment wasn’t working when a cashier, by the name of Michael, stepped up to help.

“I really wanted to share a beautiful thing I witnessed today,” Lyn wrote on the Coles Facebook page. “I wanted to cry at witnessing the absolute care and generosity of a fabulous young man called Michael.

“While waiting in line at my local Coles supermarket, the elderly lady in front of me was having trouble paying with her debit card.

“It declined twice and she was confused at why it wasn’t working. A beautiful young boy working on the check out told her it’s ok, I’ll fix it for you, and proceeded to pay for it using his own phone to access his account.

“The elderly lady just thought he had fixed the technology somehow, not realising he had just paid for her $73 of groceries.

“He didn’t look for thanks or acknowledgement in any way. I wanted to cry at witnessing the absolute care and generosity of a fabulous young man called Michael.

“I made sure I told the supervisor of the Coles store Medowie and assured him good things are coming his way in life. It warmed my cold heart.”

The post has generated hundreds of comments, with people praising his actions and saying he’d restored their faith in the world.

“We hear so much about bad deeds it is so lovely to hear about the good deeds what a lovely young man,” one wrote.

“OMG (oh my god) there still is good in this cold, mixed-up world. Michael from the bottom of my heart, thank you. You have restored my faith in the younger generation,” a fourth commented.

“Reading through this I was thinking it was Michael, then saw his name,” they wrote.

“He is a lovely young man and he is an asset to our store. I will be giving him a praise up!”