US2 min(s) read
Published 20:47 24 Dec 2020 GMT
A local community is helping to reward a kind-hearted grocery store security guard after he cycled for an hour to return a mom's lost wallet.
As reported by CNN, Chloe Marino was in a hurry while shopping for groceries with her 5-month-old son in Kahului, Hawaii.
In her rush, Marino lost her wallet while at Foodland grocery store, but fortunately for her, it was spotted lying in a shopping cart by one of the store's security guards, Aina Townsend.
And even more fortunate for Marino, Aina just happens to be a really decent guy, and after his shift ended, he made the selfless decision to pedal three miles uphill - roughly one hour - in order to return the wallet to the address he found inside.
Speaking to CNN, 22-year-old Aina said: "You know, I lost a wallet before too and it's the worst thing in the world. I was just doing what I felt was the right thing to do."
Marino and her husband, Gray, revealed that they were both overwhelmed by the security guard's kind gesture - and didn't expect anybody to go out of their way so much for a total stranger.
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"I was shocked at first," said Chloe. "I didn't even realize I had lost it. He definitely went out of his way for a complete stranger which was so amazing."
Realizing that Aina's good deed deserved some recognition, Gray shared the act of random kindness to Facebook, describing it as an "Aloha moment". In Hawaii, this is a moment that shows love and compassion.
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Writing in a Facebook post on December 14, Gray said: "On Saturday my wife left her wallet in the shopping cart of Foodland in Kahului by the mall. After loading the baby and groceries into the car, she hadn’t even noticed it was gone.
"Several hours later we had a knock on our home door. It was the security guard from Foodland.
"He had found the wallet, and after seeing that we didn’t come back for it. He got on his bicycle and he pedaled miles to Waiehu where we lived, getting the address from her ID. He literally rode his bicycle to return her wallet. Completely full of everything important to her including cash. Nothing was so much as moved.
"The security guard said is name was Aina. He works at the Kahului Food Land. Words cannot do this gentleman justice. He truly is what is right on our island and in this world."
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In response to the selfless gesture, one of Gray's friends, Greg Gaudet, set up a GoFundMe asking the community to raise funds in order to give Townsend the ultimate Christmas gift: a car.
"There were a few times in my life where people did a few things that made a really big impact," Gaudet told CNN. "He deserves it you know.
"He's been working hard for a long time. He's a good guy. He deserves a break."
And despite only setting a target of $5,000, after learning of Aina's good deed, the current total raised as of this writing is $24,655!
After learning of the fundraise, Aina revealed that he has been commuting to work by bike for five years, and said that having a car would be like "winning the Super Bowl".
"It means a lot," Aina told CNN. "It's not only about having better transportation. I can do more stuff for my family now. That's the bigger part of the picture."
And after thanking the Marino family and everybody for their kindness, the humble Aina still believes that he didn't do much, he only did what was right.
