A simple act of selflessness by one woman impacted a community and transformed her life.
Evoni Williams, 18, of La Marque, Texas, spent all of her free time working at Waffle House in order to save money for college.
Certainly a difficult chore, but she wasn’t the only one who had a lot on her plate.
Adrian Charpentier, 78, who requires oxygen, said he was having problems cutting the ham on his plate with his hands.
Williams, who goes by the moniker ‘Nini,’ told KHOU that she was happy to assist.
“My hands are not performing very well,” he said. He requested that I cut his dinner, which I did,” Williams explained.
She put everything on hold to cut Charpentier’s dinner into little pieces.
Customer Laura Wolf, who was sitting close and seeing the whole romantic moment develop, was completely unaware of Williams’ presence.
“It was so crowded in here that she actually stopped to listen to what he had to say rather than walking right past him. To me, that meant something.” – LAURA WOLF
She took a picture of the gesture and posted it on Facebook. “If only we could all be like this waitress and take the time to provide a hand…” look at the caption
The news of the appointment rapidly reached Charpentier. “A few days later, someone informed me I was really popular because they found me on Facebook,” he recalled.
With nearly 50,000 shares, the post became viral. But no one could have predicted what followed.
Lights, cameras, and the media gathered on the restaurant to thank and surprise Evoni Williams, the star of the show.
Williams was awarded a $16,000 scholarship at Texas Southern University, which was more than enough to cover her tuition.
That’s not everything. The city of La Marque named March 8 “Evani ‘Nini’ Williams Day” in honor of her generosity.
Williams, who was crying, was blown away.
“I didn’t expect it to be a major hit. But I want to thank everyone. It’s simply something I’d do on any other day.” – LEVONI WILLIAMS
William’s seemingly insignificant deed, according to Wolf, has a huge consequence.
“While everything in the world seems to be going wrong, I’m grateful to have seen this act of love and caring at the start of my day.” – LAURA WOLF
“If only we could all be like this waitress and take the time to assist others.”
How many times have we been caught up in our thoughts, looking for a way to help others but unable to discover the perfect cause, time, or location? We tell themselves, “I’d want to accomplish something someday.”
There are opportunities to help everywhere, from helping someone at the diner to holding the door or even flashing a smile to a passing.
If Evoni Williams’ story teaches us anything, it’s to never underestimate the power of even the smallest acts of kindness, both on the one who performs them and on those who may be watching.