This was my first year participating in Payday’s Angel on the Street. I was really excited to find
someone in need, and I knew the feeling would be gratifying when I found a deserving person to
give the money to. I found myself more aware of my surroundings and a little uneasy as I was
forced to be judgemental which I try hard not to be. It was a bit of a struggle looking at people
and thinking to myself whether the person appeared to be in need and deserving enough of the
money.

I took this opportunity to include my 10 year old son Noah and this was a wonderful experience
for us both. We spent a week intentionally making trips to different stores to look for someone
who we could help. My son was extremely eager to surprise someone and I had to explain to
my son why I felt we should wait to find another person and the reasons why.

On Sunday November 19th, my son and I went to breakfast and went shopping again in an
attempt to find someone to help out. We decided to go back to Walmart and walk the isles to
find someone. We were walking through the toy section and eventually found a woman who
appeared to be in her late 40’s – early 50’s shopping with her teenage son. They had a few
items in the basket and were having a discussion. As we walked past they placed a couple toys
back on the shelf and placed another in the cart. They proceeded to walk down the aisle,
stopped, would talk again, grab items, then put them back on the shelf undecided. It was
apparent that they were trying to decide what they could afford to buy. The items in the basket
appeared to be Christmas toys for a child.

My son tugged on my shirt and said, “Dad, I know those people are who we’re supposed to
help”. My son walked to the Mother and Son and handed the envelope. She slowly opened the
envelope and began to cry in appreciation. She asked my son what his name is and asked if
she could give him a hug. She then asked why he picked her and he said, “because you look
like really nice people”. The mother continued to cry while expressing her appreciation and
telling us how hard this last year has been. She told us her 12 year old son Ezera passed away
last Christmas so this year has been extremely difficult. They were extremely appreciative and
the experience was rewarding for me and my son.