Memphis teen asked stranger at Kroger to buy him and his mom food — he didn't know it would end up changing his life

The stranger was moved by the teenager's story and decided to give him a chance at a good life.

PUBLISHED 2 DAYS AGO

(L) A boy looking inside a grocery store cabinet. (R) A man buying fruits at a grocery store. (Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels | (L) David Gomes; (R) Michael Burrows)

Sometimes, a person's story, no matter how "unimportant," moves strangers to tears. The same thing happened with Chauncy Jones Black, who stopped a stranger named Matt White at Kroger. He asked White if he could buy him glazed donuts in exchange for carrying his grocery bags to the car. The stranger agreed to that and decided to take Black on a shopping spree. He even dropped him off at home, and the family's condition touched him enough to do something to change Black and his mother, Barbara's, life, per a Facebook post from White.

A fruit and produce aisle at a grocery store. Representative Image Source: Pexels Clem Onojeghuo

"Chauncy is a 16-year-old from Memphis. He had taken the bus at 9:00 at night to get to the 'rich people's Kroger' on Highland, as he called it," White recounted in a post back in 2016. He was shopping for produce when Chauncy approached him and asked him to carry his bags. "This kid looked like he had been turned down 100 times. He looked ashamed, hungry and broken." White immediately agreed to the boy's request and bought him some glazed donuts. He asked Chauncy if he was by himself and the boy revealed that he had his mom at home and had come to the area hoping to find something to eat for him and his mom, as they had nothing at home. Chauncy had no phone, a bus pass and had to rely on strangers to feed him in the hour before the bus left, so White took him on a shopping spree and bought him groceries and toiletries.

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Also, White decided to drop him off at home so he wouldn't have to go by himself on a bus. "All the while we talked, and he told me how he makes straight As in school and is trying to get a job to help his mom pay rent. This kid was amazing," White recalled. "When we got to his house, I was truly humbled. He wasn't kidding. He and his mom had nothing." The family had no furniture, and their fridge was empty. Chauncy's mother was "sweet but fragile," who seemed to have some form of disability, per White. "As we unpacked the food into their kitchen, you could see the hope coming back into Chauncy's eyes. He knew he wasn't going to be hungry. He looked like a kid again," White went on. He hugged Chauncy as he left and told him, "How much God loved him."

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As White's post gained traction, he started a GoFundMe campaign called Chauncy's Chance for the kid and his mom. He managed to raise over $103k within two weeks of starting the campaign, per ABC News. The current number stands at $342,106, and White has decided to help other people, too, per an update. He helped Chauncy and his mom move into their new house just two weeks after the incident, per the outlet. "When I looked at him and saw what he was doing and what he was asking for, I said he was my hero."

"I live to fulfill God's heart, and God has a heart for the fatherless and for the needy. The focus of this is not me and what I did, because I really didn't do anything. I just captured a story and put it online, but our community, Memphis, picked up this family and put them on a platform," White shared. Chauncy dreamed of becoming a business owner when he grew up and wanted to start a lawn mowing business over the summer to support himself and his mother. "As of today, Barbara and Chauncy have a new life. God has provided for them a home, a car, a new school, he has restored Barbara's health and continues to present them with endless opportunities for the future," the update on the GoFundMe explained.