A Cleveland fifth grader demonstrated an act of chivalry one rainy, rainy day in September when he held up an umbrella to keep a patrol guard on duty dry, while exposing himself to the wet weather.
Ten-year-old Karl West of Garfield Elementary was waiting for his mom, Monique, to pick him up when he saw that crossing guard Barbara Dunn was too busy helping other kids cross the street to hold an umbrella herself.
“He saw that the crossing guard wasn’t able to use her umbrella, so he just stood out there while she was walking the other students back and forth,” Monique told The Epoch Times.
“That’s who he is, if he sees someone who needs help, just out of his own heart, he just wanted to help.
“He said he felt bad that she was in the rain.”
The good deed did not go unnoticed.
A photo of West’s selfless act was snapped by Chris Ronayne, candidate for Cuyahoga County executive, who posted it on Twitter on Sept. 22.
After the photo was tweeted online, it went viral, and what started as a simple act of kindness soon garnered Karl media attention.
He’s always “been a kindhearted person” and ”a gentleman,” his mom said, adding that he likes to give money to panhandlers rather than keeping it for himself. He also starts the car for her in the winter before school and brushes the snow off.
Monique’s own mom taught her kids to do for others what you would do for yourself. Monique passed that wisdom on to her son.
“I’ve always tried to tell my kids if you see someone who needs help, help them out,” she added. “Because there’s not that many people in the world that would do that.”
