An act of kindness went viral after an employee stopped what he was doing to let a special needs customer help him with his workload on Sunday. The clerk has now been rewarded with $100,000 for college tuition.
Jordan Taylor, an employee at Rouses Supermarkets in Louisiana went viral after a family was touched by the young man’s generosity. The 20-year-old was shelving products inside of the cooler when he realized 17-year-old Jack Ryan was watching him.
The autistic teen kept saying the words “help me” and that’s when Taylor asked Edwards if he wanted to help him stock. The 20-year-old showed the teen what to do and the young men began working.
Sid Edwards, a football coach at Central High School and the father of Edwards told the Advocate, “The guy’s patience and time with Jack Ryan was just beautiful… He talked to him. He encouraged him. He worked with him.”
The father filmed both young men working together as Taylor handed Ryan cartons of juice and milk and Ryan placed them in the cooler. Edwards asked the 20-year-old which college he attended and Taylor responded, “I graduated two years ago. I’m trying to get back into school now.”
Edward’s daughter Delaney Edwards Alwosaibi, shared the video on Facebook Monday and wrote, “Talk about a stand-up young man!!!! We all know autism makes going out difficult, and sometimes grocery stores can be a challenge. This young man took the time to slow down and allow Jack Ryan to help for over 30 minutes, guiding him as he finished his task.”
The post immediately went viral and the Edwards family began a GoFundMe page for Taylor on Wednesday to help pay for his college tuition. The amount was initially set for $10,000 but due to the overwhelming amount of donations it was increased to $100,000 by Friday afternoon. People from different countries donated according to the news station.
Alwosaibi told WAFB-TV, “My mom and I are both special education teachers and I have to say, if he does go on to go to college I might put a bug in his ear to pursue that path because people like my brothers and my students need people like him around.”
Rouses Market also offered Ryan a job. “It would be an hour or two a few days a week to start out. If he enjoys it, he could keep going, or shadowing someone like he was on the video with Jordan,” Ali Rouse Royster added.
Employee lets boy with autism help him stock shelves
WATCH: Baton Rouge supermarket employee Jordan allowed Jack Ryan, who has autism, to help him stock shelves for more than 30 minutes when he showed an interest in the task. Jack Ryan's family was touched by Jordan's kindness, and his grandfather called the gesture "a miracle in action." – NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt
Posted by NBC News on Tuesday, July 31, 2018