A Starbucks barista was surprised when he was selected by TikToker to receive a random act of kindness.
Perri Saenz and a friend pull up at a Starbucks drive-thru to share the viral TikTok. It now has over 40.6 millions views. But instead of putting in their orders, she asked the employee working at the window, “What is your dream in life?”
The barista, whose name tag reads “Manny,” said he was trying to get a car for himself. Perri then asked how much getting one would cost, and he responded with “$1,000.”
“What’s something you’re struggling with?” Perri asked him, and that’s when Manny started to open up. He said he was suffering with depression.
“I have depression I’m currently fighting with,” he said.
“Well, we might see you around,” Perri replied before driving away.
The video then shows Perri and her friend going into the store and purchasing a bouquet full of red roses, tiny wooden chest boxes and a toy vehicle for Manny.
When they returned to the car, Perri pulled out $1,000 in cash and tucked it into the toy car’s packaging.
“We’re about to surprise Manny with $1000, so he can get a car,” Perri said in the video. “I can’t wait to see his reaction.”
She put the toy car in the wooden chest, and drove off to the coffee shop.
Upon returning to the window, Perri told Manny: “We were really inspired by your story, and we wanted to get you a little something.”
She first gave the bouquet of roses to him, which he happily accepted.
“Thank you so much. I’ve never gotten flowers before,” Manny said with a smile.
“We have one more thing,” Perri continued before handing him the wooden chest.
Manny opens the chest, and finds the toy car with the money.
“It’s $1,000 so you can get a new car,” Perri told Manny, the unexpected act of kindness causing him to burst into tears of gratitude.
Manny thanked her before opening up more.
“This morning, actually, I had su*cidal thoughts, and I didn’t feel like waking up,” he said.
Perri responded with love, encouragement, and support.
“This is just a sign from God that you’re meant to be here and that you’re so loved,” she told him while holding his hand in hers. “Light will shine on your face again.”
TikTok users from thousands of countries flooded the comments to share their reactions and opinions on the video.
“You just saved a life. Kindness is key guys.”
“From someone who battled depression & anxiety. Thank you for fighting every day. I promise there’s better days.”
“Kindness is so key, you never know what people are going through.”
This surprise was made possible by Charlie Rocket, an influencer from the Dream Machine Foundation. Manny received the first $1,000 from the group to help buy a new car. After that, the group organized a fundraiser for him to get an even better car.
The campaign raised $38,572, exceeding the original target of $15,000.
“He takes the bus to work everyday, because he doesn’t have the financial means to afford a car,” it says on the donation website. “We started out the donations by giving him $1,000, but to get a good car we set a goal to raise him $10,000.”
Click the video below to watch Manny’s touching moment when he received his surprise gift.
@charlie Wow, this made me cry. You never know what someone is going through 🥺❤️ #fypp #positivity #starbucks ♬ Lights Are On – Tom Rosenthal
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