CODY — Several Cody High School students have been moved by a random act of kindness at the deli counter at the local Albertsons.
Senior Hailie Schramm and her sister, Kinzie, went to Albertsons during their Tuesday lunch break with several other students.
“It’s a super popular spot for high schoolers to go to lunch,” Hailie told Cowboy State Daily. “It's quick and easy, and it's really close, so it's always really busy there during lunchtime.”
The Schramm sisters were waiting in line at the deli counter when the woman in front of them turned around with an unexpectedly generous offer.
“She ordered her food, turned around to my sister, and gave her $20,” she said. “She said, ‘I’m going to pay for your lunch today.’”
Hailie didn’t recognize the woman and assumed she knew her sister. That made her even more surprised when the same offer was extended to her.
“She turned to me and said she was going to pay for my lunch,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, that's so kind of you.’”
The woman then paid for the deli lunches of every Cody High School student in line that afternoon. Hailie guessed she bought at least $100 of chicken, salads, and other lunch items.
None of the students recognized or learned the identity of the generous woman. She just opened her wallet and kept handing out $20 bills.
“It was so completely random,” Hailie said. “She didn't say anything, just, ‘I want to buy your guys' lunch today.’ That's all we heard from her.”
True Kindness
When the Schramm sisters came home that afternoon and said something unbelievable had happened to them today, their mother, Emmie, “hunkered down expecting some sort of bad news.”
“I was in disbelief and didn't exactly understand what they were saying, but that lady truly handed out $20 bills to every kid in line,” she said.
Emmie was similarly struck by the random act of kindness and generosity bestowed on her daughters and the other students at Albertsons. For her, it actualized a lesson she’s tried to teach her children from their youngest days.
“My husband and I have pushed the importance of kindness on our three kids from day one,” she said. “We want them to understand that everyone is going through something, whether big or small, and we all deserve to be treated with respect. To see our kids be the recipients of such a kind gesture is simply amazing.”
Emmie hasn’t learned the identity of the generous woman, but said she wanted to “thank the magnificent lady for teaching this group of teens a lifelong lesson on generosity.”
“She just offered help to random kids, without judging who she was handing the money to or questioning their beliefs,” she said. “When they are parents, they will remember this feeling and hopefully pass the kindness onto others just like this gal did. She is the very definition of true kindness.”
Pay It Forward
Hailie will graduate from Cody High next spring. She will attend Montana Tech University in Butte, run for their cross country team, and work toward a degree in occupational therapy.
Emmie hopes Tuesday’s random act of kindness will stick with her daughters. According to Hailie, it’s left a definite impact they intend to carry forward.
“I'm definitely going to pass this on in the future,” Hailie said. “It was so cool to see that there's kindness coming from her heart in this world. It was awesome to see.”
The idiom “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” first appeared in a column published by The Cleveland Press on March 4, 1933. It’s been something of a truism ever since, often used to make people guarded, if not paranoid, about the world.
That might be true in Cleveland, but it wasn’t in Cody on Tuesday.
The Schramms certainly don’t see their experience as a simple free lunch. For them, it was a moment that’s left a lifelong impact.
“I want to give a huge, huge thank you to her,” Hailie said. “All of us were blown away by it. It was such a random act of kindness that I absolutely loved. It’s just great to see such kindness in this world.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
