Soon after this thankful mom posted the photo on facebook, it went viral for all the right reasons.
Most families know the struggle of putting our children’s meals on the table and clothes on their backs. Malisa Manguso understands this fight all too well as she is a single mother of two little children. She wasn’t quite sure where the cash would come from when her 11-year-old kid informed her he needed new shoes for school.
“I had the same shoes for about nine months and the bottoms of them were destroyed,” Malisa’s son Zach said. Knowing that the boy needed new shoes, the family went to a discount store just hoping to find a bargain. However, they soon became discouraged when looking at the price tags. “I told him we had a $20 budget and to be wise with what we choose,” she said.
What Malisa and Zach did not know at the moment was that Lito Mason, a complete stranger, was searching for shoes that day too. He was encouraged to step forward when he heard Malisa asking Zach to try and find a pair of shoes for $20 in his budget.
“She was working with a budget and I get that, we all get that at this time of the year, back to school,” Lito said. “I asked him, ‘So what type of shoes do you like?’ He said ‘I just want something that’s comfortable.’ I was done! At that point, I said I’m going to get him whatever he wants.”
After speaking to Lito, Malisa was overcome with happiness when she saw Zach’s face light up. “He just out of the blue looked at me and said, ‘I tell you what, that kid has to have good shoes on his feet and has to be looking good to go to junior high. You just pick out the shoes, and don’t worry about the price,’” Malisa recalled. “For the first time in a long time, I saw Zachary light up, and be so happy.”
Malisa couldn’t believe that this “angel” had intervened in such an unexpected way.
“We’ve had quite the challenging times as anyone else,” Malisa wrote on her Facebook page. “These two boys are what keep me fighting daily. This man right here decided to bless my son with new shoes of his choice as he overheard me give my son a budget. I have no clue who he is however to us he was nothing less than an angel, a true blessing. Made my son’s day right here, just look at that smile. Zachy has nonstop talked about how cool he was all day. If you happen to know him, shower him with hugs. He has truly impacted the heart of my son in a good way.”
