Close Ad

Airport Pianist Thought Nobody Cared About His Music Until Stranger Tips Him $60K
Tonee Carter Pianist
Uplifting News

Airport Pianist Thought Nobody Cared About His Music Until Stranger Tips Him $60K

You never know when your talents will impact somebody else — and when you'll finally be appreciated for what you do.


Positive vibes in the airport

Carlos Whittaker, a motivational speaker and author of Enter Wild, was in the Atlanta airport waiting for a connecting flight home when something caught his ear.

Tonee "Valentine" Carter, a 66-year-old pianist, was rocking out on the piano and Whittaker was hypnotized. He said on Instagram that the music made him feel lighter and he had so much appreciation for Carter without even knowing him.

But when Whittaker looked at Carter's tip jar, he noticed it wasn't very full. That gave him a crazy idea.

Strangers appreciated his talent

Whittaker was sharing videos of Carter's performance to Instagram and decided to ask his more than 170,000 followers if they could spare some change for a tip.

After confirming Carter's Cash App, the donations started to pour in. He couldn't believe his eyes and in between a set, he told the pianist that complete strangers had tipped him $10,000 in just 30 minutes.

Carter was completely dumbstruck and struggled to find words to express how much appreciation he had for the stranger in the airport that recognized his talent.

"Are you sh*tting me?"

Tonee Carter

In utter disbelief

"I didn’t believe it," Carter told Good Morning America after the Instagram video went viral. "But it was real."

By the time Whittaker landed, the tips for Carter shot up to $44,000 and have since eclipsed $61,000.

Carter, who has kidney disease, said he'll be paying the money forward by making quarterly donations to the American Kidney Foundation.

He also plans to invest the money so it can grow even more.

"I’m going to be helping people for years to come," he said. "God made me a steward of that money and I ain’t letting him down."

As for Whittaker, he and Carter chat on the phone regularly.

"We’re not friends," Carter said. "We’re family now."

The unbelievable kindness of strangers

In the airport, passengers were coming and going but didn't stop to appreciate Carter, who was putting his heart and soul into his art. Fortunately, Whittaker gave Carter the attention he deserved and shared him with the world, who tipped him accordingly.

This heart-warming story is amazing on so many levels, but mainly, it proves once again how impactful a kind act from a stranger can have on another individual's life.

More uplifting stories:

Hot Stories

Why Jennifer Hudson Forgave Her Mother's Killer -- Life Stories By Goalcast

At the peak of her career, Jennifer Hudson faced a horrific family tragedy. Hudson's mother and brother were brutally attacked in their family home, and her seven-year-old nephew was kidnapped. What followed was a heart-wrenching manhunt to rescue her nephew and seek justice against the man who took her family. Hudson speaks from the heart in this video on what happened to her family and how she was able to move forward.

Celebrities
People smiling in unison united
Racism Quotes

Racism is considered the marginalization and/or oppression of people of color based on a socially constructed racial hierarchy that privileges another race. The term is applied in many areas of a society that perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race or strengthen racial inequalities in education, health care, income, and civil rights.

Ever since the 20th century, the concept of biological race is considered a cultural invention that has no scientific basis. The progress over the past half-century has been impressive, but the nation still has a long way to go to reach true racial equality.

Keep ReadingShow less
Everyday Heroes
hands are put together as part of community volunteer efforts
Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

A community is so much more than people sharing a space. It's a living, breathing network of connections and shared experiences. While it's usually defined as “a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common,” true community runs much deeper than that.

Diversity

Keep ReadingShow less
Quotes