A Plea For Help

One day, a TikTok user named Zachery Dereniowski, who uses the handle mdmotivator, came across a man on the street in a wheelchair. Dereniowski dedicates his social media to spreading kindness and helping others, and he saw an opportunity to make a difference.

In a video, he approaches the man, who is crying out: “Can anybody help me out, please?”

Dereniowski learns the man's name is Michael. He’s trying to make enough money to pay his rent by noon the next day. The rent is $195, but there’s nowhere close to that amount in the guy’s plastic cup.

“I’m a quarter short for the bus,” Dereniowski then tells Michael. Immediately, without even hesitating, Michael asks the stranger if he needs it.

“Of course you can [have it],” he says, reaching into the cup. “That’s all you need? You can get on the bus for free, but it’s good to have it in case.”

A Surprising Twist

Touched by Michael’s generosity, Dereniowski gave him the quarter back and handed him a stack of $50s.

“The fact that you were going to help me, man? I got $500,” he says, giving a stunned Michael the money.

“For real?” he asks, fighting back tears. “This ain’t no joke?”

The men then hug, and Dereniowski asks if Michael has anything he’d like to say to the world. Or, more specifically, the influencer’s 18 million followers.

“Let’s have peace and love for everybody,” he says. “Color means nothing!”

It was a sentiment that reached into the hearts of many online, who jumped into the comments to share their love for this man.

“He deserves everything in the world,” one person wrote.

“Breaks my heart for Michael but gives me faith in humanity,” wrote someone else. “Just think, if everyone watching was able to give HIM a quarter! How could we make that possible?”

A Matter of Perspective

The reason this video is so touching is because a man who didn’t know if he was about to lose his home the next day was still willing to give a stranger a quarter to help him out. How many of us would do that, knowing that every cent we accumulated mattered?

It’s not just a beautiful act of humanity, but it’s a reminder that we all have something to give, even when we think we don’t. It doesn’t necessarily have to be money, either. Michael's wise words in that video taught everyone an important lesson in leading with kindness and love.

It’s a nice reminder that we, too, can uplift others by leading with love and sharing what we have in life. Whether that’s our last quarter for the bus, a hug, a conversation with someone who is down on their luck, or volunteering our time in the community to make a difference, we all have the power to help others. All we need is a change of perspective and a little love in our hearts.