A group of teens went viral for helping a family that was living in a hotel after their home flooded.
The Kansas teens from Eureka Junior/Senior High School were visiting Indianapolis for the National Future Farmers of America Convention.
After more than 12 hours on the road, the teens were blowing off steam in their hotel rooms.
How a Hotel Noise Complaint Led to a Kind Act
“We wanted to stretch our legs, kind of run around a little bit,” said sophomore Ethan Westerman. “We were just running around, banging doors, watching the world series, yelling at the TV about the world series, just being normal teenagers.”
The students (four boys and two girls) didn’t realize how loud they were being until a woman knocked on their door.
“I said, 'I know you’re in town for the FFA convention and we want you to have fun while you’re here, but you were a little loud last night and you woke up my kids. I was just hoping you could be a little quieter tonight,'” said Randi Jo Amt.
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Amt, her husband and three kids were not just guests at the hotel. The family was living there after their home flooded. Amt shared the situation with the teens when she knocked on their door.
“I felt this regret in what we had done. We didn’t have any idea what the situation that they were in,” said junior Tanner Wells.
Wells came up with the idea to write an apology letter to the family and slipped it under their door with some money to brighten up their day.
How One Act of Kindness Led to Another
Amt posted the act of kindness on social media, asking if anyone knew where the students were from and thanking them for their gesture.
“These young adults have a message that you ALL need to hear. Kindness matters. Make it a point to show kindness and compassion every day and this world will be a better place,” Amt said.
The students said they never imagined their apology note would go viral.
“I was on top of the world. I was like yeah, I finally did something good for a change!” Beitz said.
The two girls in the FFA group, Bailey Harrison and Brooklyn Hilton, were not in the room when Amt asked the boys to quiet down. They said they were shocked to learn what the boys did.
“We were really proud of them for what they had done,” Hilton said.
Harrison and Hilton were inspired to pay it forward a second time to the Amt family. The pair offered up their seven of hearts playing card to the family. The card is meant to show someone they have made a difference or have had an impact in a person’s life. The girls said the Amt family showed bravery and strength by staying positive in a difficult situation.
The Amt family decided to pay it forward and used the $40 from the students to start a fund to help their city’s homeless population.
Amt had faith that if she explained their situation to the teens, they'd show compassion and keep the noise down. The kids stepped up and went above and beyond with kindness, and the Amt family decided to pay it forward. Kindness all around!
