9 year old Mikah Frye's selfless deed on Christmas #AtoZChallenge

Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan
14

9 year old Mikah Frye was walking down the streets with his grandmother discussing Christmas gifts when he saw some homeless people struggling to stay warm in the cold night. When he asked aloud if he could do something for them, his grandmother suggested giving up a gift to donate a blanket for one of them.

That thought stayed in Mikah Frye's mind and when he reached home, Mikah informed his parents not to buy the Microsoft XBox gaming device he had asked for earlier. Mikah had been doing the math in his head and realized that by not buying the $300 device, he could instead donate not one but 30 blankets to the homeless. He knew how much it meant to be warm in the cold holiday season. You see, three years ago, Mikah and his parents were the ones living in a homeless shelter.

Having suffered a financial crisis, they too had lost their house and lived night after night for a few weeks, not knowing where their next meal would come from and sharing a blanket every night. Mikah was six years old then but he remembered what it was like to have to give back that precious blanket every morning.

Reaching out to the emergency shelter program that looked after them 3 years ago, the family donated 60 blankets in the end, each with a personalized message of hope in Mikah's handwriting stating:

“They gave me a blanket, but I had to leave it. That's why I want you to have your own blanket. Today, I live in my own house, and someday you will too. 
Your friend, Mikah."

The homeless people at the shelter may not have been able to give Mikah a Christmas gift in return but his gesture was noted by the billion dollar company Microsoft who made sure that Mikah was fooled into visiting their store so that Santa Claus could personally deliver an XBox from the company to him as a reward for making the top of 'Santa's list of nice boys' that year.

Having been homeless himself for a brief period 3 years ago, 9 year old Mikah Frye knew the value of a warm blanket in winter. So when Christmas came, Mikah asked his parents not to buy him the $300 Microsoft XBox gaming device he had been talking about all year but instead help him donate 30 blankets (eventually 60) to the homeless with personalized notes from the young boy. Noting his generosity, Microsoft tracked Mikah down and got Santa Claus to give him an XBox for Christmas.


You can listen to Mikah explain his reasons and watch the moment he got surprised by Microsoft Santa Claus here. 






Authors's note:

This is part of my #AtoZChallenge where I will be focusing on Real Life Heroes of Kindness and Compassion.
The list for this year's (2018) Heroes of Kindness can be found here.
Of course, I have been tracking these lovely human beings for years now and have found children as young as six years old and old women in their eighties from across the world who will restore your faith in humanity. You can find the entire list of Real-life Heroes of Kindness and Compassion here.

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14Comments

Let me know what you think.

  1. It is extremely heartwarming to read these humanitarian posts from you for the second consecutive year. Highly Motivating, will make my kid read this!

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  2. Heartwarming and so sweet of Mikah. I will read this story to my daughter. She is increasingly worried about homeless people everyday and wants to write to the Prime Minister asking him to give them a job so that they have their home. :) Thanks Roshan for sharing this story.

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  3. Wow!! life taught this kid such a valuable lesson which he paid forward duly! God bless him for the kindness he bestowed on these people. Yay for Microsoft for rewarding him!
    Harry Potter by JK Rowling #atozchallenge

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  4. A heart warming gesture at such a young age is indeed commendable!!!

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  5. Thats the kind of young people we need.Brought tears to.my eyes.

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  6. I love children who teach us how to be selfless! This was a beautiful read. Thank you for sharing, Doc!

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  7. Children can see things that we adults don't! God bless Mikah and super proud of Microsoft too for being a Santa and reinforcing the belief that a good deed never goes waste.

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  8. Such an heartwarming gesture not only my Mikah but by Microsoft as well. What I alos like about this story is that the difficult times left a lasting impression on the child and changed him as a person. He learnt who and what matters in our life.

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  9. This is a big-hearted bold young fellow. I hope he won't lose his heart growing up.

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  10. Mikah is an angel! I hope many more kids get inspired by this little one's kind gesture .

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  11. The experience of being homeless opened up that young man’s heart. It wasn’t just the gesture but the notes he read. I hope he grows up as a caring adult who will be an asset to any community he lives in.

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  12. i had to scroll up and relook at his age. only 9? such profound wisdom and maturity for such a young boy.

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  13. One amazing kid! Life teaches greater lessons than books and classrooms do.

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  14. It often amazes me how kids possess the love that is so much valuable than what the whole world is running after. Then I think about the world we are creating for such kids with wars, violence and hatred.

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