Seeing your friend get picked on can hurt as much as getting bullied yourself.
Romello “Mello” Early is no stranger to bullying. At his old school, the 7th grade student was picked on for being shorter than his peers, and he remembers how much it stung. As of Fall 2022, he now attends Buffalo Creek Academy, a charter school in Buffalo, New York, and he’s got a new best friend named Melvin Anderson.
Mello and Melvin are great friends, in spite of their differences. Melvin is about a foot taller and very soft-spoken, whereas Mello is extroverted and outgoing by nature. When Melvin started getting bullied about his old, worn-out sneakers, Mello felt the pain as if it were happening to him.
“I could tell it was upsetting him,” Mello said. “It just put a real bad ache in my stomach to see somebody have to go through that, and to be to be picked on just based off appearance.”
Mello had been saving up his allowance money, and he decided to take action to help his friend. He went home one day in tears over how badly his friend was being treated, telling his mother he wanted to use his own money to buy Melvin a proper pair of shoes. He even asked if he could forego one of his own Christmas gifts and use the money on Melvin’s shoes.
Naturally, his mother was moved by her son’s sensitive and generous spirit. She took him out to the store and they purchased a brand new pair of Nikes for Melvin. The next day, Mello gave his friend the shoes with little fanfare.
One person did notice the gift, however. Dean of Culture Bryant Brown, Jr. found out what Mello had done and called both boys to his office.
“When Romello did this with his allowance money, it touched my heart and I almost came to tears,” said Bryant.
The educator snapped a picture of the two boys with the new shoes and shared it on Facebook.
“My student Melo (sic) told me he was tired of other students picking on Melvin about his shoes,” he wrote as a caption. “Melo used his allowance and bought Melvin some shoes. This is what I live for. Be that helping hand.”
The photo went viral, and Bryant hopes the story encourages more acts of kindness among middle schoolers, and everywhere.
Melvin is incredibly appreciative, and said he plans to do some extra chores to earn money to repay his friend. But Mello insists that it was his treat, no repayment necessary.
“You don’t have to pay me back,” he said. “That’s just a gift from me to you.”
It’s amazing how a simple gift can be so life-changing! Mello showed true character with this gift. He’s empathetic to his friend, and he has learned a lot from the bullying he endured himself. He couldn’t just sit back and let it happen to his friend when he had the means to fix it!
Share this story to encourage more sweet acts of kindness.
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