Small acts of kindness can go a long way. That’s what one Alabama community is learning after the death of a local farmer unveiled a secret that is inspiring people around the globe.
Hody Buford Childress, who died Jan. 1 at age 80, had spent 10 years secretly giving a local pharmacy $100 to help pay for prescriptions locals couldn’t afford.
And while Childress was clearly looking to do something nice for those most in need, his actions set off a ripple effect.
These waves of goodness started years ago when Childress struck up an arrangement with Brooke Walker, owner of Geraldine Drugs in Geraldine, Alabama. He came into the pharmacy at least monthly and hand her a folded-up $100 bill, asking her to apply the money to those in need, WHNT-TV reported.
It was a secret that was kept over the years and revealed this month at his funeral.
Childress told Walker to simply tell anyone who didn’t have money for prescriptions that the gift came from a person who “felt led by God to help another.”
“He said, ‘Don’t tell a soul where the money came from — if they ask, just tell them it’s a blessing from the Lord,’” Walker said.
She also shared a more detailed history of how it all began.
“He came in one day and asked if there were ever times when someone couldn’t get their medication due to financial reasons. And I told him yes — many times,” Walker told WHNT-TV. “In the beginning, I was keeping it in an envelope because I thought it was a one-time donation. Then, [Hody] returned the next month…and the next…and the next.”
When he became too sick to deliver the money, he told his daughter about the incredible effort, NPR reported.
His kids, Tania Nix and Doug Childress, told “Good Morning America, their father’s way of living and loving others inspired them.
“Daddy’s done a lot for everybody,” Doug Childress said.
Considering Childress was a “man of modest means,” as Walker proclaimed, this $100 per month gesture meant a lot to everyone, including him.
The pharmacy owner said she has seen others helped by Childress later come back to pay it forward, and she, too, plans to launch the “Hody Childress” fund to keep the good deeds flowing.
Childress’ story offers several essential reminders. Every kind deed matters and, over time, there can be a ripple effect when we step out in faith, stretch ourselves, and live out God’s mandate to love others.
He likely didn’t realize his secret would spark a long-lasting legacy, but that’s precisely what’s happening.
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