When an Indiana mom came home from work earlier this month, she found a brand new basketball and hoop. When she read the note attached to the ball, she discovered the gifts — a surprise present for her son — came from an unexpected source: Their local FedEx delivery driver.
“As I walked up on the porch I noticed the ball and the instruction manual to the hoop,” mom Coledo Wheeler said in a November 8 post on Facebook. “I didn’t know where either came from. I came in I sat down and started to read the two letters attached. I instantly started crying. Come to find out a random act of kindness had happen [sic] at our home.”
Wheeler told CBS News her 11-year-old son Elijah Maines plays basketball outside the home with his friends or with her and her partner, Dan. While they had a hoop already, it was “in really rough shape,” she wrote in the Facebook post.
She said one of their FedEx drivers, identified only as Aubrey, has done drop-offs while Maines was playing basketball and must have realized the rim of the hoop was bent. Wheeler said Aubrey has been one of the drivers in the area for “about the last year.”
I’m really not sure where to begin. Dan and I came home from working. I didn’t even see a new basketball hoop for Elijah…
Wheeler posted photos of the basketball and hoop, as well as the notes she said Aubrey left at their home, on Facebook.
“Just wanted you and your son to have the best hoop that’ll grow with him, and all his friends!” the note, written on a FedEx slip, reads. “It’s wonderful that you guys shoot hoops with him.”
She also left a note explaining how to ensure the hoop doesn’t fall over. The note is signed by Aubrey, “just one of the FedEx drivers for the area.”
Wheeler said she kept the sweet surprise a secret until Maines came home, adding that he was overcome with emotion when he saw the gift.
“We showed him and told him who it came from. He knew exactly who Aubrey was,” Wheeler said in the Facebook post. “He started crying. Instantly he was ready to play some basketball needless to say.”
She added, “What an awesome amazing thing that she did for him out of pure kindness. There are very much still good people in the world.”
Dream team! We truly have the best team members in the world. 💜🏀
Aubrey didn’t stop with the first gifts, Wheeler said. Two days later, she dropped off sandbags to ensure the base of the hoop would be secure.
Wheeler said Maines has a card and thank you note ready to give to Aubrey when he sees her next, but they haven’t crossed paths just yet. “You made his day,” she said in the Facebook post. “Can’t wait to see you come thru, I owe you a world of thanks.”
While Aubrey may not know how much the family appreciated the gifts just yet, FedEx certainly does. The company posted on its Facebook page about the gesture, writing, “Dream team! We truly have the best team members in the world.”
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