7-1 An Act Of Kindness

Sabrina Squire: Sometimes things can go terribly wrong and still turn out amazing. That's what happened when two strangers connected on a bitterly cold night in downtown Richmond. A grandmother reached out to a young woman with no coat, no money, and no way to get home. Their story sparked a Facebook frenzy, ignited a friendship, and inspired today's Acts of Kindness.

Narrator: Kinley Crenshaw was excited that Friday night to join a friend downtown at the National Theater. But when the concert ended and the crowd rushed out...

Kinley: ...and we both got separated from each other.

Narrator: Kinley was separated from her valuables. They were in her friend's purse.

Kinley: I didn't have my wallet, my keys, my phone, anything.

Narrator: Alone, 11:30 at night, she started walking to the nearest bus stop in sub-freezing temperatures.

Kinley: And then I didn't have a coat, so I was pretty cold.

Narrator: How cold was it outside?

Kinley: It was about 21 degrees.

Narrator: Kinley was wearing a tank top and attracted attention.

Felicia: A lot of unsavory people. When she started talking to people, asking which bus to catch, it started to bother me because I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother. This girl don't have no coat.

Narrator: Felicia Glover and her boyfriend had just left a restaurant and were putting a friend on the bus. She saw Kinley and saw someone in need.

Felicia: And she's by herself. She doesn't have a way home. We gotta do something.

Kinley: She took her coat off of her and put it on me. This is somebody giving me her coat off of her back, you know, literally the shirt off her back.

Narrator: Felicia borrowed her boyfriend's coat. They waited to make sure Kinley didn't miss the last bus of the night, and they pleaded with the driver.

Felicia: Please, I'm asking you genuinely to help this girl. And he did.

Kinley: I asked her her name and I wrote her name down on my hand so I wouldn't forget.

Narrator: A few days later, a grateful Kinley posted the story on our NBC 12 Facebook page.

Kinley: I was like, I have to find her.

Narrator: The response was what?

Kinley: Crazy. 50 likes, 100 likes, 200 likes. I mean, it just completely blew up. People were like, "Please help this girl find her Felicia, her guardian angel."

Narrator: Word spread and the strangers were reunited.

Kinley: And I was like, "Oh my goodness, it actually worked. I found you."

Narrator: They met for lunch. Kinley returned the coat but wanted to do more.

Sabrina Squire: We're glad that your mom encouraged you to contact Acts of Kindness, and we are thrilled to present you with $300 to pass on to your guardian angel.

Kinley: Oh my goodness, thank you.

Narrator: Kinley says she learned her new friend had been sick and was currently out of work, that she lived in Gilpin Court and never met a stranger.

Felicia: Hi, Kinley!

Kinley: Hi!

Felicia: Oh my god, Sabrina Squire! How you doing?

Narrator: Felicia embodies friendship. She couldn't believe she was being recognized.

Kinley: Thank you. You think of everybody first. So I would like to repay you.

Sabrina Squire: It goes with it. That's the act of kindness that we spread, everybody.

Kinley: 100, 200, 300 dollars.

Felicia: Oh! For a coat? I worked as a meter maid downtown for years, so I've seen homeless people, I've seen people just down on their luck. I mean, you have to help everybody. It's not just about yourself.

Kinley: I'm so thankful that she was at the bus stop because that whole story just could have gone a completely different way.

Felicia: Thank y'all. Oh my god, you paid my rent for two months! I love you!