Every parent can relate to the moment of panic when your childcare plans fall through at the last minute. One mom made birthday plans and was relying on the father of her children to take the kids for the weekend. When the day rolled around, the father, Anthony, was nowhere to be found. Not only did he fail to show up, but he gave a fake number to the mom so she had no way of reaching him. Luckily, the phone number belonged to Candice Benbow who stepped in to help right all the wrongs.
It all started when Benbow received non-stop calls from the mom. When the calls went ignored, the mom decided to text the number instead. “Anthony, you need to give me a call. I had this talk with you and told you that I wanted you to get the kids for this weekend,” the text message Benbow shared on Twitter reads. “Stop hanging up my phone call and call me back.”
Benbow tried explaining to the mom that not only was she not Anthony, but she also didn’t know him. The mom wasn’t buying it. “Anthony gave me this number to call him. He said it was his cell phone number,” she insists. “I don’t know if this is his girlfriend or not, but he gave me this number.”
After reassuring the mom that she was not Anthony, Benbow promised she would put him on blast. And that she did. “Anthony, from Winston-Salem: The mother of your children called me back to back four times because you gave her my number as your new one,” Benbow writes in a tweet . “Please call her and pick up your kids for the weekend like y’all discussed!”
Multiple retweets and comments later, Benbow and her new mom friend were able to locate Anthony, and they were served a surprising twist.
“We found Anthony…[he’s] in jail,” Benbow updates her followers . “Though he gave her my number, buddy got hemmed up on some other stuff. He was supposed to take the kids this weekend because [Mom’s] birthday is Sunday. Now, all her birthday weekend plans are shot and she’s really sad about it.”
Empathizing for her new friend, Benbow called on her followers to help her help the mom celebrate her birthday by sending donations. In just one day, the small gesture raised more than $3,000 for the struggling mom.
“Because of your overwhelming generosity, [she] was able to catch up on past due bills, get some much needed things for the kids, treat herself and, in her own words, ‘put some money away and save it,” Benwbow updates her followers on Twitter.
Not only was the mom sent money, but she was also given free summer camp days for her kids, tickets to musicals, sweet treats and other kind birthday gestures. With their help, the mom was able to enjoy her birthday and even treat her children to a fun weekend in spite of what’s going on with their dad.
The story just goes to show you how a random act of kindness can go a very long way. “Thank y’all for reminding us all of what can happen when we lean into kindness, and that this world is still filled with beautiful people.”
