A Texas H-E-B cashier received a Christmas surprise after he used his own money to cover a woman's grocery bill.
KPRC-TV reported Jake Pate was working his shift Dec. 22 at H-E-B in Lake Jackson when he realized his customer didn't have enough money to cover her groceries.
"Jake reached in his pocket, pulled his wallet out and said, 'don't worry about it,' swiped his card and said, 'Merry Christmas,'" Ryan Birdson, who was standing a few customers back, told KPRC.
Birdson snapped a picture of Pate and posted it on Facebook. He says he didn't expect the picture to be shared thousands of times within hours of posting.
Shannon Whitley saw the post and decided to recognize Pate "and also encourage him to continue to show up for others," she explained. Whitley awarded Pate a $500 scholarship from the Taylor Whitley SHOW UP scholarship foundation, which was established in honor of her late husband, the report said.
Pate said he felt he doesn't deserve the attention, noting the woman he had helped had already helped pay for another customer's groceries.
"Just keep it going, you know," he said.
