Utah Mailman Helps Boy Who Cannot Buy Books, Their Story Goes Viral And It’s Awesome

A Utah mailman helped a boy who told him he couldn’t afford to buy books and had asked if he could bring him junk mail to read. The story has gone viral.

The unexpected results to his pleas surprised the Utah mailman, who was only trying to help his very young customer follow his passion. According to KSL.com, Ron Lynch was working his route at an apartment building when he saw 12-year-old Mathew Flores looking for advertisements and newsletters out of a junk mail bin. The youngster told the Utah mail carrier that he was looking for something to read.

When the two started talking, Flores told Lynch — who works for the Sandy Post Office — that reading is interesting and it gets you smarter.

While talking to the boy, the Utah mailman was surprised when Mathew told him he doesn’t have books of his own and the bus is too expensive to go to the library. That’s when Lynch decided to do what he could to help the boy get the books he so desperately wanted, which is something that touched him on a personal level.

“I started reading at a very early age. My mother instilled a love of books in me. At 12-years-old, he didn’t want electronics, he didn’t want to sit in front of the TV playing games all day, the kid just wanted to read.”

On a July 23 Facebook post, the Utah mailman pleaded with users to help him bring books to the special 12-year-old, so he could read as many books as possible. In the post, Lynch shared a picture of his new friend, Mathew, which shows him to be a bright-eyed youngster. (The original post has been taken down by Facebook)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10204943128638126&set=pcb.10204943130638176&type=1&theater

The Utah mailman was only hoping his followers would share some of their discarded books and never imagined his request would go viral. Thanks to the reach of social media, people from all over the world sent their contributions even before Lynch stopped by Mathew’s home Sunday with his own gift.

“It’s gone crazy from there. I’ve heard from the U.K., Australia, from India,” a shocked Lynch said, writing the following thank you post on Facebook Tuesday evening.

“Friends…I’m stunned and humbled by what happened… I deserve little credit. It’s all of you who cared enough to do something about it that are the true heroes of this story. Mathew is thrilled and we’re all overwhelmed! I tried at first to keep up with all the comments, but there is simply no way. So please, share this so hopefully it gets to a fraction of the wonderful people who responded to a boy in need. Bless you all, and thank you all so much!”

At Mathew’s home, the doorbell hasn’t stopped ringing with daily book deliveries.

“They said, ‘These books are for you,’ I thought they were mistaken, but they were for me. I’m just super happy.

The feel good story has made the Utah mailman an instant sensation on the Internet for his good deed. As for Mathew, he promises to read every single book he receives and share them with other kids afterwards.

[Image via Facebook, KSL]