KENTUCKY (CBS News) — Sydney Gholston was standing in line at a Kentucky Walmart with a cart full of Thanksgiving turkeys when a friendly white haired man standing behind her struck up a conversation.
When the Louisville woman turned around, her jaw dropped: It was Jon Voight.
Voight, who said he was in town filming a movie on Friday, couldn’t help but inquire about the six frozen turkeys sitting in the woman’s cart. He commented that the woman must have a big family.
Gholston, 28, laughed and explained that the birds would be used to feed children at Home of the Innocents, a local nonprofit shelter and pediatric convalescent center.
As soon as Gholston finished explaining, Voight pulled out his wallet, and offered to pay for her groceries.
With his help, Gholston was able to bring the six turkeys back to the Home, where they will feed about 70 of the 196 residents this Thanksgiving holiday.
“Some medically fragile children do not eat the same Thanksgiving meal and some residents will have other arrangements with family for the holiday,” Meredith Pack, marketing manager for Home of the Innocent, told CBS News.
After thanking Voight for his generosity, Gholston asked for a picture with the actor.
On Friday, the Home of the Innocents shared the picture and Gholston’s uplifting story on their Facebook page. The post went viral with more then 4,200 shares and 11,000 likes.
“That is an awesome act of kindness,” one Facebook user said. “Makes one grateful that there is good people out there.”
“Way to go sir, thank you for taking care of those families,” another commented.
The nonprofit agreed, thanking Voight for making dozens of hungry children very happy this Thanksgiving.
“We were so appreciative of his kindness! He was very interested in the Home and the services that we provide,” Pack said.
