When 8-year-old Mateo Nicasio left for breakfast with his mom, birthday money in hand and Walmart on his mind, he had no idea he’d end up sparking a wave of generosity across the country.
As the Chicago pair pulled up to a stoplight, Mateo spotted a woman selling candy and asked if he could buy something. “She said it was $3,” his mom, Daniela Santos, remembers. “I see him open up his little box, and he’s counting the money. He pulls out a $20 bill, and I’m like, ‘Honey, it’s $3, not $23.’”
But Mateo had more than candy in mind. “He ended up giving her $23,” Santos recalls, “and when I asked why, he told me, ‘So she can buy her baby baby milk.’”
@danielasantos421 No me dejas de sorprender mi amor y me das las lecciones más grandes en esta vida 🥹 Todos debemos de aprender de ti y de lo noble que eres mi corazón ♥️ Te amo con todo el alma y jamás dejes de ser este niño tan maravilloso y noble que eres. Estoy muy orgullosa del niño en el que te haz convertido. Te amo 😭😭🥹❤️ #noble #actsofkindness #selfless ♬ original sound – WBsongs
Santos, touched, recorded the moment and posted it to TikTok, and what happened next blew her away. “I did not expect for it to go this viral,” she says. The heartfelt video quickly racked up millions of views and comments from strangers praising Mateo’s compassion, and her parenting.
“People have messaged me and said such amazing things about Mateo, and they don’t know him,” Santos says. “A lot of people have said, ‘It starts from the home, you’ve been doing such a good job, being an amazing mom.’”
But Mateo’s mission was just beginning. When people started asking how they could send him birthday gifts, his answer was simple: “Mom, I prefer for them to give me the money so I can keep donating it to people that need more help than us.”
So with his blessing, Santos launched a GoFundMe, and 100% of the proceeds go to helping others. Mateo’s wish list? “Buy food for them. Buy clothing for them. Buy them a house.”
“He just has a big heart,” Santos says. “I know our mission is just starting, and I know that bigger things are coming.”
And when asked what advice he’d give to other kids who want to help? Mateo says: “Teach them. Show them how you share so they can do the same thing.”
One $23 decision, made in the backseat of a car, is now changing lives, and proving that even the smallest hearts can make the biggest difference.
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