12 year-old Matthew Flores couldn’t afford books, so he decided that he would still find reading material somehow. He decided to start reading junk mail. Matthew would collect as much as he could and read whatever he could get his hands on that wouldn’t cost him anything. One comment to a government worker was about to change Flores’ life and he didn’t know it yet.
Utah postman, Ron Lynch, was making his routine deliveries one weekday when he saw 12 year-old Flores digging though junk mail. Curious as to what any 12 year-old boy could possibly want with junk mail, he asked Flores why he was doing that. What Flores said next shocked Lynch. The Deseret News reported that Flores told Lynch that he reads junk mail “because he doesn’t have books of his own and that bus fares made is difficult to get to the library.”
Lynch was heartbroken by the little boy’s response, how could this be happening? So Lynch decided to take matters into his own hands and post to his social network to ask for help fueling this young boy’s hunger for reading. The response from his social network? OVERWHELMING!
He was surprised to see that the post spread beyond his personal circles. “Its gone crazy from there, ” Lynch said to Deseret News. “I’ve heard from the U.K., Australia, from India.” Books began to arrive at Flores doorstep, the little boy was shocked, elated and so excited that he could finally read something REAL! Flores is now the proud owner of a personal library and he plans on readying every single book. “They said these books are for you. I thought they were mistaken, but they were for me.” said Flores in regard to the outpouring of kindness.
The point is one person can change a life all it takes sometimes is noticing what is going on around you.