A group of Staten Island NYPD officers recently surprised a local homeless woman with a sweet birthday serenade. The video of the officers singing “Happy Birthday” to a woman named Lisa has gained hundreds of shares on Facebook, and one glance at the heartwarming footage will tell you why.
Facebook user Mandie Dee first posted the clip, which shows the group approaching Lisa, who was sitting on the steps of the St. George Ferry Terminal, and presenting her with burgers, fries and a soda. Her face lights up with surprise and delight as the officers sing “Happy Birthday.”
According to WABC-TV, Officer Leron Lee purchased the fast food meal without telling his fellow officers what it was for. His colleagues, Officers Kevin Ng and Paul Lantieri, even teased him for cheating on his diet. But when Officer Lee explained that the meal was for Lisa, a woman they encounter regularly at the terminal, Officers Ng and Lantieri decided they would join the celebration.
After the video of the event went viral, Officer Lee said he was “a little embarrassed.”
“I didn’t do it for the positive feedback I got,” he told WABC. “I just did it to show someone gratitude on their birthday.”
Staten Island residents have offered their own feedback, expressing pride for their local police force and the positive example they set for the community.
“Sometimes they’re shed in a negative light, so putting themselves out in the community and having them do positive things, especially singing happy birthday to a woman they don’t know, that’s such a great thing,” Kai Bingham said.
“You never be expecting it to happen here on Staten Island where society has more or less threw us to the dogs,” Staten Island resident Wilbur Spann told WABC. “It lifts people’s spirits to see something good like that happen.”
After the video received so much positive feedback, Mandie Dee took to Facebook to share her thoughts:
“I just want to Thank you all for sharing this video and liking it,” she wrote. “It’s important to remember that a simple act of kindness can go a Long way, even if it’s as little as giving someone a meal, it can make that one person feel like they truly matter and make them feel loved.”
“And of course a special thanks to these nypd officers who took a few moments of their time to perform this small, but loving, act,” she added. “It’s a good reminder to our community that our officers truly do care about the public they serve every day.”
(H/T: WABC-TV)