What this young mum found at her local shopping centre had her on the verge of tears
- Replies 9
Every now and then, we have those days where nothing seems to go right.
You know the kind – where you can’t find your keys, you’re stuck in traffic, you spill coffee on your shirt, you feel like you’re a lousy parent (or grandparent)… it just feels like the whole world is against you.
It’s in such times that even the smallest act of kindness can make a big difference – as one young mother recently found out.
Sam Fitzpatrick, 21, is a parent to a ten-week-old daughter.
Any parent would know that such an early period with a baby is filled with sleepless nights, so to say she hasn’t been feeling the best would be a fair assumption to make.
One day, she and her partner Ben were taking her daughter into a baby feeding room at a shopping centre in Adelaide.
She went through the usual motions of breastfeeding when she spotted a shopping list with something peeking out of it.
Upon looking closely, Sam found it was a note with $5 attached.

Curious, she reached for the note and found a message written.
‘It’s not lost,’ it began. ‘It is meant for you.’
‘Enjoy a coffee or a cold drink. Because Mumma, you deserve it.’
After reading the note, Sam was on the verge of tears. You see, she admitted that she was finding out that motherhood ‘wasn’t the easiest thing in the world’.
‘I felt incredibly lucky to come across something so kind,’ she said, marvelling at how simple acts can change someone’s day for the better.
Sam said the note made her feel like she wasn’t alone in the challenges of parenting and raising a child.
Anyone in her place could have taken the generosity up for themselves, but Sam decided against it.
She said: ‘Whoever this was, you are an angel… I’m going to leave this here for a mum who needs it more than I do.’
‘I love the kindness of strangers.’
Sam shared her story on social media, where many said they were touched by her lucky find.
‘I love this. We need more love and kindness,’ one user said.
‘I am going to start doing this randomly,’ another inspired user added.
Others shared their stories of being on the receiving end of random acts of kindness.
One user shared: ‘Someone left a Christmas note with $40 inside an envelope under my car wiper three years ago.’
‘I messaged a lady on Facebook Marketplace for some wool, (about) $100 worth, as I’m crocheting some beanies for the homeless,’ another said.
‘She gifted me all the wool. I was blown away, it was so lovely of her.’
Believe it or not, there was even one story from another mum who tagged a friend!
‘Remember at Burnside Nails? We went to share some pampering and “Anna” left us such a lovely note and sneakily paid for our pedicures,’ she wrote.
‘She will never know how much it meant to us. Thank you to “Anna” whomever you are.’
The world can be a bleak place sometimes, but stories like these offer such brilliant glimmers of hope!
This isn’t the first story of random acts of kindness we’ve featured, and we hope it wouldn’t be the last.
If you have time, check out how a concerned stranger helped another mum who lost money, or how a pilot went above and beyond serving in the skies — while off-duty.
What is your reaction to this heartwarming story? Do you have similar experiences with kind strangers offering a hand? Or maybe you even have your own tale of helping out people in need?
Share them with us in the comments section below!
You know the kind – where you can’t find your keys, you’re stuck in traffic, you spill coffee on your shirt, you feel like you’re a lousy parent (or grandparent)… it just feels like the whole world is against you.
It’s in such times that even the smallest act of kindness can make a big difference – as one young mother recently found out.
Sam Fitzpatrick, 21, is a parent to a ten-week-old daughter.
Any parent would know that such an early period with a baby is filled with sleepless nights, so to say she hasn’t been feeling the best would be a fair assumption to make.
One day, she and her partner Ben were taking her daughter into a baby feeding room at a shopping centre in Adelaide.
She went through the usual motions of breastfeeding when she spotted a shopping list with something peeking out of it.
Upon looking closely, Sam found it was a note with $5 attached.

An anonymous person left a note for mums to find in one Adelaide shopping centre. Credit: Facebook/ABC Adelaide
Curious, she reached for the note and found a message written.
‘It’s not lost,’ it began. ‘It is meant for you.’
‘Enjoy a coffee or a cold drink. Because Mumma, you deserve it.’
After reading the note, Sam was on the verge of tears. You see, she admitted that she was finding out that motherhood ‘wasn’t the easiest thing in the world’.
‘I felt incredibly lucky to come across something so kind,’ she said, marvelling at how simple acts can change someone’s day for the better.
Sam said the note made her feel like she wasn’t alone in the challenges of parenting and raising a child.
Anyone in her place could have taken the generosity up for themselves, but Sam decided against it.
She said: ‘Whoever this was, you are an angel… I’m going to leave this here for a mum who needs it more than I do.’
‘I love the kindness of strangers.’
Sam shared her story on social media, where many said they were touched by her lucky find.
‘I love this. We need more love and kindness,’ one user said.
‘I am going to start doing this randomly,’ another inspired user added.
Others shared their stories of being on the receiving end of random acts of kindness.
One user shared: ‘Someone left a Christmas note with $40 inside an envelope under my car wiper three years ago.’
‘I messaged a lady on Facebook Marketplace for some wool, (about) $100 worth, as I’m crocheting some beanies for the homeless,’ another said.
‘She gifted me all the wool. I was blown away, it was so lovely of her.’
Believe it or not, there was even one story from another mum who tagged a friend!
‘Remember at Burnside Nails? We went to share some pampering and “Anna” left us such a lovely note and sneakily paid for our pedicures,’ she wrote.
‘She will never know how much it meant to us. Thank you to “Anna” whomever you are.’
The world can be a bleak place sometimes, but stories like these offer such brilliant glimmers of hope!
This isn’t the first story of random acts of kindness we’ve featured, and we hope it wouldn’t be the last.
Key Takeaways
- A young mother was nearly brought to tears after finding a note and $5 wrapped inside it in a baby feeding room at a shopping centre.
- The note revealed that the cash was left on a table for any mother to come across when they came in to feed their babies.
- The young mother said that the random act of kindness made her realise she was never alone.
What is your reaction to this heartwarming story? Do you have similar experiences with kind strangers offering a hand? Or maybe you even have your own tale of helping out people in need?
Share them with us in the comments section below!