Ta Leia Thomas, who goes by “Ace,” explained to her boss Tom Agnes, at Brooklyn Center Liquor in Minneapolis that she saw a man digging through the garbage. She went out and asked him to go away. He said he was looking for boxes he could use as shoes.
She looked and saw the homeless man was walking in socks on the frozen ground. She estimated that he was about her size so she took her sneakers off and gave them to him. And that's why she was only wearing socks while finishing her shift.
Agnes was blown away by his employee’s kindness and immediately went and bought her a new pair of shoes to finish her work day.
He then posted on social media acknowledging her kind act. "This was not just a regular old pair of shoes,” Agnes says in the post. “Ace, being a Minnesota Vikings fan, had on her favorite pair of purple Nike Air Jordans which she gave to the man with zero hesitation. This is a true example of empathy, compassion, and holiday cheer."
To show Ace how much he appreciated her compassion, Agnes raised $450 to buy her some new Jordans, but when he learned that she was caring for her mother, who needed a new bed, he gave her the money to use as she needed. He says that Ace hasn’t been with the company for very long, but of what he learned about her so far he says, “I wish I could have a dozen Aces on staff.”