When Noah and his mom, Amanda, went to Denny's for breakfast one morning, they assumed it would just be a normal meal.
What they didn't realize was that they would see a police officer in the restaurant — and that Noah would have a brilliant idea to honor his service.
As soon as Noah saw the policeman eating across the restaurant, he asked his mom if they could pay for his meal.
Noah had money from his birthday, and he wanted to use that cash to pay for the officer's breakfast.
Of course, Amanda was happy to give Noah permission to pay for the policeman's food. She was very proud that her son would even suggest something so selfless.
But paying for the officer's meal wasn't quite enough for Noah; he also wanted to write a note on the receipt.
Read below to see exactly what Noah wanted to tell the officer, and how the local police department responded!
[H/T: Newsner]
On April 27, 2017, Lakeland PD shared what happened on their Facebook page, where it got a lot of attention.
To date, the post has almost 2,000 reactions and over 600 shares.
Lakeland PD wrote:
THIS Made our Day! Let’s see how far we can share Noah’s GOOD DEED!
At Denny's this morning, young Noah asked his mom if they could pay for an officer's breakfast. You see he had his own money that he recently received for his birthday. His only request was to write a note on the receipt for the officer.
The note read:
I want to be you when I grow up. Thank you for your service.Officer Benitez was so touched by the eight year-old's act that he had to get a photo and personally thank him.
Well Noah you touched all of our hearts today. Your support means so much to all of the men and women who put on the uniform every day. We wish you the happiest of Birthdays! (Noah turns the BIG 9 this Saturday!)
Thanks to mom Amanda for sharing the story.
Before the police department shared the photos, Amanda had written about it on her own Facebook page.
She wrote, "One proud Momma. When your child asks if we can pay for an Officers Breakfast!!! Writes him a message on his receipt."
Lakeland PD's goal was to get this story all around the world, and it definitely worked.
Comments started flooding in from Norway, Italy, the Netherlands, and South Africa!
People were so impressed with Noah's good deed that they made sure to comment their praise for him.
Not only did people thank Noah for his kind act and wish him a happy birthday, they also thanked Officer Benitez for his service.
One woman wrote: "He is going to be one Great cop! Thank you Noah, you are a good and thoughtful person. Who really cares! Good luck in the future! You must have a good mom too!"
Another woman wrote: "Noah is the kind of police officer we all hope are protecting our communities. Thank you to Officer Benitez and the Lakeland PD for recognizing this kind act on their webpage."
If you appreciate what Noah did for Officer Benitez, please SHARE this article with your friends!
