The staff at Asda were mesmerized and shocked when they found a message left by one of their little customers.
Debbie Phillips, took her school-aged son with her to go shopping at a local store known as Asda. Debbie’s 10-year-old son by the names of Leon immediately spotted something that caught his eye while they were browsing in their local Asda store in Hunt’s Cross, which happens to be a suburb of Liverpool.
The little boy set his eyes on a special toy panda.point 162 | It was love at first sight.point 184 | The to work was called “Lovable Huggable Panda.point 230 |
” It was indeed the perfect toy for a 10-year-old boy.point 46 | Leon was so desperate to take the panda home with him, he did not want the toy panda to be taken by any other kids, so he asked his mom if he could have the stuffed animal.point 182 | Unfortunately, Leon learned that his mom couldn’t afford the £15 toy panda until her next payday.point 271 |
point 0 | 1
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Heartbroken over the news, Leon made up a plan to keep the toy, which he lovingly named ‘Pandy.’ He decided to put Pandy in an empty cardboard box, leaving it on the shelf. He then decided to put his writing skills to good use and began writing on the outside of the box.
His note was as sad, but heartwarming at the same time.
It read, “My mom doesn’t have enough money, so she’s buying me Pandy next week 15 June. So please don’t bye him it will make me cry – thank you so much from his hopeful future owner. Pandas name is Pandy.”
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The Staff at Leon’s local Asda store spotted the bear tucked into the cardboard box. They read Leon’s note and were deeply touched by his words. Luckily for him, the generous staff banded together and decided to raise the funds themselves to buy the panda for the boy. They went ahead and posted photos of the box and the panda on social media to help locate the panda’s hopeful owner.
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Coincidentally, Debbie was scrolling through her Facebook timeline at the same time, when she saw something that caught her eye.
She said, “A few days later I was flicking through Facebook – I hadn’t realized until then what Leon had written – he’d really poured his heart and soul into his message.”
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As soon as she could, Debbie took her son Leon back to the store, where workers at Asda were already standing by waiting to present Leon with his beloved new toy friend- ‘Pandy’. Everyone had a smile on their face that day, as Asda workers say it was incredibly rewarding to pay it forward to one of their youngest customers. It was a joyous day. Leon told his mom how much the staff’s gesture of kindness meant to him.
Leon’s mom said, “As he was walking out he said to me ‘This is the best day of my life.'”
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She added that what the staff did for her son meant the world to him. She was very thankful and grateful to the staff of Asda who had put a smile on her son’s face.
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Unknowingly, the staff of Asda had put a smile back on the faces of Debbie and her family. The amazing work by the Asada staff couldn’t have come at a better time, as Debbie and her family were still recovering from losing their youngest son Oliver. Debbie says that the loss was incredibly hard for everyone, as the entire family was looking forward to the arrival of her new son.
She said, “In January my son Oliver was born prematurely and passed away four days later so it’s been a really tough, difficult time for all of the family, especially the children who were so involved in the lead-up to the birth.”
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The staff at Asda had no idea what this family was going through when they decided to gift little Leon with the toy panda. Both Leon and Debbie are eternally grateful for the simple act of kindness and love they’ve received from the Asda staff, especially after such a heartbreaking time for their family.
We’re sure Leon will always remember the amazing surprise and will treasure his toy ‘Pandy’ for years to come.
When Debbie Phillips took her school-aged son with her to go shopping, she could have never guessed what her son would do once they were inside the store.