Categories: News

A story about a random act of kindness by Wendy’s employee has gone viral, but the drive-thru worker said she was just doing what she was always taught to: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Lindsey Ozment said Wednesday was an ordinary day when Christina Stewart of Schenectady pulled up to the window at the fast-food chain’s Rotterdam location on Altamont Avenue.

“When she pulled around to pay, she realized she didn’t have the money,” Ozment said. “I went to get my own credit card, told her ‘I got you,’ and I paid for the sweet woman’s meal. I do this quite often so I didn’t hesitate, and it felt to good to help someone else.”

Stewart later explained she had deposited a check into her account, but it hadn’t yet cleared when she went to pay for her meal. She said she was confused because she had never seen someone be so generous.

Before driving away, Stewart asked permission to take Ozment’s picture to post about it on Facebook because “everybody should know good people who do selfless acts exist.”

As of Friday afternoon, the original post on Stewart’s personal page has been shared

more than 9,800 times. Her post to a local news station’s page has an additional 1,200 shares and over 11,000 likes.

“I’ve always been told what goes around, comes around,” Ozment said. “I mean, look what happened to me. I didn’t expect to be on Facebook and have it blow up like it did or to be in the news. I really didn’t want this type of publicity. I’m just an ordinary person who works and loves her job.”

Still, Ozment’s kindness prompted several responses of praise and thanks, including from Stewart. On Thursday afternoon, she brought Ozment a bouquet of flowers at work, prompting a very emotional response.

“I didn’t even know Christina was here yesterday,” Ozment said. “She really surprised me, and I was already a ball of nerves that day because every time someone came to the window, they recognized me.”

Though this is the first time Ozment has been publicly recognized for an act of kindness, she said she does things like this fairly regularly.

Ozment described how she recently won more than $100 at the casino, but decided not to collect her winnings right away.

“Something made me stop, so I just walked out,” she said.

As she was leaving, Ozment crossed paths with an elderly woman who was on her way in to play the machines.

“I took my slip and flipped it over so she couldn’t see the amount on it,” Ozment said. “I handed it to her, said have a good day, and the poor woman just broke down in tears. I felt bad for making her so upset, but she just told me nobody had ever been that nice to her.”

Ozment shared another instance from this Thursday while news crews were filming her at work. She said a car of two men ordered food, but when they pulled up to the window, the passenger realized he forgot his money.

“The driver tried to cancel his half of the order, but I told him not to worry about it and I paid,” Ozment said. “The driver offered his money to cover it, but I wouldn’t take it. Instead I told him if you want to do something good, pay it forward to someone else that’s in need.”

Now that Ozment’s story has received so much attention, she said she plans to be more careful covering bills so people don’t take advantage of her.

“There are other ways I can help out,” she said. “When I see someone who might be having problems, it doesn’t matter what it is. I just get a feeling that I should help, so I don’t judge them and I do what I can.”

Ozment said she’s adopted this attitude because she has been on the other side of the situation herself.

“I was homeless for fifteen years,” she said. “There were times when I didn’t have the money to pay for a meal, and I just would hope that maybe someone would help me. Knowing what I know, it feels so good to help others in any small way I can.”

She credits this mostly to her upbringing. Ozment talked about how her mom, dad, and grandparents raised her in a caring, positive environment based on their strong religious beliefs. Though they were never obtrusive about their faith, Ozment said she tries to live by the kindness mantras her family instilled in her.

“I didn’t do this for the publicity or acknowledgment but because I thought it was right,” she said. “And it felt good to do it.”

Her upbringing has also changed her perception of others and the world around her. Though a majority of comments on the Facebook posts were positive, there were several that were hurtful, berating Stewart about the situation. Ozment said she was disappointed when she learned of the negativity.

“If there were more people out there who were willing to stop judging people or looking at things just on the surface, we would live in a much better place,” she said.

Ozment said she hopes to return to life as usual at Wendy’s, an establishment she loves. She also had some words of advice for those who hear her and Stewart’s story.

“I’m not asking everybody to go and randomly help people,” she said. “I just want people to remember to listen to each other and not be quick to judge. We are all human beings, and we should all take care of each other.”