Random Act: For kids in need of backpacks, a friend indeed

HOLIDAY — Ronda Roberts' back-to-school shopping list was simple: three pairs of shoes and three backpacks. She had $50 to spend.

Class for Roberts' children — Casey, 12, Graham, 10, and Drew, 9 — would start in a week, and their old bags were in tatters. Pencils fell through the bottom. On Aug. 17, the family headed to Countryside Mall.

The kids were excited about new shoes, Ronda said, and they knew their limits. "Whatever's the cheapest, Mom." They were slipping on white sneakers at Payless Shoe Source when Dad called.

Money, as always, was tight, Don Roberts told Ronda. They wouldn't be able to pay this month's cable bill. Could the kids hold off on new backpacks?

Don had lost his job in June when a private school closed in Seffner. Ronda works part time as a certified nursing assistant. They had no debt, no credit cards and had gotten used to going without. The kids could deal with a few lost pencils.

Ronda, 34, was telling her kids they could wait until her next paycheck when a woman in her 50s, flanked by two granddaughters, turned to her.

She told them about a free backpack giveaway at Dr. James Pitt's dentist's office on Curlew Road that Friday. She called her friend Maxine, asked her to comb through the trash for the newspaper notice. The kids were happy. Ronda was stunned.

As the Robertses left the store, one of the granddaughters ran to them. She had $40 in her open hand. Ronda told her they wouldn't need it. They kept walking.

But the woman wouldn't accept no. She chased the family outside the store, finally tucking the money into Graham's Payless bag. Then they left. Ronda was so grateful she started to cry. She didn't even know the woman's name.

"I said, 'I'll pay it forward,' " Ronda said. "What else do you say?"

She put the $40 in her bank account.

The kids were among the first in line at the giveaway. Casey and Graham got new black backpacks filled with crayons, paper and floss. Drew got one in light blue — her favorite color — and wore the big bag like a turtle shell. She put her Girls Rule book in it. It bounced as she ran from the bus stop.

Graham showed off his backpack to his fifth-grade classmates at Sunray Elementary last week. He said he had gotten it for free. A friend stared.

"He was like, 'whoa!' When did you get it?" Graham said Monday. His parents were having money problems, too. "He has the same backpack as before."

Drew Harwell can be reached at dharwell@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4170.