Acts of Kindness
Teen brings classmate with special needs a gift that has him over the moon
Everything about this melted my heart. I'm so glad someone was filming.
Irene Markianou
11.24.21

Jake Marr and Matthew Sabetta met at Maricopa High School in Arizona.

YouTube - CBS News
Source:
YouTube - CBS News

Matthew has a rare condition called Williams Syndrome, which comes with several developmental delays and health issues.

While people with this syndrome often have heart problems and mild intellectual disability, at the same time they have a happy nature. They are outgoing and interact readily with strangers, just like Matthew does.

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A post shared by Jake Marr (@jakemarr3)

As his grandmother says, he might be missing about 27 genes due to his condition, but he has an extra one- the “joy gene”.

The teens met each other at school, and they often chatted before and after classes, developing a sweet friendship over time.

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A post shared by Jake Marr (@jakemarr3)

Jake knew that Matthew had a thing for cement trucks, so as Christmas was around the corner, he decided to get a nice present for him.

While a friend was filming the teen’s reaction, Jake gave Matthew his early Christmas present.

YouTube - CBS News
Source:
YouTube - CBS News

In the video, it is obvious that Matthew started getting excited even before he knew what his present was.

Matthew took the wrapped box in his hands yelling: “Oh my God! What’s in there? I can’t wait!”

As he was tearing into the paper, his expression revealed his enthusiasm. When he finally saw the box containing a cement truck, he was overcome with joy and gave his friend a warm hug.

YouTube - CBS News
Source:
YouTube - CBS News

“I love it,” Matthew exclaimed, and one could see that Jake was happy too that his gift brought so much delight to his friend.

“It was a big surprise. And I got happy tears,” Matthew said in an interview with KPHO.”And so it was just like my lucky day.”

YouTube - CBS News
Source:
YouTube - CBS News

But it is not only Matthew who felt lucky. Jake, too, felt that his friendship with Matthew was a gift for him. His sweet friend with his infectious happiness made him happy, too.

“He’s my best friend, right here,” Matthew said pointing at Jake, while the latter, in turn, explained that their friendship was important to him as well. “Just be kind, talk to them, get to know them. They have the most amazing stories you’ll ever hear,” he said.

YouTube - CBS News
Source:
YouTube - CBS News

The two teens shared an amazing friendship that made both of them happy. Matthew made everybody’s day with his cheerful nature, while Jake acknowledged the fact and wanted to return the good he did.

“Because he makes everybody’s day, I figured I can make his day at least once,” he said.

Jake’s act of kindness didn’t go unnoticed. Concrete, energy, and logistics business Ozinga got cement truck toys for the two teens, and Jake posted about the event on his Instagram account.

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A post shared by Jake Marr (@jakemarr3)

The video of Jake giving his friend the gift went viral both on the boy’s Instagram account and on YouTube, where it reached almost 1m views.

Users left comments below the video praising the teen for his kind gesture.

“And that folks is how you raise your children,” someone wrote.

Head over to the video below to see the boy’s sweet reaction to his friend’s surprise!

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