Atlanta entrepreneurs pay $40K worth of groceries to surprise shoppers
Brad and Tronda Giles joined other entrepreneurs, delighting Kroger customers by paying for goods in their carts.
A group of Atlanta entrepreneurs paid for thousands of dollars worth of groceries at a local Kroger supermarket in a recent effort to give back to their community.
The IGTV video, which has gone viral online, shows Brad and Tronda Giles, along with several of their fellow entrepreneurs, taking over registers and paying for basket after basket of groceries for surprised and delighted customers.
“We all just took our own individual lanes,” Brad Giles told Fox5 Atlanta. “Each of us took a lane to take up as many registers as we can and let people know, ‘Look, groceries are on us.'”
The give-back lasted about two hours, and some shoppers were seen crying while others danced with joy, recording the event on their cellphones.
“We just wanted to do this out of the kindness of our heart,” said one unnamed entrepreneur. “Spend about 20, 30,000 in here to bless everybody.”
Read More: Mo’Nique wants Tyler Perry to publicly apologize to her and ‘tell the truth’
Brad Giles, who posts as @brad.panther on Instagram, wrote in the caption: “This is the season of giving and it’s more important than ever to give back to those in need! We had the Kroger at Wesley Chapel in Atl on fire by giving out free groceries and paying for everyone for over 2 hours! Well over $40,000 in purchases given back to our community!”
“I’m so proud to be a part of an incredible group of successful entrepreneurs that banded together to make this happen!” he wrote.
Giles then tagged the other entrepreneurs involved.
Read More: Kamala Harris called teen to thank him for viral portrait
“We’ve always had that love for giving back and helping individuals who have never had help before, and all the people we help in our work translates to who want to help in our communities,” he said.
The Giles’ said that after their show of giving went viral, other entrepreneurs reached out to them to learn how they could give back.
“Every little bit counts. Giving is something we all have to do as a community, and if we can all give to each other, it’s going to make everybody stronger,” said Giles.
Read More: Chrissy Teigen says she’s in a ‘grief depression hole’ during the holidays
The group said they also helped those in the community by paying for gas and providing funds to homeless people.
“Not only did we shut down the grocery store,” Giles wrote in his post, “we helped inspire the community by showing them that entrepreneurs can give back to the community just as big as any celebrity and it was so much fun helping so many people this holiday season.”
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s “Dear Culture” podcast? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. Download theGrio.com today!
