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MONTEREY, Calif. — When an 8-year-old girl noticed a homeless man sitting outside the restaurant where she was eating with her dad, she did what she felt was the most logical thing to do — she brought him her plate of food.
Little Ella Scott has always had a huge heart, according to her dad, Eddie Scott.
“Whenever we pass homeless people on the street, she always asks me for money to give to them,” he told Today.
Last month, the pair had ordered steak and potatoes at the Lallapalooza restaurant in Monterey when a man caught Ella’s eye through the window. He was bundled in coats and looked “hungry and helpless” to the little girl.
She told her dad that she wanted to bring her meal out to the man, and he encouraged her to go for it. Scott hit record on his cellphone video as his daughter walked outside, approached the man and handed over her plate of food.
“This is my girl right here,” he says as he’s recording. “I love her to bits.”
The man seemed surprised at first, almost disbelieving. But Ella and her dad watched as he slowly cut up the meal and ate every last bite.
“Ella, you’re amazing. I think you just made his day,” he says. “How does that make you feel?”
“I like it,” Ella replies.
Ella’s kindness has touched millions — Scott posted the video of the exchange to Facebook, where it has been viewed more than 44 million times as of Friday morning. One of the people who watched the video: the man’s sister, Roseanne Salkowski.
Salkowski contacted Scott after recognizing her brother as the recipient of Ella’s meal, according to Today. Through tears, Salkowski told Scott that her brother, 62-year-old David Salkowski, had been missing for over six months. The male Salkowski is a veteran who suffers from PTSD, and his sister had feared for his well-being — until the video popped into her Facebook feed.
Scott posted a plea to his Facebook page in an effort to reunite the siblings, asking if anyone had seen David Salkowski recently. He told Today he’s hopeful that brother and sister will see each other again very soon.
“It’s unbelievable that what Ella did has touched so many people and will also hopefully connect the brother and sister,” Scott said.
