Leon Ashworth saw a panda teddy he wanted, his mother couldn’t afford it so he wrote a note asking people not to buy it as he would be back with the money!
Leon and his mother Debbie Ashworth were in their local ASDA, a grocery chain store in the UK, when Leon spotted a panda teddy. He discussed it with his mother and they decided to leave it behind as there just wasn’t enough money for ‘Pandy’.
Refusing to let Pandy go, Leon wrote a note on the box asking people to please not buy him as Leon would come back when he had the money for the teddy. The letter read:
My mum [doesn’t] have [enough] money, so she’s [buying] me Pandy [Friday] next week 15 June. So please don’t [buy] him, it will make me cry. Thank you so much from Hopeful [Future] Owner. Panda’s name – Pandy!
After leaving Pandy behind staff noticed the box and the note written onto it. They decided to put the money together from their own pockets. They posted an image of the bear in the box asking for the person who wrote it to come forward.
Leon’s mother came forward and said it was her son’s handwriting. Leon was invited back to the store where he was gifted the bear by all the staff. He was so happy!
A few day’s later his mother Debbie revealed a sad but generous piece of information. She had lost her premature baby in January, Leon decided to donate the money for the teddy to a charity that works with families that have lost a baby. He thought it would help them more, especially understanding the loss.