Boy selling newspapers helps woman turn life around

Robynn Fried says she was "literally two weeks from being homeless" when she heard a knock at the door.

It was Artem Smao, a 14-year-old boy looking to raise money for a trip to Lake Tahoe by selling newspaper subscriptions.

CBS13 in Sacramento reports that Fried, who was unemployed and desperately seeking work at a pharmacy, told Artem why she couldn't afford to buy anything. That's when Artem reached into his pocket and offered the complete stranger all the money he had earned that day.

While Fried said she couldn't possibly accept the money, and Artem moved on, she was deeply touched by the encounter. She said it did wonders for her spirit. "I had just given up on getting a pharmacy job at all," she told CBS13. "Literally, the day before I’d just given up hope and what he did gave it back, brought it all back."

Hope turned to luck when a friend called her about a job opening at a pharmacy. By the next week, Fried had a job.

"I feel incredibly blessed," she said.

Artem didn't think what he did was that special. "I usually always give money out" while selling subscriptions, he said. But his gesture clearly meant the world to Fried.

"He gave me my hope back," she said.