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Act of Kindness Lifts Spirits of Boy Displaced by California Wildfires

Kindness showed up unexpectedly this week for 10-year-old Dylan, who lost his Santa Rosa home to the California wildfires.

Dylan and his parents were forced to flee their house in the middle of the night with barely anything. As they drove away, the fire engulfed their neighborhood and destroyed the houses.

Dylan’s parents sent him to the Seattle area to be with relatives while they stayed behind to deal with the damage. To keep his mind off the loss, his aunt brought him to visit Issaquah’s Eastside Fire and Rescue, where he met Lt. Mike O’Brien. He quickly learned Dylan was a big Minecraft fan.

“So, we called the Best Buy in Issaquah to see if it was available, and the store called back two minutes later and said ‘We’ll donate one,’” O’Brien said. “I was totally overwhelmed.”

Helping out was a no-brainer for store general manager Scott Campbell. After hearing Dylan’s story, Campbell and his leadership team pooled money to buy Dylan an Xbox One console and Minecraft video game.

“We were really amazed that Best Buy and Eastside Fire and Rescue would be so supportive. It really meant a lot,” said Jeff, Dylan’s uncle.

On Tuesday the store and the firefighters surprised Dylan with the gift.

“His eyes lit up. It warms your heart and makes you realize that doing something small like this makes a difference,” Campbell said.

Dylan and his family have a long road to rebuilding their life. But it was made a little bit easier by the kindness of strangers he now calls his new friends.