Halloween hero found: Oceanside family meets young trick-or-treater whose act of kindness went viral
The video touched the hearts of many Long Islanders as hundreds liked and shared the video on social media in the search for the costumed hero.
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The Oceanside family whose empty Halloween candy bowl was filled by a young trick-or-treater in an act of kindness that went viral finally met the boy.
The video touched the hearts of many Long Islanders as hundreds liked and shared the video on social media in the search for the costumed hero. The little boy dressed as a soldier is 8-year-old Andrew Toledo, of East Meadow.
"I wanted them to have candy," Andrew told News 12.
Andrew and his family go trick-or-treating in Oceanside every year with his cousins. He immediately sprang into action when he heard the bowl was empty.
Andrew said something he learned in school about being a bucket filler inspired him to fill this one.
"If you dip into someone's bucket, you dip into your bucket, and when you fill someone's bucket, you fill your bucket," Andrew explained.
The video made the rounds on social media after homeowner Lauren Panuccio posted it with the hope to find the little boy and thank him.
Andrew's mother, Jennifer Toledo, saw it when a friend sent it to her. She was shocked at the amount of attention he was receiving.
"We try to instill kindness in him and sharing. So it's nice to see that something we work hard for is going along way," she said.
Panuccio was finally able to meet the Halloween hero Saturday night. She gave Andrew a bag of goodies as she expressed her gratitude for his kind deed.
"Thank you for being so kind," Panuccio told Andrew.
Andrew's parents said they were a little behind him when they got to Panuccio's house, so they didn't even see it happen until they saw the video on News 12.
