Act of Kindness Returned to Brooklyn Center Liquor Store Employee

A Brooklyn Center liquor store employee who gained worldwide attention for a simple act of kindness received an unexpected surprise this week.

“I reached out to Dr. Carly Baker, who is the [district] superintendent here in Brooklyn Center and I said, ‘Carly, we’ve got to work on something for Ace. We gotta try to get her a jacket,'” said Tom Agnes, the operations manager for Brooklyn Center Liquor. “And she said, ‘absolutely I’m on it.'”

Ta Leia “Ace” Thomas, a 2002 graduate of Brooklyn Center High School, received a brand new letter jacket on Tuesday during a Brooklyn Center Rotary meeting.

Thomas would frequently wear her old letter jacket, but after 21 years, it had begun to show some wear and tear.

The moment when Ace Thomas opened the box revealing her new Brooklyn Center letter jacket.

You may recall, in December, Thomas gave a homeless man in need of shoes the purple Air Jordan sneakers right off her feet.

The story went viral.

Now, because of that gesture, Thomas has a new jacket that proudly shows off all the sports in which she lettered during her time as a Centaur.

“One small act changed the whole world,” Thomas said. “And I’m glad that I was able to be able to give to the world to let them know that there’s people out here who care about people, love people. So this kindness is just amazing to me. I’m so shocked by it.”

Thomas’s new letter jacket comes courtesy of Brooklyn Center Superintendent Carly Baker.

During her time at Brooklyn Center High School, Ace lettered in soccer, softball, track and basketball.

Related: ‘The Kind of Story We All Needed,’ Brooklyn Center Liquor Store Employee Gives Shoes to Homeless Man

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