San Jose Earthquakes forward Quincy Amarikwa made a rather remarkable act of kindness a few weeks ago, writing a Las Vegas cabbie a $2,200 check after learning that the driver was two months behind on his mortgage.
Amarikwa was headed to the Las Vegas airport after attending a marketing conference in the city when he hopped in Pedro Hahamian’s cab. The two quickly struck up a conversation, with Hahamian opening up to Amarikwa about the difficulties of working in the taxicab industry, which has undergone massive upheaval in recent years with the advent and widespread use of ridesharing services.
When Amarikwa learned that Hahamian was a couple of months behind on his house payment, he spotted an opportunity to help, writing a $2,200 check on the spot to cover the Argentine driver’s debt.
“If you think of others first, you'll have everything you need. If you do something good for someone out of the kindness of your heart, they feel more compelled to the the same or more for someone else," Amarikwa told SJEarthquakes.com.
“I couldn’t believe it,” added Hahamian in an interview with NBC Bay Area. “I thought it was a joke.”
Amarikwa waited a while to publicize his act of kindness, at first only posting a photo of himself and Hahamian to his Snapchat account and eschewing other social media channels. He later decided to share his story with an eye on inspiring people to go out of their way to help others.
He shared a similar message with Hahamian before the two parted ways back in Vegas.
“I just said, ‘Pedro, it was nice to meet you, I would love for you to pay it forward the next time you can help someone.’”
