A homeless man got a second chance at life after a kind stranger helped him land a life-changing job at Domino’s Pizza.
Rishi Sharma spotted Brian ‘Sooty’ Wallace at the side of the road holding a Domino’s Pizza box as he was on his way to his work in Lower Hutt, New Zealand.
Act of kindness
Mr Sharma, a Domino’s franchise owner noticed the company logo on the back of Mr Wallace’s sign, and got out of his car to take him to his store to eat. ‘I wanted to see what was written on the box on the other side. He was asking for spare change,’ he said. He noticed Wallace was shivering and moved to a nearby cafe for a coffee. ‘It was just a great conversation, he was very humble, and I just made up my mind I just have to give this guy an opportunity,’ he said.
He offered to make him a pizza at his Lower Hutt store after Wallace revealed he had not eaten anything. Mr Wallace ordered a ham and cheese pizza before revealing he was homeless while the pizza was cooking. Mr Sharma soon made him a job offer and said, ‘I read somewhere the world is full of nice people, if you can’t find one, be one and I said ‘Sooty would you like to work for me?’ And he said ‘yep’,’ he said.
Second life
Mr Wallace has now worked in Mr Sharma’s three stores in the Hutt Valley region for three weeks and Mr Sharma said he is loving his new job, which has allowed him to make some drastic changes in his life. ‘He is very happy, he has a house in Taita now and Work and Income (NZ government assistance) has been very amazing. I spoke to them last Monday and a lot of things have been sorted,’ he said.
The whole experience has brought a positive change for Mr Wallace, and Mr Sharma is glad to have a new friend at work. ‘Today he’s at the store right now, he’s working and I’m just looking forward to going back and working with him,’ he said.
