A kind gesture can inspire people from all over the world — a lesson one Florida police officer learned after a photo of her eating with a homeless man went viral and strangers praised her action.

The photo, originally posted by TiAnna S. Greene on Facebook on July 16, shows Sgt. Erica Hay sitting down to eat a meal with a homeless man. It now has over 400 "likes" and 2,000 shares on Greene's page but more than 2,000 "likes" on the Ocala Police Department's Facebook page [1]. Greene was particularly touched by the action, which is why she took the photo and wrote about it on Facebook. "I didn't know who she was but I wanted her to know it touched me and I'm pretty sure it touched that gentleman," Greene said to Today [2]. "I told my daughter, 'See. That is truly a sign of compassion.'"

As for why Hay did it, the reason is simple — she wanted to help someone out whose life isn't that easy. "He was just there by himself alone, so I just grabbed food and went back to eat with him," she said to Today [4]. "Isolation is the worst part about being someone who is homeless. They're isolated from everyone, and I think any type of interaction is a positive thing."

Viral stories like these are great signs of how positive actions do exist in the world and that anyone can be a part of it.