Generosity Rewarded: How Buying a Stranger a Gallon of Milk Went Viral 

Hugo Uitzil-Tun and his wife, Linda, were Christmas shopping at the Walmart in Factoria with their two-year-old daughter when a twenty-something-year-old stranger in a blue t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers asked him for money to buy a gallon of milk. 

“I only had seven dollars in my pocket,” says Hugo. “In my mind, I was like I might need that money, but I was like, you know what, let’s go help him out.” 

Hugo handed the guy a few dollars. Then he got the surprise of his life. 

The guy was Jimmy Darts, a TikTok personality known for random acts of kindness. This past Christmas, Darts partnered with Dwayne Clark, the founder and chief executive officer of Aegis Living, to give away $10,000—and a shopping spree at Walmart (which totaled $2,202.86). Hugo even got his milk money back. 

Darts managed to get the initial footage with an iPhone carefully placed in the front pocket of his t-shirt. Once Darts revealed he was a TikTokker, three other guys with cameras came out from around the corner. 

“It was the best day ever,” says Hugo. “That was crazy.” 

The incredibly heartwarming video of Hugo and his family now has 1.2 million likes and 22k comments on Tiktok.

Darts and Clark were looking for a family with kids when they chanced on Hugo and his wife. They didn’t know that Hugo and his wife have four older kids in addition to their youngest. Or that Hugo, a Pagliacci employee for 13 years, works a second job at Merlino’s so that he has money to send back to his community of Manuel Ávila Camacho, a town of roughly 1,200 in Quintana Roo, Mexico. 

Another thing they didn’t know is that for the last three years, Hugo and his sister, Olivia (in the blue shirt below), have taken over their father’s tradition of throwing a big community Christmas party on December 24 in Manuel Ávila Camacho with food and gifts for the children. This year money was tight, and Hugo worried about how he would make it happen. Problem solved! Hugo raised the stakes—more toys, more cake, more food—and spent over $300 shipping the gifts to Mexico. Hugo also spread his generosity through his community here in Seattle. 

Hugo has worked at several Pagliacci locations and is now an anchor at our Valley store. When asked what he likes best about working for Pagliacci, Hugo says, “The people. My co-workers, managers, the people in the office—the people are great.” 

Congratulations, Hugo. Your generosity is so inspiring to us!