Back in 2018, then 18-year-old Evoni Williams stood behind a counter and worked her usual shift at Waffle House in Houston.

It was there that she noticed an elderly man requiring the support of an oxygen tank. He was struggling to cut his food apart. The old man’s hands didn’t work as well as they once had, so Evoni reached out to him in a bid to help.

“Without hesitation, she took his plate and began cutting up his ham,” wrote patron Laura Wolf.

She was so touched by the action that she uploaded a picture of it to Facebook.

“This may seem small, but to him, I’m sure it was huge,” Wolf continued.

“I’m thankful to have seen this act of kindness and caring at the start of my day while everything in this world seems so negative.”

Almost a week later, this act of simple kindness has been shared more than 40,000 times on Facebook, according to US news sites.

Furthermore, the picture soon reached the Texas Southern University School, which apparently offered Evoni a scholarship worth $16,000.

It was a life-changing gift for Williams, who graduated from high school in May and has been working at Waffle House since then to save money for university.

The girl herself said that she was honoured by the praise and appreciation, but that she didn’t see her actions as anything out of the ordinary.

“I didn’t know the photo was taken until a couple hours later,” Williams told the Houston Chronicle.

According to the 18-year-old herself, it was obvious that she should be helping the old man.

“When I saw it, it’s just something I would do for anybody.”