Godfrey Coutto became the toast of the Internet after he held hands with a man with special needs on a public bus.
Now, a Hamilton transit union wants to reward him for his touching gesture.
Coutto, a 21-year-old student at McMaster University, will be presented with two $1,000 cheques by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 107 and ATU Canada at a ceremony on Wednesday, said in a news release posted to Facebook.
The cheques come after Coutto was spotted holding the hand of a man named Robert, who is deaf and has cerebral palsy, on board the 10 B-Line Express bus.
A photo of the moment was posted to the Only in Hamilton Facebook group, where it drew over 14,000 shares.
Robert, who prefers to communicate with people by touch, reached out to shake Coutto's hand and then kept holding it.
Coutto was surprised at the gesture, but then he just kept holding on.
"I thought I was getting pranked at first, but he just needed comfort," he told The Huffington Post Canada.
The ride lasted half an hour, and through it all, Coutto kept holding Robert as he hugged him and kissed his hands.
The transit union is awarding him the money to help him with his education because students often have a "bad rap."
"You're constantly hearing negatives about the students with frosh," Eric Tuck, president of ATU Local 107, told CBC News.
"I think this was an incredible act by an incredible young man."
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