Boy asks mailman for junk mail for him to read, mailman does one better

It’s not every day that you hear about somebody actually wanting junk mail.

To many, the endless restaurant menus and department store flyers are the definition of annoying, but to 12-year-old Mathew Flores, they’re the only source of reading material he has.

One day while Ron Lynch, the local mailman, was delivering mail to an apartment complex, he came across Flores reading ads.

The Sandy, Utah, youngster then asked Lynch if he had any extra junk mail that he could read, which prompted the mailman to ask why.

“He told me his wish is to have books to read,” Lynch wrote on his Facebook page.

The mailman suggested that he go to the library, where books are plentiful. The problem with that, Flores revealed, was that his family did not have a car and he couldn’t afford to take the bus.

Moved by the ambitious boy’s story, Lynch took to his Facebook page to ask friends if they could spare some books for the boy.

“I was given many books as a child and it’s time to help someone else!” he wrote. “Most kids his age want electronics! It’s great to see his desire.”

Lynch hoped that a few of his friends would have books to contribute, but after word about the little man spread worldwide, Flores was flooded with reading material from strangers, reports KSL.com.

“I’m stunned and humbled by what happened,” Lynch wrote on his Facebook page. “All of you who cared enough to do something about it are the true heroes of this story.”

Flores, who couldn’t even believe the books were for him, vows to read every single one and then pay it forward by handing them off to other children.

“I’m just really happy,” he said.