Here’s a shoutout to Gilnet Sainvil, Fiona Smith, and “Pal”.

For several years, Rachel Smith’s Saturday morning routine started with a trip to Publix, accompanied by her toddler daughter, Fiona.

?While the primary purpose of their Publix outing was to buy groceries, the family had another reason for visiting a particular Fort Myers, Fla., location: to see Gilnet Sainvil. Sainvil, came to the US, from Haiti and has worked at Publix since 2014.?He became friends with Fiona, who was then a year old. He would greet her each time with an enthusiastic high-five and a huge smile.

?It took the toddler a few times to figure out how to give a high-five when Sainvil offered her his hand.?“She didn’t really know what to do with it,” Smith said. “We’d give him high-fives, and eventually she caught on. This happened?every Saturday ?like clockwork.”

?By the time Fiona was 2, she was very familiar with the high-five, and the moment she and her family arrived at the store, she would dash over to Sainvil, her tiny arms flailing as she readied herself for his greeting. She soon started referring to her newfound friend as “High Five.”

?As Fiona’s third birthday drew near in March 2019, Sainvil, a father of three daughters — ages 15, 12 and 10 — dropped off a gift for her at her grandparents’ house. It was a pink princess bicycle.?The family was stunned.

?Not long after Fiona’s third birthday, the?coronavirus ?pandemic hit, and their Saturday morning tradition came to an abrupt halt. Although they no longer saw each other regularly, the family stayed in touch with Sainvil, and, as she got older, Fiona, now 6, often spoke of her friend “High Five.”

?Their friendship came to the forefront recently when Smith spontaneously decided to post the?dated video ?of Fiona giving Sainvil her card on TikTok. Smith’s goal in sharing the touching interaction, she said, was to bring some brightness to the Internet.

“The world has been a really hard place to live in the past couple years,” she said. “I put this on social media only to be a conduit to help spread happiness.”

?As the video continued to spread widely, Fiona grew eager to reunite with Sainvil, whom she hadn’t seen in two years, and?on March 30 , the family surprised him at work.?

?“Now she is a big girl,” said Sainvil, who hoisted Fiona into the air as soon as she approached him. “It was a good day for me. She has my heart.” Fiona and Sainvil recently reunited after two years apart. Fiona was equally delighted to see her dear friend, whom she still calls “High Five.” “It made my heart sing,” she said of their reunion.

?People on social media started suggesting to Smith that she start?a GoFundMe for Sainvil , perhaps as a way to surprise him with a gift in a similar way that he had surprised Fiona on her birthday. Smith agreed.

?“Fiona’s Mom said she’d love to give something tangible back to him for the unquantifiable joy he’s given her daughter her whole life,” she wrote in the GoFundMe description.

?Within about a week, the fundraiser reached close to $8,000, mostly in small amounts from people who were touched by Sainvil’s kindness.

?Beyond the generous donations many strangers have made, what has struck Smith most, she said, are the many comments people shared on social media, recounting similar stories of friendships. “People have their own version of ‘High Five”.

?Growing up in Manchester, NH, my mom used to bring me to the “Johnnie Bank,” that’s what I called it as they had a comic book about Johnnie saving his money at that bank and I was excited each week to see my favorite teller, “Pal” who greeted me enthusiastically like Gilnet greeted Fiona and gave me my weekly lollipop.?So here’s a shout-out to Gilnet, Fiona and Pal for building bonds in your community and finding lifelong customers and friends!?