Photo of stranger holding a sleeping child to help his mother warms social network users' hearts

An elderly man won people’s hearts after a photo surfaced of him holding a sleeping baby while his mother does paperwork.

The photo, posted by Natasha Crittenden Wilson of Alabama on October 24, 2018, has racked up 1.3 million likes and more than 422,000 shares on Facebook.

“I was in the waiting room at the doc office today and this lady walked in with her sleeping baby! They handed her paperwork to do and as she was sitting there trying to figure out how to hold her sleeping baby while filling out the paperwork,” Wilson wrote in the photo's caption.

“This man, from across the room, asks her if she would like for him to hold her baby while she did her paperwork!! She smiled and said that would be wonderful!! This man went over there and rocked and loved on that baby like he was his!!” she continued.

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HOPE AGAINST RACISM

Wilson added that the scene melted his heart. “Racism is still very real in our society today, but this man gave me hope and a sweet memory I’ll never forget,” she wrote.

The elderly man is white, and the child and his mother are black.

Facebook users flooded the post with thousands of positive comments, which have reached 77,000 as of October 30, 2018.

“There are some wonderful people in this world,” one user commented.

“This just put the biggest smile on my face,” another wrote.

“Thank you for showing us that regardless of your race some people just care. Thank You Sir,” commented another woman.

CALL HIM PAPA JOE

The kind man talked with Wilson over the phone after the photo went viral.

"That's just who I am. I've never thought about race or color. All the children I know call me Papa Joe," he told her.

In another heartwarming incident, two officers from Palm Beach, Florida, acted quickly when they saw a frantic mother trying to help her choking a 14-month-old baby.

Ana Jaramillo de Graham was sitting in the mall when baby Lucia choked on a chicken nugget. Her screams quickly alerted officers Robert Ayala and Rafael Guadalupe, who come running. The officers dislodged the nugget, saving the baby.