The 55-year-old, who said she lives with extensive nerve damage that often causes her to fall, said Colin’s offer to help with her groceries made a bigger impact than he could have imagined.
“What a truly beautiful boy,” Bushett said.
Waiting for her taxi, she then watched as the 2.03 metre tall teen dashed through the rain, with arms full of groceries that weren’t his, helping one senior shopper after another to their cars.
He wasn’t looking for attention. He just kept going, person after person, Bushett said.
It was a rare sight for the younger generation, in Bushett’s view, and “restores some faith in humanity”.
Bushett snapped a quick photo of the “gentle giant” and posted it online.
The image was later shared on the Rotorua Community Facebook page, where it has attracted more than 18,000 likes and hundreds of comments.
For Colin, the sudden attention was unexpected.
“It made me feel noticed and happy that people were positive and that it made their day. My classmates just said they saw me on Facebook and that their parents showed them.”
He said he had simply been passing the time while his sister scanned through their own groceries.
Colin decided to help after seeing an older couple walking in the rain, and said he wound up helping about three people.
His father, Colin Dorreen snr, said he first got word of his son’s actions when the siblings returned from the supermarket.
His daughter told him, “Dad, you’re probably going to get a call from a random number. Colin helped some elderly people put away their shopping, and one of them is going to make him a cake”.
Bushett later baked Colin a banana cake as a thank you.
Colin Dorreen helping strangers with their groceries in the rain. Photo / Supplied
The proud dad said the story didn’t surprise him.
“[Colin’s] just that type of kid.
“He just genuinely cares without expectation and has no problem showing it.”
What he could not believe was the “unexpected, mind-blowing” community response.
About an hour after the kids got back from the supermarket, a friend messaged about the post: “Check your young fella out, bro”.
He said the reactions and comments were going “nuts”.
It stood out that there were no negative comments.
“That says a lot about how much people appreciated seeing and reading the post,” he said.
Following the teen’s kind acts of service, the Rotorua community has been invited to help him achieve his dream.
The teen had been fundraising for a two-year high school exchange to the United States, starting next January.
It would make him the first in his family of six siblings to study overseas.
His whānau had raised $9635 of the $25,000 needed through raffles, donations and a previous Givealittle page.
Colin snr said his son “really does deserve” the opportunity, having overcome “so much along the way”.
“I couldn’t be more thankful for the way everyone has embraced my son,” he said.
“We really have some good people in our community.”
Woolworths Fenton St store manager Justin Herewini said Colin never sought recognition from staff for his “selfless act”, which reflected his “humble character and compassionate nature”.
Herewini said Colin showed “exceptional initiative” and was “an inspiring example for the entire community”.
A new Givealittle page has been set up to support Colin’s US exchange dream: givealittle.co.nz/cause/colin-dorreen-a-giant-with-a-heart-to-match
Page creator Joe Dorset said he had known Colin for some time, describing him as a “great young man and role model”.
“I can vouch for him as a humble, kind and gentle giant with solid values … In a world where there is so much negativity, he seems to have given a lot of people hope for the next generation.”
Annabel Reid is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, based in Rotorua. Originally from Hawke’s Bay, she has a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Canterbury.