The note that Capt. Alyssa Golembeski of the Tom's River First Aid Squad held in her hand said: "Paid, thank you, for all you do, have a great day!! - Recovering Addict."

The hand-written message was scrawled on the back of a receipt. Alyssa was in an iHop in Tom's River, New Jersey, and the receipt was for the meal that she and her team members had just finished after a long overnight shift.

Because she left before the team saw her message, the author of the note will remain anonymous. But Alyssa has a sense of what likely inspired the kind gesture.

"She is probably local," Alyssa explained, "so there is a really good chance that either one of my crews, or the other five volunteer crews, were the ones that helped her get the help she needed to start the process of recovery."

She continued, "The opioid crisis is terrible across the country but particularly in New Jersey. To see there is an addict who is actively in recovery is just amazing to me."

According to George Ebinger, who owns the restaurant, it's not uncommon for patrons to pay for other groups' meals, though it is most commonly done for military personnel or veterans. The team of EMTs shared that this was the first time they had received this type of gesture, and that they were very grateful.

Video via CBS New York. For more stories about human kindness, pop over to our Facebook page or sign up for our Only Good News Newsletter!