By: Thom Patterson, CNN

It was a tender moment Elle Dingman will remember for a long time.
Outside a small hotel in Branson, Missouri, in April, Dingman was volunteering with a local group that distributes free meals when a barefoot, barely dressed, 2-year-old boy walked up to her without hesitation.
His name was Ryder.
Dingman had never met this little boy during her rounds, but nevertheless, “he came over to me, and he grabbed my hand. He was so loving, and he wanted a hand to hold.”
As the boy’s father watched from the motel door, Dingman couldn’t help but pull out her smartphone and take a photo, posting it later on Facebook. “I just felt really grateful that I was able to hold his hand and love on him for a while,” she said. Read more…