School Bus Driver Raises Funds to Buy Glasses for Students

NEW TAMPA, Fla. — A school bus driver here used crowdfunding to raise money to buy glasses for two students in need, Tampa Bay Times reports.

Bus driver Justin Schaefer noticed that Harold Espinoza, a seventh-grader who stands out for his respectful behavior on what the driver described as “a rough route,” was wearing broken glasses that were held together with tape, according to the newspaper. He got permission from the school’s administrators and set up a GoFundMe page, requesting donations from family members and friends from across the U.S. to cover the cost of new glasses and other niceties of Espinoza’s choosing.

Meanwhile, Schaefer learned from a school social worker that another student at the school needed glasses, but that the student’s parents could not easily afford them, Tampa Bay Times reports.  

Luckily, the donations that Shaefer received from the GoFundMe page were far more than he expected, and he was able to help both Espinoza and the other student to buy glasses, according to the newspaper. Espinoza was called to the principal’s office and was surprised by Schaefer, who gave him $260 worth of gift cards for his exceptional behavior. Afterward, his homeroom teacher and class applauded him, according to Tampa Bay Times.

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