KENNEWICK, Wash. — After noticing that a boy waiting for the bus in freezing temperatures had no hat or gloves, a school bus driver here sought to remedy that, for him and for other students on his route as well.
When the student boarded his bus last week, John Lunceford said he put his gloves on the boy’s hands and “told him it’ll be OK,” according to the Kennewick School District’s Facebook page.
Lunceford, a U.S. Army veteran who is in his third year of driving school buses for the district, went to a dollar store soon after dropping off students at school that morning. He bought 10 hats and 10 sets of gloves in black and pink and went back to the school.
“I’m a grandfather, you know,” Lunceford said, according to the school district. “No one wants a kid to suffer like that.”
Since he didn’t know the name of the boy he gave his gloves to that morning, an administrator helped to track the boy down in the school library, and Lunceford gave one of the hats and pairs of gloves to him. He also told all the students in the library that if they were on his route and didn’t have hats or gloves, he’d take care of them.
“There was a little girl who said ‘I don’t have a hat,’ and I said I’ll take care of you, sweetie,” Lunceford said.
Lunceford’s act of kindness received a significant response on Facebook, with 14,000 reactions and 3,103 shares at press time. That prompted the school district to share a link on the social media site for anyone who wants to donate to InvestED, a district program that matches donations made to help children obtain items such as hats, gloves, coats, and shoes.
