A Georgia student who said he walked 7 miles to and from work each day in the hope of saving up money for a car has been gifted a new vehicle, all thanks to one woman’s heartwarming act of kindness.
via: People
A teenager from Georgia who spent months walking several miles a day to get to work has a brand new car — and it’s all thanks to one woman’s act of kindness.
Jayden Sutton, a high school senior from Cobb County, made the trek on foot each day from school to his job at a restaurant and then back home, WAGA reported.
The teen was determined to work and make enough money to eventually buy his own vehicle, as his mother was recently laid off and her car was totaled several weeks ago.
“I knew if I had to walk to work every day to get a car, that’s what I was going to do,” Sutton told WAGA. “If I had to walk home, then that’s what I was going to do.”
Sutton told the outlet he’d get out of school at 3:30 p.m., then walk miles to his job at the restaurant. After his shift, which usually lasted between six and eight hours, the teen made his way home, sometimes not arriving back until almost midnight.
But that all changed when Lavonda Wright saw Sutton making his way down Brownsville Road in Powder Springs heading to work one day.
“He was walking really fast down the road and my son stopped me and tapped me and said, ‘I think that’s Jayden,'” Wright told WAGA.
Wright decided to drive Sutton, a classmate of her son’s, to work that day. But as time went on, Wright felt that she needed to take matters into her own hands and help the teenager.
She created a GoFundMe page last month with the sole purpose of raising funds to buy Sutton a new car. The fundraiser, which initially had a goal of $4,000, has now raised more than $7,000.
Wright was eventually able to buy a car for Sutton after she managed to convince the general manager of the Nalley Honda dealership in Union City to drop the price of the vehicle to meet the budget.
“I just want to say thank you. A million times. You don’t understand how much,” the teen told Wright after he was gifted the car, according to WAGA.
Wright documented the moment she gave Sutton his new vehicle on Facebook, sharing a photo of the pair smiling while standing in front of the car.
“Look at Jayden’s amazing smile receiving his new car & keys!,” she wrote in the post. “Just priceless! No more walking seven miles to work after school daily. God said what he said! His beautiful mom was present and we’ve connected on new levels like we’ve known each other for years.”
“Making a difference in this world is truly needed right now!” she added. “I’m overwhelmed in God’s love.”
With a new car in his possession, Sutton shared with WAGA a message for others that are working hard to accomplish a dream or goal that they may have, just like he did.
“If you’re doing something good or trying to reach a goal, keep doing it,” he said. “You might get some help. That’s what happened to me.”
Great to know there are still good people in the world.
