After hearing about a young child’s long walk to school, a neighbor reached out and helped.
Being a mother and a full-time student are two important jobs that would be difficult for anyone to juggle. For Kim Bellus, balancing school and motherhood became even more of a challenge when she realized she had to walk 4 miles twice a day just so her son could make it to school.
Kim’s son, Gabe Bellus, attends the second grade at Carriage Hill Elementary School – a school known for “empowering students” so that they can be successful in and outside of school.
Unfortunately, in order for Gabe to get to school, he had to walk 2 miles in the mornings and afternoons every day.
The Papillon La Vista Community Schools district regulations do not allow buses to pick up students that live within 2 miles of the school. Because of these rules and because Kim does not have a car, this meant that she had no choice but to walk Gabe the 2 miles to school.
As for Gabe, the 2-mile trek to school was not ideal. The early-morning walk took away a lot of his energy upon arriving to school. Then, after a long day at school, the already-exhausted child would have to endure the 2-mile walk again. Not to mention that as the school year went on and once the temperature dropped, the two would have to continue their long walks in even colder weather.
But with the circumstances surrounding them, it seemed that there were no other options for Kim and Gabe.
As the story of Kim and Gabe began circulating in the news, more and more people started hearing about their story and the struggles they were facing. It was their news story that actually led to a solution to their troubles.
One day, as Kim and Gabe were walking their normal route home from school, a car unexpectedly pulled up.
The driver was Becky Novotny – a parent of another child who attends Carriage Hill Elementary School. Becky explained to Kim and Gabe that she drives to and from Carriage Hill every day so she can take her own children to school. The two mothers set up a new schedule where Becky would pick up Gabe in the mornings to take him to school, pick him up from school in the afternoons, and drop him off at home.
Just like that, Gabe now has a ride to school!
You don’t see random acts of kindness like this every day. So, where does Becky’s sympathy come from? She is a stay-at-home mother with three children, so she understands the struggle that Kim and Gabe faced. She decided to reach out and take control of the situation and display kindness that she hopes would be displayed toward her if she were in Kim’s shoes.
Becky saw a fellow mother in need and decided to take it upon herself to help.
Becky’s kindness has not gone without effect. Now that she drives Gabe to and from school, he has better opportunities during and after school. KMTV reported that Gabe has more energy for school now that he does not have to start and end his day with such a long walk. He also seized the opportunity to join the Boy Scouts and even has a ride to meetings.
This story shows that the smallest acts of kindness and sympathy can have the most incredibly important effects.
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