School Bus Driver Buys Hats And Gloves For All The Kids On His Route

John Lunceford noticed kids on his bus route needed cold weather gear

A bus driver bought hats and gloves for all the kids on his route who needed them after one little boy was shivering on a frigid morning. And while some are calling John Lunceford a hero, the U.S. Army veteran said he was just doing his job.

Lunceford pulled up to one of the bus stops on his route and noticed a little boy shivering. His hands and ears had turned red, too. The weather in their town – Kennewick, Washington – ranges from two to 38 degrees this time of year. “I put my gloves on him and told him ‘it’ll be okay, it’ll be okay,'” explained Lunceford, according to a Facebook post by the Kennewick School District. “The student was crying when he boarded John Lunceford’s bus,” the statement said.

This is Lunceford’s third year driving buses for the school district. He told officials he couldn’t shake the image of the little boy shivering in the cold so he headed to a nearby dollar store and purchased a bunch of hats and gloves for the children on his route. “I’m a grandfather, you know,” Lunceford shared. “No one wants a kid to suffer like that.” He grabbed 10 hats and 10 sets of gloves in black and pink and headed back to the school to find the boy.

“He didn’t know the student’s name so [we] had an administrator help track him down,” school officials reported. “They found the boy in the library with his class and Lunceford handed a hat and pair of gloves to him.” The bus driver then told the students in the library that if they were on his route and needed supplies for the cold weather he had them covered. “There was a little girl who said ‘I don’t have a hat,’ and I said ‘I’ll take care of you, sweetie,’” Lunceford shared.

When the school district shared Lunceford’s photo and story on its Facebook page, it quickly went viral. “Thank you for your continued service Mr. Lunceford,” one Facebook user commented. The school district has so much positive feedback on the story that it updated the post with information on how people could donate to those same students Lunceford helped stay warm. “If everyone looked out for the needs of others like this man did the world would be so different,” another Facebook user wrote. If you’d like to donate to the kids, you can do so here. Plus, your donation (up to $500) will be matched.