A Georgia teen who walks 7 miles to work from school and back home has just been gifted with a new car by a woman in his neighborhood. Jayden Sutton has been trekking for months and on one of his commutes, he caught the attention of Lavonda Wright who gave him a lift to work that day, leading to her mobilizing funds to eventually buy him the car.
Sutton, a high school senior from Cobb, commutes each day from his high school to his job at a restaurant. On one such trip, Wright spotted him on Brownsville Road in Powder Springs heading to work.
“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.
She willingly took her son’s classmate, Sutton, to school that day but the journey left an unsettling within her and she knew she had to do something to help the teenager who walks to save up money to buy himself a car because his mother was recently laid off and her car was totaled 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.”
He usually gets out of school around 3.30 pm, according to WAGA, and walks miles to his job for a six to eight-hour shift. Sutton then makes his way back home on foot and sometimes gets to his destination as late as midnight.
Wright took matters into her own hands to help Sutton by setting up a GoFundMe page with the sole purpose of raising $4,000 to help purchase a car for the teenager. Surprisingly, the page exceeded its goals with donations pouring through and made over $7,000.
Sutton’s dream of owning a car became a reality when Wright, after raising the money, managed to convince the general manager of the Nalley Honda dealership in Union City to meet her budget and beat down the price.
“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.
He added that it is okay to keep working hard to achieve one’s dream as help may eventually come as it did for him. “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.”
Wright shared the touching moment on Facebook and wrote an emotional caption to go with it because she believes everyone should lend a helping hand to people since that is what the world needs now amid the COVID-19.
“Look at Jayden’s amazing smile receiving his new car & keys!
“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.”
