Pay it forward
Published 7:00 am Wednesday, February 4, 2015
It’s almost 8 a.m. and rush hour traffic is threatening to make you late for work again. While it may seem like the end of the world, imagine commuting to work on foot.
James Robertson walks 21 miles every day to get to and from work. In an article in Time magazine, Robertson’s journey has garnered national attention as well as a GoFundMe campaign that has so far raised more than $130,000.
For the last ten years, Robertson’s daily journey to work has been anything but a yellow brick road. Not only has Robertson had to endure harsh winter weather and passing through notoriously dangerous neighborhoods like 8-mile in Detroit, the 56-year-old runs on just two hours of sleep, considering how long it takes for him to get home after work.
According to the magazine article, Robertson can’t afford a car with his minimum-wage salary and the bus route doesn’t cover the entire distance from his home to his job.
After seeing Robertson’s story in the Detroit Free Press, a college student paid it forward by starting a GoFundMe campaign to raise money so Robertson could afford a car, according to Detroit Free Press.
I can’t begin to imagine how exhausting it must be to walk to work every day. Especially since Robertson not only had to walk to work, but his factory job required him to be on his feet all day.
A story like this makes me not only appreciate my car, but it also makes me see that there are still good people in the world.
The college student took time out of his busy schedule to help a stranger. As a result, hundreds of people joined in and donated to the cause to help one man.
Nowadays, it seems like the world is moving so fast that we can’t even stop for one second and lend a helping hand to someone in need. But we must make time, because that person in need could be us one day.
While it looks like Robertson won’t need to walk to work for very much longer, there’s no doubt that he’ll be paying it forward someday.