Single Dad Walks 11 Miles To Work Gets New Car From Coworkers
Can you imagine getting up every day, heading out to work by midnight for a job that actually starts at 4 a.m. This was the case for 21-year-old Trenton Lewis who walked almost 11 miles each day to his new job at the UPS Center in Little Rock, Arkansas.
That was until the determined UPS employee's co-workers came together to surprise him with his first car. Coworkers said, Lewis would wake up in the middle of the night and begin his five-and-a-half-mile trek one way to work on foot by midnight in order to arrive on time each day by 4 a.m. He never missed a shift. He was never late.
Lewis told KARK 4, "I don't want to miss work at all." He also explained the driving force behind his motivation to do whatever it took to get to work each day.
"I wanted to be with my daughter, to be able to support her. I wanted to be a father," Lewis said.
Lewis tried to keep his secret of walking to work from his coworkers, but you know every place has that "Mama Pat". And when Patricia Bryant (Mama Pat) found out, she joined forces with her husband, both having worked for UPS for 40 years, and they decided to do something about it. Patricia Bryant's husband, Kenneth Bryant said:
"For a young person to decide in their mind 'if I don't have a ride, if I can't get a ride, then I'll walk. If a guy can do that, we can pitch in to help."
Like any good "Mama Pat" would, Bryant alongside her husband shared Trenton's story with other co-workers and received donations from various generous givers at UPS. It wouldn't be long before the UPS crew had collected almost $2K. With the money, they were able to purchase the determined, young father with a 2006 Saturn Ion.
See the heartfelt video of Trenton Lewis's story:
Not surprising at all, the first thing Trenton did in his new ride was take his 14-month-old daughter out to get something to eat.
Everything about this story feels so good and is so refreshing! Not only does it remind you that there are indeed still great people out there in the world, but there are also loving, caring and determined fathers out there willing to do whatever it takes to be a great dad to there children. With that said, it also cancels out (for me) any and all excuses for anyone who allows their circumstance to define their outcome in life. Trenton gives a whole new meaning to "Going the extra step of the mile away."