Everyone in the Montevallo Elementary School knows Wayne Price. He is the school bus driver who regularly picks up kids to school and returns them home safely. Parents trusted him. But how far would this bus driver go to maintain that trust?
In a morning, Montevallo experienced heavy snowing causing black ice on the road. Driving on a highway with black ice can be extremely dangerous.
The authorities had to make sure that the ice on the road melted to ensure the safety of both vehicles and passengers. Orders like this one mean that school time had to be cut short in the morning for two hours until the road is better.
However, Wayne did not get the weather update on time. When the school staff called him, he was done picking up the kids and was en route to school.
A shortened time in school may be good news for many kids but not for kids in Montevallo. Montevallo Elementary School had this program to give free or cheaper breakfasts and lunches to low-income students. Most kids at Montevallo Elementary School come from low-income families. These free meals matter a lot to them.
Getting stuck on the road for two hours would mean delaying their meal and enduring their hunger the whole time.
Wayne Price had felt the students’ hunger and decided to do something about it. Waiting until lunchtime is no mean feat, and he had to do something about it.
He came up with this brilliant plan to go to McDonald’s and buy a breakfast sandwich for the 50 students inside his bus, including himself.
“When I got to the McDonald’s, I asked the manager, ‘Can you turn around 50 biscuits in 15 minutes and can you give me as good of a deal as possible?'” he shared during an interview.
Ready to share the goodies, Wayne Price went out of Mcdonald’s and distributed the sandwiches so that everyone could have a free breakfast.
“I just love my kids. I got a lot of fist bumps, lots of high-fives, lots of ‘Love you, Mr. Price,’ lots of ‘Thank you, Mr. Price.'”
Price’s kindness impressed Allison Campbell, the Montevallo Elementary Principal.
“For a lot of students that means that they won’t get to eat. It speaks volumes to [Price’s] character that he was attuned to that,” she said.
The school also could not contain their excitement after learning about Wayne Price’s good deeds. The staff narrated the heart-warming tale on their Facebook page and got thousands of likes and shares.
“What a kind act that our students will forever remember!” they wrote.