Bus Driver Goes Out of His Way to Build a Ramp For a Girl in a Wheelchair on His Route

Tom Mitchell is a mechanic for his local school district, but also picks up a few bus routes from time to time. While driving a special needs route a couple months ago, Mitchell noticed that one of the girls in a wheelchair on the route had to be brought down a few steps by her mother each morning.

Although they appeared to have detachable metal ramps set up, Mitchell could see how hard it was for the girl's mom to maneuver the chair on the landing in front of the door and felt that the ramps looked unsafe. He knew that he had to do something to help this family out, so he made a few phone calls and made some real-life magic happen.

"He wanted to do something to help this family out and to make sure they had a safer ramp and one that would make going up and down safer and easier for both mom and daughter," said Mitchell's wife, Jennifer, in a post to Facebook. "After making some phone calls and discussing his ideas with some of his coworkers, Anthony Puckett and Mike Greene, they came up with a plan."

After getting a local Lowes to pull some strings and donate all of the wood needed to make the ramp, Mitchell and his co-workers went over to the family's house on a Sunday morning and built a new deck with a ramp "on their own time, with their own tools, and all out of the kindness of their own hearts." In her Facebook post, Jennifer shared a video of photos showing the process, the lovely finished product, and the excited faces of both the girl and her mother.

"I know these guys didn't do it for a pat on the back or for any recognition whatsoever, but I can't help but feel proud to be married to such a kindhearted and giving man!" Jennifer said. "He noticed someone who could've used some help, and without being asked, he did something about it! . . . In a world where so much hate is being spread around, I just wanted to share that there are still good people out there, doing good deeds, and that humanity still exists!!!"