It's no secret that bullying is an issue in our schools, and it's even less of a secret that kids who are a little bit different are more likely to experience that bullying. Fifth-grader James Willmert has a learning disability, which unfortunately prompted some of his classmates to tease and take advantage of him. Enter Landon, Gus, Jack, Tyler, and Jake — James's classmates and now best friends.

This group of fifth-grade boys (the "James Gang") have completely taken James — a boy who never wanted to go outside and play or participate in activities with classmates because of the teasing — under their wings. They sit with him at lunch, they play with him during recess, they help him with tasks he struggles with — like tying his shoes — and they sit together in class.

His mom is so overjoyed that James has these incredible new friends and says that her son has never been so excited to go to recess or play outside. "They're changing him," she says. The James Gang exceeded her expectations when they used their own money to buy the boy a PlayStation, because he didn't have one. She was completely touched to see that every single one of those boys was smiling from ear to ear when they went over to James's house to give him the games.

The boys were awarded with the "Spirit of Youth" award at their elementary school by their teacher who says of the boys' actions [1], "It really kind of makes you proud to be their teacher."

It's so refreshing to see a story like this about a group of young boys who not only realized that something very wrong was happening, but did the right thing and rose above it. James says, "All of these guys are the best friends anybody could ask for," and we totally agree.