This elementary school in North Carolina decided to surprise their custodian after he didn’t win a state award.
Raymond Brown is the head of the custodians at the White Oak school in Edenton. And, people in the school know that he does so much more than just help keep the school clean.
The principal Michelle Newsome said that he’s their rock, the foundation of what they’re doing in the school.
Why Is Raymond Brown an Important Person for this School?
Mr. Brown, explains the principal, works really hard and tries to build strong relationships with the students and most importantly, sincere ones.
One of these students is Amos who has autism and can’t talk. Brown said how his heart went out for this boy and remembers him since in pampers when he first met him.
He keeps on showing his love for him. So, they’ve grown very close and Brown even nicknamed him the ‘Famous Amos’.
And, now, every other kid in the school knows him by this name.
From a small boy who didn’t really talk with anybody to becoming a popular figure in their school, Mr. Brown is given a lot of credit for it, says his mom, Adrian Wood.
Everybody adores the boy and showers him with attention and even find him to be cool. Although he might not be the type of friend who plays or talks, kids somehow gravitated towards him.
Wood explains that as a mother of a child with disability, this is all she wants in life for him.
What Happened so that Brown Needed Help?
When Brown didn’t win the Hero Award, Wood rallied the community through her blog to donate for another award to give it to him. And, it was very successful-all it remained at the moment was to tell the news to Brown.
They reached out to his daughter.
She told her dad there was a party to celebrate his 38th wedding anniversary and met before lunch so she can photograph him. When he came, he was in for a big surprise.
A big crowd from the community was cheering him on.
And, if that wasn’t a shock enough, Wood also gave Brown the Famous Amos Award, as she called it, and a check to $35K. He couldn’t believe it at first.
He was so thankful and said how he’s going to use this money to buy food for the staff and treat all of the children in the school with an ice cream party.
And, he’ll use the remaining funds to finish some work on his home and maybe invest in a new truck.
Despite the donation he received, he says he’s going to keep working as a leading role in the school and mentor children, showing them what kindness and compassion can do.
He added that some of the children told him that they wished he was their father or grandfather and this has made him love them even more.
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