Last September, California police officer Kirk Keffer made a routine pedestrian stop when he spotted an African American teen walking alone late at night on a deserted, industrial street.
While someone else may have assumed the boy was up to no good, Keffer simply asked where he was headed and learned that 19-year-old Jourdan Duncan was just doing what he did every night. “Walking home, sir,” Duncan explained. “It takes me a little over two hours one way.”
Keffer couldn’t believe Duncan walked over four hours every day just to get to work and back, and offered Duncan a ride home. During the seven-mile ride, Keffer learned that Duncan was working so hard to help his parents and save money for college so that he could one day become a California Highway Patrol Officer. “I just had to shake his hand when he got out of the car,” Keffer said. “I told him I admired his work ethic and there was nothing he couldn’t accomplish.”
Keffer was still stunned by the 19-year-old work ethic and told his coworkers about the experience. A few days later, Keffer and other officers chipped in and surprised Keffer with a new $500 bike to make his commute a little easier. While Duncan was overwhelmed by their generous gift, Keffer wanted to do more for the boy and started a GoFundMe campaign to fix his car. But when the initial $5,000 goal was reached within days, Keffer decided to raise the goal to $50,000 so that they could help Duncan achieve his dream of going to school.
So far, more than $47,500 has been raised for Duncan, who was able to start taking classes at Solano Community College. “I still can’t believe any of this. Everything he’s done for me has been life-changing,” Duncan said about Keffer, who he calls his friend and mentor. “We’re not all about crime and punishment,” Keffer said. “We’re out there to improve the quality of life whenever we can.”
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[Featured image: Benicia Police Department]
Cops Raise Thousands For Hardworking Teen So He Can Go To College is an article from: LifeDaily