I have never done anything like this before. And probably would never for myself, but I will for my grandson.

We should reward hardworking good kids today. And if you can not give financially then pray for him to be blessed through all of this.

People talk about how bad kids are nowadays. But thankfully, our family got an exception. He has always been a great kid, always thinking of others before himself. He is 16 years old and has been mowing yards for years to save up the money for a truck he knew he would be needing in the future. About a year ago, his parents bought him a beat-up truck that needed lots of work inside and out. But it would be a good way for him to learn all that he would need to know about a boy having his own truck. He had really special people who taught him things and showed him how to do the work himself. He went to auto yards and got things that were broken to replace as cheaply as possible. After his parents bought the initial truck, he paid for everything else himself, one piece at a time, while also being in the AIM Academy Engineering Program at his school outside of Atlanta, GA and being 52 out of his class of almost 500 with a 3.9 GPA.

So, back to the truck. He tore everything out of the inside of the truck and replaced it with used parts that were better than what he had. He worked for months getting all the dents out of the truck and sanding so he could get it painted. Thankfully, he had a neighbor that paints & finishes automobiles for a living. He made him a list of all the tools he would need and showed him how to do every step, also letting him know when he didn't do a good enough job, so he could go back and try again. I felt bad for him probably because he is my first grandchild, and it was hard to see him work so hard on something and miss out on doing fun stuff because he was working on his truck. But everyone just kept telling him that he was learning invaluable life skills and he would appreciate his truck so much more after HE did all the work himself. Well, he did it! Last week, on a break from school, he painted his truck himself, with watchful eyes. Today was the first day for him to drive his truck to school to show all his buddies that hard work really does pay off.

But on the way to school, there was a bad part of the road where the sun shines right in your eyes, and instead of a truck slowing down for that, it stopped completely. With the sun in his eyes, he ran into the back of the truck.

The police said it was really good that he and his sister were both wearing their seat belts. The rest of the family, although devastated for him and all his hard work, knew he felt like all his hard work was for nothing.

It was a thank God moment for them being in the big, solid 1993 Chevrolet Z71 truck instead of the little S10 he had been driving. I am just heartbroken for him and all his hard work, but I really believe there is something amazing coming out of this for him. I have faith!

We are fundraising to help him repair his truck and get back on the road. He is a hardworking, dedicated young man who deserves a break after all his efforts.