Gabe Bellus, a Papillion, Nebraska second grader, routinely walked 45 minutes to school and home while accompanied by his mother, Kim. Since she is a student, she cannot afford a car. The pair live two miles from the school, which does not provide bus service to any children living within a four-mile radius.
For Kim, this required four hours of every day spent walking her son to school. While she did not mind the exercise, she worried about how it affected Gabe since he often became tired. Kim also wondered how they would fare in the winter when frigid temperatures arrived.
Local station KMTV interviewed the pair and put the story on the air. Later the same day, a neighbor, Becky Novotny, spotted Kim and Gabe walking along the road and immediately offered them a ride. She then offered to take Gabe back and forth to school each day. Kim was overcome by the neighbor’s generosity as she had tried many times to get help for their situation.
Gabe is enjoying the arrangement because he no longer has to walk a long distance and has more energy for other activities. He has also made a friend in Novotny who has three children of her own.
With the extra time and a guaranteed ride, Gabe is now a Boy Scout.