Young man who walked miles to work now drives after police raise cash
(FOX)- A 19-year-old man in California who walked miles to and from work saw his life change in the span of just a few weeks, after police helped raise money to buy him a bicycle — and eventually, a car.
Jourdan Duncan’s commute to work was like no other. Every morning he would walk from his parents’ house in Vallejo, Calif. to his job in Benecia to Vallejo, Calif. – a whopping seven-mile trek. It would take him two hours each way, Fox 2 reported.
Last September, Duncan caught the attention of a Benecia police officer, who spotted him walking along an industrial road. “It was kind of weird to see someone walking around on foot,” Cpl. Kirk Keffer told The Washington Post.
Keffer stopped Duncan and gave him a ride home, learning his story along the way.
Duncan had just graduated from high school and had a job at Pro-Form Laboratories, where he worked in a packaging line from 3 p.m. until around midnight. He was saving up for college and to fix his broken-down car.
Inspired by the young man’s story, Keffer approached his police department and the Benicia Police Officers’ Association and together they surprised Duncan with a new bike for him to use.
But the officers didn’t stop there. They started a GoFundMe campaign to raise some money for Duncan to fix his car.
The inspirational story went viral. The campaign raised more than $42,000 in four months.
With the money, Duncan purchased a used Volkswagen Passat for $2,900 and put the rest in the bank. He has also started taking classes at Solano Community College so that he can following in the footsteps of some of his relatives and become a California Highway Patrol Officer.