A high school principal in North Charleston has taken a third-job in order to help out students and their families who are struggling financially. Henry Darby, who is a high school principal and a county councilman, took a night job at Walmart stocking shelves three nights a week and has donated his wages to those who need it the most.
After learning of his selfless dedication, Walmart has now donated $50,000 to students in need and a separate GoFundMe fundraiser has raised over $120,000.
Darby had not intended to make anyone aware of his new job, donating the money anonymously, but he was soon spotted by students and parents who shopped at the Walmart. He doesn't though feel any shame at working at Walmart. In fact, he feels great pride in that he is going above-and-beyond the call of duty and hopes that his hard work ethic will be a great example to the youngsters at his school.
The area in which Darby works has a high-proportion of individuals living below the poverty line, a fact made worse by the ongoing crisis.
Darby is no stranger to hard work. When he was a youngster, he would visit elderly care facilities where his mother worked and help her out, and while an educator, he has also previously taken jobs at the airport and a factory.
He was elected to the local county council in 2004 and became principal of the school in 2017.
Elizabeth Bowens, the school's parent advocate administrator, said of Darby's hard work:
"His heart is so big. This is his community. He's grown up here, he still lives here. These kids are like his kids."
Darby himself said in an interview with Today:
"The attention, I'm not used to it. I don't think that I've done anything worthy of distinction to warrant the attention. I get a little emotional, because when you've got children you've heard, sleeping under a bridge, or a former student and her child, they're sleeping in a car, or when you go to a parent's house because there's problems and you knock on the door, there are no curtains and you see a mattress on the floor. And these people need — and I wasn't gonna say no. And at my age, you know, we don't ask for money. We just don't. You just go ahead and do what you need to do."
He added:
"I am an optimist. But I'm also a determinist. I know that it's going to get better. I know that these times will not always be with us. I know that my students will not always be in poverty. I know that because that's what we are. America makes it better for everybody."
While US employment has recently risen slightly in the summer of 2020 where as many as 50 million Americans were out of work and millions of families are now facing hunger and eviction as a result of the public health situation and its economic fallout.
[h/t: Positive Outlooks]
COMMENTS