LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A small act of kindness by a Kentucky school bus driver made all the difference in the world for a first-grader.
According to a news release from Jefferson County Public Schools, Larry Farrish Jr. gifted Levi Carrier, 6, a set of pajamas to wear during Pajama Day at Engelhard Elementary School in Louisville.
On Feb. 9, Farrish said that Carrier, normally a happy child, was crying and feeling down, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported. The bus driver learned that the boy did not have pajamas to participate in his school’s special dress-up day, according to the newspaper.
“It hurt me so bad,” Farrish said, according to the school district. “That just wasn’t my Levi, and I wanted him to have a good day. No child should have to miss out on something as small as pajama day.”
After completing his route, Farrish went to a nearby Family Dollar store and bought several sets in different sizes, the Courier-Journal reported.
He returned to the school to drop them off, according to WLKY-TV.
“I saw Levi coming down the hall, and he had a face just as happy as could be,” Farrish told school officials. “It really turned the whole Friday around, for him and for me.”
Carrier agreed wholeheartedly.
“I can tell Mr. Larry is nice and his heart is filled with joy,” Carrier said. “I’m usually really happy, but not on pajama day … When he got me the pajamas, I did a happy cry.”
Farrish said that school bus drivers can make a big difference for children, and while he was not seeking publicity -- he rarely goes on social media -- he was glad to help out and has been touched by the response, calling it “overwhelming” and “touching.”
“A lot of times, we’re the first person after their parents leave that they see, and we’re the last person they see before they go home, so we can make a big difference in a child’s life just by saying good morning,” Farrish said. “They become my kids after they leave their parents.
“I make sure they get to and from school safe, but I also try to bring some type of joy to their lives.”
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