Going through life without social support can be incredibly tough, especially for a child.
Kelly Isenberg, a mother from Summerville, South Carolina, knows this all too well and is immensely grateful to one particular school bus driver for being a friend and positive influence on her six-year-old son, Kameron.
To express her gratitude, she wrote a heartfelt letter to the Berkeley County School District.
It was all to honor Charles Frierson, who spreads smiles during every bus ride he gives.
The mom told Good Morning America,
“I just wanted him to know how much we truly, truly appreciate him for everything that he’s done for Kameron, so I figured the best way that I could do that is just to write him a letter.”
His kindness made a huge difference in their lives.
She began her letter writing,
“To whom it may concern from a mother’s perspective. I have always believed angels come when you least expect them. This holds especially true in regard to Mr. Charles, the bus driver of school bus #220 of Berkeley County, SC.”
Kelly described how her son’s move to kindergarten was extremely difficult, and how his poor behavior would get him in trouble on a daily basis.
For months nothing would work, but then Mr. Charles got involved.
The mom explained in her letter:
“After many trial and error reward systems to encourage positive behavior changes, the only effective method was Mr. Charles.”
One day, Kameron’s special ed teacher asked him what reward he wanted to “work for” if he showed positive behavior.
The little boy said he wanted to “see the bus.”
So, after having a good day, the little boy got to go onto the bus before all the other students and hang out with Mr. Charles.
From there, everything changed.
Each day that Kameron was able to show good behavior and follow directions, he’d get to go onto Mr. Charles’ bus 10 minutes earlier than any other kid.
They would chat and have a great time just like two buddies.
Kameron’s unexpected friendship with Frierson helped him have a better school year.
Although other kids might choose different kinds of rewards for their good behavior, for Kameron, getting to spend time with Mr. Charles was all he wanted.
The bus driver would talk with the little boy and even encourage him to accomplish tasks that his teachers wanted him to work on.
But it didn’t stop there.
“Mr. Charles goes above and beyond every day for my son,” the mom wrote in her letter.
“From simple things such as them eating lunch or bringing my son his favorite ice cream for the two of them to eat together, extra treats being slipped into his backpack as he gets off the bus, to bigger things such as taking time out of his weekend to come to my son’s baseball games.”
Mr. Charles cares a lot for his ‘little buddy.’
He told Good Morning America:
“He’s an amazing, bright little 6-year-old that I call ‘my little buddy’ and will always be my little buddy … to know him and to be around [him] is to love him. You’ve gotta love him.”
When he found out about the letter Kameron’s mom wrote, it brought him to tears.
In a Facebook video from the school district, he said:
“Parents like that, Kameron… it’s really motivated me to get up at 4:10 every morning to come to work. I just love the little fella … it’s an honor. His parents thank me, but I thank God that they allowed me to be in Kameron’s life.”
Being a parent isn’t easy, so thank goodness there are kind angels on this earth like Mr. Charles.
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