Things are looking up for a 20-year-old Oklahoma man who walks two-and-a-half hours—or eight miles—each way to get to his job as a cook at Buffalo Wild Wings.
On a particularly hot day recently, Michael Lynn drove by Donte Franklin who was on his way to work and offered him a ride. “I was going down 12th Street and I saw him,” Lynn told ABC affiliate KOCO. “I was thinking, ‘Boy it’s a hot day.’ One thing led to another, and I’m finding out he’s [walking to work]… I just couldn’t believe it.”
During the car ride, Lynn found out more about what Franklin has had to go through, particularly since his mom passed away from Hepatitis C when he was 16. “I really don’t care if it gets tiring, I just have to keep pushing,” Franklin told Lynn, adding that “I walk just to make my family proud.”
After meeting Franklin, Lynn posted about his story on Facebook, which caught the attention of Kerri Collins. Collins, the administrator of My Riding Buddies Oklahoma and the charity group Bikers for Elves, was moved by Franklin’s story and gifted him a brand new bicycle.
“Anytime I see something posted concerning anybody anywhere in Oklahoma, I immediately jump in and we do whatever we can do as a group,” she told the outlet. “It just touched me that this man is only 20 years old and is walking to two different jobs with nothing in the heat.”
Not only does Franklin now have a new bike he can take to work, but Lynn also launched a GoFundMe to buy Franklin a car, which has raised over $49,000 at the time of writing. While Franklin is currently studying to be a welder and doesn’t yet have his driver’s license, it’s clear he appreciates the help. “I can really help my family with this,” he told KOKH. “It’s just a really good blessing.”
