Current:Home > reviewsA Minnesota boy learned his bus driver had cancer. Then he raised $1,000 to help her. -FinanceMind
A Minnesota boy learned his bus driver had cancer. Then he raised $1,000 to help her.
View
Date:2025-04-12 19:24:19
Heidi Carston has spent the past decade bussing children safely to and from school in Minnesota.
That all changed in December when she was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic gastric cancer. Carston had to tell her students that she wouldn't see them for a while because of health issues.
One boy just knew he had to help.
“When she announced it on the bus, I was sad,” 11-year-old Noah Webber told USA TODAY on Wednesday. “I was shocked … I didn't just want to stand there and watch it happen and not do anything.”
After chatting with his family, Noah decided to organize a bake sale in Carston's honor and ended up raising $1,000 for her.
Noah's small act of kindness turned out to be a big deal for Carston.
Putting the bake sale together
Noah, a sixth-grader at Black Hawk Middle School in the Twin Cities suburb of Eagen, first met Carston at the beginning of the school year.
Months later when Carston realized she would need to undergo chemotherapy and wouldn't be able to work, she said she just knew she had to tell her students why she wouldn't be on the bus for a while.
“They're accustomed to the same driver every day,” she said. “They become accustomed to your habits, your style, and I just didn't want them wondering 'What happened to Ms. Heidi?'"
After Noah told his family about what his bus driver was going through, the Webbers baked up a storm, making muffins and banana bread, and then posting about the baked goods on a neighborhood app. Noah's mom also told her co-workers about it, and another bus driver posted about the sale on an app for bus drivers.
They presented the money and gifts to Carston shortly after Christmas. The gifts included flowers, candy and a blanket.
“I was just blown away,” Carston told USA TODAY on Wednesday. “I just couldn't even believe it, that he had such a kind heart to be able to even come up with this idea.”
She said she was "overwhelmed by his love and all of the students on all of my routes for giving me gifts ... (It was) very, very touching.”
Boy’s community is proud of him for helping bus driver in need
Noah said he was excited and happy to help his bus driver, who he described as kind and “super friendly.”
His father, Mike Webber, said he “couldn’t be more proud” of his son.
The boy’s act of kindness is just further proof that bus drivers are needed and valued, said Allyson Garin, a spokesperson for Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan Public Schools.
“They're these unsung heroes … the first face our kids see in the morning and the last face they see,” she said. “It was just exciting to see the district come together as a whole, including Noah and his fundraiser, with all these amazing things.”
His school principal, Anne Kusch, said his actions embody the school’s philosophy: Calm. Kind. Safe.
“We’re super proud of Noah here and excited to see what else he’s going to do in the next two and a half years that he’s with us,” Kusch said.
Bus driver is undergoing chemo, hoping for the best
Carston said that her diagnosis came too late for stomach removal surgery, an extensive procedure that involves a long recovery, she told USA TODAY.
Doctors are hoping that her body will respond well to chemotherapy but they won’t know for several more weeks.
Her family has started a GoFundMe where people can donate to help her. It had raised just over $5,000 by Wednesday evening.
veryGood! (421)
Related
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Iran seizes oil tanker in Gulf of Oman that was recently at center of standoff with U.S.
- Top Western envoys review Ukraine peace formula to end Russia’s war as Zelenskyy plans Davos visit
- Want to watch Dolphins vs. Chiefs NFL playoff game? You'll need Peacock for that. Here's why.
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- C.J. Stroud becomes youngest QB in NFL history to win playoff game as Texans trounce Browns
- How long does a hangover last? Here's what you need to know.
- A Georgia family was about to lose insurance for teen's cancer battle. Then they got help.
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- Supreme Court to hear case on Starbucks' firing of pro-union baristas
Ranking
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- Bills-Steelers playoff game moved to Monday amid forecast for dangerous winter weather
- A Japanese domestic flight returns to airport with crack on a cockpit window. No injuries reported.
- In Iowa, GOP presidential candidates concerned about impact of freezing temperatures on caucus turnout
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- Tisa Farrow, 1970s actress who became a nurse, dies at 72, sister Mia Farrow says
- How Rozzie Bound Co-Op in Massachusetts builds community one book at a time
- Senior Pakistani politician meets reclusive Taliban supreme leader in Afghanistan
Recommendation
A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
How Lions' last NFL playoff win and ultra-rare triumph shaped one USA TODAY reporter
2023 was officially the hottest year ever. These charts show just how warm it was — and why it's so dangerous.
MILAN FASHION PHOTOS: Simon Cracker’s upcycled looks are harmonized with dyeing. K-Way pops color
2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
‘Mean Girls’ takes 1st place at the box office. So fetch.
A royal first: Australia celebrates Princess Mary’s historic rise to be queen consort in Denmark
SAG Awards nominations for 2024 announced: See the full list of nominees