Co-Workers, Strangers Buy Car For Woman Walking 24 Miles For Job

SPARTANSBURG, SC — Every workday for three months, 60-year-old Darlene Quinn walked 12 miles — through rain, cold or whatever the weather delivered that day — so she could clock in around 4 in the morning for her job as a FedEx package handler in Spartansburg, South Carolina. She did her work, then began the 12-mile walk back home.

The transmission had gone out of Quinn’s only car. The radiator went on the fritz, too. Her feet, powered by determination, were her only means to get to her job so she could support herself. She walked to Walmart for groceries, too, her short shopping list including only a few items she could carry home. She worked overtime so she could replace the car, but building up her savings was taking time.

Josh Lewis, one of Quinn'sFedEx coworkers, and his boss, Mark McDaniel, gave her a lift anytime they saw her trudging along Wade Hampton Boulevard and Highway 14. She was grateful and humble and often offered Lewis and McDaniel gas money for going out of her way to take her where she needed to go.

No, they politely said, refusing her offer.

Something had to change, the men decided. They secretly organized a GoFundMe campaign to buy Quinn a new car and asked their other co-workers to chip in.

“Honestly I admire her!” Lewis wrote on the crowdfunding page. “I can't even begin to imagine having to walk that far, then work at a very physically demanding job, then turn around and walk 12 miles back home.

“So here is my question to everyone, would you help me to raise enough money to buy Ms. Darlene a car? Will you come beside Ms. Darlene to show her what the hands and feet of God really means? Will you help to show Darlene that there really are good people in this world, in our community, and in our places of work? Will you help Darlene to get a vehicle before the tough winter weather really sets in?”

Quinn’s co-workers responded generously, raising enough money to buy her a reliable used car. They raised at least $8,245 on GoFundMe, and at least $1,100 in cash. One anonymous donor handed Lewis 10 $100 bills.

“I just want you to know, there’s a lot of people in this community that love you and care about you,” Lewis said when he told Quinn what her coworkers had done. “You have inspired so many of us to do great things, about going to work, supporting ourselves and doing what we have to do.

“So me and about 100 folks got together, and we raised enough money to buy that car for cash, and we’re going to give you that car,” he said, talking over Quinn’s tears, “because we love you, and you’re awesome.”

Support for Quinn doesn’t end there. A couple of locally owned automotive businesses are chipping in with free oil changes and tire service as needed, the Greenville News reported. In the true spirit of charity, the businesses asked to remain anonymous.

Quinn didn’t want to be interviewed by the media, but told Lewis he could speak for her.

“She said that she would love to thank all of you individually, but she knew that it’s probably not possible to do that,” Lewis wrote on Facebook, where he posted a thank-you card from Quinn. “She said the words in this card express how she feels deep in her heart.”

It reads: “Gifts of thoughtfulness and caring are kept forever in the memory of the heart. Finding words to thank you isn’t easy, but perhaps these heartfelt words will help to show your thoughtfulness will always be remembered, with more gratitude than you could ever know.”

She signed it: “Love, Darlene.”

Her humble gratitude was a sweet contagion.

“The smile and joy that have been bubbling out of her the past few days have been so worth everything that was done for her,” Lewis wrote. “Thank you again for the blessing you have been to me and Darlene.”

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