Residents Come Through In East Austin, Raising More Than $80K To Replace Destroyed Bus

EAST AUSTIN, TX — Charitable donations that effect change from ordinary people don't always grab the headlines, such press coverage often reserved for noted philanthropists. Yet random acts of kindness happen every day in neighborhoods across America, people pitching in to help a neighbor in their community in need.

That's what recently happened in East Austin, where people donated enough money individually to collectively raise enough cash to replace a Boys and Girls Club bus that was set on fire in a suspected arson. In less than 72 hours, the community came through to raise more than $80,000 in less than 72 hours to replace the bus, as the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Investigators believe the old bus that was destroyed by fire was the work of an arsonist. Just a week before Christmas, officials at the Boys and Girls Club were left without a vehicle to transport some 100 kids from their three elementary schools to the club's East Austin location at 900 Thompson St.

The community's generosity made it possible for the club to have the bus by in time for the first day of school following winter break. The club offers after-school programs and a meal to students between the ages of six to 18, as the Statesman noted in its report, including help with homework, sports and leadership lessons.

“We’re delighted,” Mark Kiester, the Boys and Girls Club’s chief executive for the Austin area, told the Statesman. “It’s such a wonderful way to start the new year.”

>>> Read the full story at Austin American-Statesman

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