Last April, Camaradière’s best English concentration teacher, Jean-Sébastien Gagnon, brought a group of students to New York City. Most of the students were acting like typical tourists.
The travellers were in Secondary Three, Four and Five, which equals the 9th (Freshman), 10th (Sophomore), and 11th (Junior) grades. The ones that stood out the most were the freshman students, mainly a student named Jacob Gagné.
It wasn’t Jacob’s first visit to the Big Apple, so he had already done most of the activities that were planned. Jacob had seen New York’s poverty before, and he felt terrible because he hadn’t contributed or helped make things better. This time it would be different. He came prepared.
It didn’t take long for this generous individual to purchase a case of water bottles and distribute them to homeless people. He also provided some with food, such as granola bars and sandwiches, purchased near Columbus Circle. He never gave them direct money. When asked why, he responded with a heartwarming answer. Here is his answer: “I never give them money directly because I don’t want them to buy cigarettes with the money. I want them to eat and be healthier.”
The hero was also having conversations with some of the locals, and the majority were very friendly. He also paid for a man’s meal because his card was declined.
Jacob was cracking the funniest jokes on the bus, making everyone laugh, even the teachers, and he was rocking the parties at the hotels. The kids invited the bus driver to eat with them because the driver was eating alone, and they found him friendly.
In the end, Jacob wanted to tip the bus driver, Steeve, so he took a shoebox and started walking around the bus, asking people if they wanted to contribute to the tip for Steeve. He initially thought he would receive $ 1 or $ 2 per person, but instead, he got a whopping $300. Jacob was one of the students who gave the most money to Steeve by tipping above $30.
After all of this, he was asked why he did this act of pure generosity. He responded with a very elegant and philosophical answer: “I did this out of my pure mind because homeless people don’t deserve this terrible life. They, in fact, need some essentials like water, food, and love.”
