Current:Home > Contact-usMan returns to college after "random acts of kindness" from CBS News viewers-LoTradeCoin
Man returns to college after "random acts of kindness" from CBS News viewers
View Date:2024-12-24 00:14:24
Working at a vehicle inspection site in Katy, Texas, was never part of Jaylan Gray's plan. He'd dreamed of being a park ranger but had to quit college and give up on that dream after his mother died and his little brother, Julian, became his sole priority.
"He's my reason," Gray said when he spoke to CBS News last year. "From that day on, I swore - at all costs - I'm protecting him."
But things soon went from bad to unbearable.
Their mother had left the brothers her house, but when the big freeze hit Texas in 2021, the pipes burst and ruined everything. The contractor Gray hired to fix it took their life savings, leaving the boys to live with their last surviving relative.
Soon, a non-profit called Katy Responds caught wind of their situation. The group fixes up houses after natural disasters, and have helped more than a hundred families. Few seemed more worthy than the Gray brothers.
Ron Peters said the group felt they "had to" help the boys, saying their situation "breaks your heart."
"They had no idea people would want to jump in and help them," Peters said.
Gray said he was "overwhelmed" by the support from the group. Thanks to an army of donors and volunteers, their home was fixed up.
Since their story was first told last year, things have only gotten better for the boys. Viewers pitched in and are now paying for Gray to go back to college, "all expenses paid," to become a park ranger. It's a "complete 180" from their prior situation, Gray said.
"Just random acts of kindness, helping me get there," he said.
- In:
- College
- Texas
Steve Hartman has been a CBS News correspondent since 1998, having served as a part-time correspondent for the previous two years.
veryGood! (65276)
Related
- Georgia lawmaker proposes new gun safety policies after school shooting
- Judge orders Oregon newspaper not to publish documents linked to Nike lawsuit
- Gypsy Rose Blanchard Debuts New Look One Month After Prison Release
- Light It Up With This Gift Guide Inspired by Sarah J. Maas’ Universe
- Gerry Faust, the former head football coach at Notre Dame, has died at 89
- US Navy crisis: Standard drops to allow recruits without high school diplomas
- Better Call Saul's Bob Odenkirk Shocked to Learn He's Related to King Charles III
- UN agency confirms 119.8 degrees reading in Sicily two years ago as Europe’s record high temperature
- Sofia Richie Reveals 5-Month-Old Daughter Eloise Has a Real Phone
- Fellini’s muse and Italian film icon Sandra Milo dies at 90
Ranking
- Massachusetts lawmakers to consider a soccer stadium for the New England Revolution
- Teenager Valieva disqualified in Olympic doping case. Russians set to lose team gold to US
- ICC prosecutor: There are grounds to believe Sudan’s warring sides are committing crimes in Darfur
- The mothers of two teenage boys killed as they left a Chicago high school struggle with loss
- Here's what 3 toys were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame this year
- When a white supremacist threatened an Iraqi DEI coordinator in Maine, he fled the state
- Georgia’s prime minister steps down to prepare for national elections this fall
- X curbs searches for Taylor Swift following viral sexually explicit AI images
Recommendation
-
DWTS’ Sasha Farber and Jenn Tran Prove They're Closer Than Ever Amid Romance Rumors
-
One Life to Live Actress Amanda Davies Dead at 42
-
EU moves slowly toward using profits from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine
-
COP28 Left a Vacuum California Leaders Aim to Fill
-
Missing Ole Miss student declared legally dead as trial for man accused in his death looms
-
US Steel agrees to $42M in improvements and fines over air pollution violations after 2018 fire
-
Police say Minnesota man dressed as delivery driver in home invasion turned triple homicide
-
Ukraine’s strikes on targets inside Russia hurt Putin’s efforts to show the war isn’t hitting home