School bus driver Larry Farrish Jr. is known in his community for going above and beyond. Now he’s touching the hearts of strangers after an act of kindness went viral.
Farrish Jr., who drives buses in Louisville, Kentucky, recently noticed a little boy named Levi was having a rough morning.
“Normally when I pull up, he’s standing there waiting for me with a big smile, but on this day, he was sitting on the ground with a jacket over his head,” Farrish Jr., 35, tells TODAY.com. “I asked him, ‘Hey buddy, what’s going on? What’s wrong?’”
That’s when Levi, a first grader at Engelhard Elementary School, explained through tears that he didn’t have pajamas for Pajama Day. Farrish Jr. closed the doors, and watched as Levi slid into a seat away from his friends.
Farrish Jr. says knowing that Levi wanted to participate but couldn’t, filled him with sadness.
“I thought, ‘I gotta fix this,” Farrish Jr. says.
After Farrish Jr. finished up his morning routes, he headed to a Family Dollar store and purchased two pairs of pajamas for Levi. Then he headed over to Levi’s school to make things right.
“I said, ‘You were hurting this morning, you were crying, so I got you these pajamas,” Farrish Jr. recalls. “He was so excited — you should’ve seen how his face lit up.”
Farrish Jr. adds that Levi hugged the pajamas to his chest.
Mr. Larry, as the kids call him, turned Levi’s whole day around.
“I can tell Mr. Larry is nice and his heart is filled with joy,” Levi said in a news release. “When he got me the pajamas, I did a happy cry.”
Farrish Jr., who previously worked as a correctional officer and a truck driver, says he’s found his calling.
“I’ve been driving buses for seven years. It’s my passion because I get to build bonds with the children,” he says. “I truly love every minute of it.”
After Jefferson County Public Schools posted on its Facebook what Farrish Jr. did for Levi, people started sharing their own stories.
“Mr. Larry is the absolute best. We were blessed with him as our bus driver for 4 years. Top notch human,” one person wrote.
Added another, “Larry is the absolute best and kiddos know they are in great, caring, capable hands with him!!!