Five Boys Befriend Bullied Classmate And Step Up For Him

Feb 24, 2020 by apost team

Every day, countless kids quietly endure their bullying classmates. For young James Willmert, being bullied was an everyday event. He grew so fearful of his classmates that he refused to attend recess.

That was until five classmates of his, Jake Burgess, Gus Gartzke, Jack Premble, Tyler Jones and Landon Kopishcke, realized that was not right and took matters into their own hands. 

James was was diagnosed with a learning disability in his earlier years. So making friends at Franklin Elementary School in Mankato, Minnesota was difficult for James until a few concerned classmates stepped in.

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Jake Burgess, Gus Gartzke, Jack Premble, Tyler Jones and Landon Kopishcke were tired of seeing their defenseless classmate suffer at the hands of bullies. Fifth-grader Jake told Valley News, "They were like, using him and taking advantage of him."  Jack adds, "Because he’s easier to pick on, and it’s just not right."

The worried boys coaxed James to join them at the school’s lunch table. Before long, they'd included him in touch football.

“He used to not want to go out for recess or anything,” said James’ mom, Margi Willmert to Valley News. “Now he can barely eat his lunch to get outside to play with those guys.”

As their friendship deepened, James started playing video games with his buddies. When the boys discovered that James didn’t own a video game system, they decided to buy him one. Each boy chipped in as much as he could and asked their parents to provide the rest.

The day the boys brought the video game system to him Margi said to the news outlet, "Every one of them was smiling like crazy, I'll never forget it. Never."

Before long, the story of The James Gang won the notice of news outlets. Their school awarded the five boys with its Spirit of Youth Award. However, the boys disagree with needing to be recognized with Jake saying, "He's an awesome kid to hang out with." 

As for James, he told Valley News, "All these guys are the best friends anybody could ask for."

Being a bullied kid is hard. If you know someone like James, let them know there are young people out there who truly care about people like them. Spread the news of the boys' heartwarming story with your friends and family. Tell us what you think about their actions below.