Neighbors Discover 12-Year-Old Boy Fixing The Potholes Along Their Road, His Mom Is 'Not Surprised' By Son's Actions

Aug 01, 2019 by apost team

How often do we see something that needs to be done or is in need of repair in our community and say to ourselves ‘someone’ needs to do ‘something?’ Few ever take the initiative to be that someone to do something.  However, Monte Payne recently decided he’d be that someone to do something about a community problem, and he’s only 12-years-old.

Monte’s mom, Trinell Payne, told CNN News how she frequently hits the dozens of potholes in the street that she and her son live on in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. Payne and Monte’s grandmother both suffered flat tires in the same month, presumably from hitting these potholes. Monte saw a problem, and he decided to act.

"They had a half-day off at school, so he[Monte] was out for the afternoon," Payne said. "He took a shovel and a garbage can full of dirt from our garden and started filling the holes."

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A video was posted on facebook of Monte filling the holes when his mother found out it was her son fixing the road she wasn't surprised at all. He's that type of kid," she said to CNN. "He's always had a big heart, always wanted to help by shoveling snow, raking leaves, going to the grocery store for his grandma." Payne reshared the video and it quickly went viral getting viewed more than 150K times.

Now Monte is being rewarded by his community for his hard work and initiative. According to ABC 13 the mayor's office of Monte's town received letters and gifts entitled to Monte from people all over the country. The home improvement store "Lowe's" also chipped in to show their appreciation of people like Monte. The store gifted Monte landscaping tools like a lawnmower. A Lowe's store employee said to the local news,

"We wanted to make sure not only do we recognize and encourage him but that we recognize his mom in raising such an incredible kid."

 Monte told ABC 13 that he is going to use his new tools to make his neighborhood beautiful and his dream is to start his own landscaping business. 

Did Monte’s story inspire you? Have you witnessed a spark for change in your own community? We’d love to read your thoughts in the comment section. Don’t forget to help keep Monte’s story buzzing by passing it on to friends and family.