The Political Insider

A few days ago, the Detroit Free Press wrote an article on the long, car-less commute James Robertson has made for the last decade – and the reaction to it has been incredible!

According to CNN:

The 56-year-old Detroit man walks 21 miles every weekday as part of his journey to and from the factory where he works.

“I never thought anything I did would garner this much attention,” Robertson said.

Robertson takes the bus some of the way, but for the past decade, ever since his car broke down, he has trudged the better part of a marathon each workday. Rain, snow or shine.

After reading about Robertson’s commute in a Detroit Free Press article from over the weekend, college student Evan Leedy was moved. Like Robertson, the 19-year-old lives and works in two counties, so he spends a great deal of time commuting himself. But Leedy has a car.

Leedy decided to set up an online fundraiser to buy Robertson a new car.

“My first car cost $3,000,” Leedy said, “So I set the goal at $5,000. Within an hour, we’d raised $2,000.”

As of the morning of February 5th, 2015, $300,000 – and counting – has been raised and when you read about Robertson, it’s not hard to understand why.

Although hundreds of thousands of dollars are coming his way, Robertson maintains his amazing work ethic and community spirit:

The donations mean that Robertson’s mode of transportation will likely soon be changing, and without the long commute, he’ll probably be getting a lot more sleep. But he loves where he works, so he has no plans to change much else.

“I can’t imagine not working,” Robertson said. “It’s what I’ve always done.”

Robertson, in his message, said he never expected as much support as he has received. He encouraged people to look out for one another.

“If this story will touch at least one person and inspire them to do something out of the goodness of their heart, I will be the happiest person alive,” he said.

James Robertson’s attitude towards life is an inspiration. In his honor, go out and make somebody’s day a little brighter today! :-)