Be sure to reach the end of this article to see the full video!

Anyone who works for a school has a responsibility to ensure that children are given the best possible opportunities. Curtis Jenkins, who is a bus driver for Lake Highlands Elementary, knows this.

Curtis Jenkins has always considered his school bus driving job to be important.

Some may consider a school bus driver to be a very small cog in a machine. But not Jenkins. Instead, he sees it as an opportunity to brighten up the kids’ days.

For twice a day, five times a week, Jenkins is able to spend a little time talking to the children.

“He goes way beyond the outlined responsibilities and duties of a bus driver. I mean, that bus is like a family.” – Emily Grunninger, Principal, Lake Highlands Elementary.

Before the children board Jenkins’s bus, he assigns them a role, such as police officer and administrative assistant. He then speaks on the megaphone, telling the kids to look out for each other and everybody.

It sounds simple, but it’s an important lesson in community building.

And on top of that, Jenkins also gives the kids presents to show how much he admires them.

And he picks the gifts based on the individual child. For instance, if a child likes baseball, then he gets them baseball stuff! And once, he got a t-shirt made for a girl, with the picture on the shirt being one she had drawn herself.

And it goes much further than this. Jenkins has given the lucky kids bikes, backpacks and more. The cost of these gifts has run into the thousands of dollars.

But the kids themselves love Jenkins much more than the gifts (although they are incredibly grateful for them!)

“He helps anyone in need. My mom got divorced when I was only four. He’s the father that I always wanted. In some ways, I wish my dad could have been like that.” – Ethan Ingle, sixth-grader, Lake Highlands Elementary.

CBS Evening News filmed a segment on Jenkins. And everyone loved what he was doing for the kids. In fact, the story moved one viewer so much that he decided to contact the school to offer Jenkins a reward.

So the school organized a special event for Jenkins. They presented him with a brand new car.

Jenkins had never asked for a reward. He was helping the kids because he was a good person. But he was still incredibly humbled over the generosity.

The school also promoted Jenkins. In addition to driving buses, they wanted to pay him much more more to teach others how to have amazing student relationships. So soon, many other people will be able to enrich children’s lives in the way that Jenkins has.

A report of Jenkins’s kindness to the kids and his own rewards then appeared on YouTube.

In no time at all, it went viral. Within weeks, the video had gained over one million views. It also had 46,000 likes and 2,700 comments. People have been saying things like this:

Jenkins has really shown why it’s important to inspire others, no matter your job.

It would have been perfectly fine for Jenkins to have just driven the kids to school and back without saying a word. But instead, he has made all of the kids’ lives better. Hopefully, many others will follow in his footsteps.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: CBS Evening News