Kayzen Hunter has a breakfast habit of traveling to the Waffle House in Little Rock, Arkansas, with his family, and on those excursions, he developed friends with waitress Devonte Gardner. According to The Blaze, Kayzen’s mother, Vittoria Hunter, her son, and Gardner have been friends for over a year.
“They first met approximately a year ago. Kayzen would accompany my father when he began to travel.” When he got home, he told me how much he liked Devonte,” she added. Devonte, 29, remembers Kayzen’s favorite food.
“Every time he comes in, I always give him a high five because that’s what he expects,” Devonte explained. “He’s a fantastic kid.” “Every time he comes in, he tells me jokes like, ‘Hey, Devonte, I’ve got a joke for you,’ and the next thing you know, we’re laughing,” the waiter stated. Kayzen said he learned a bit more about Devonte’s life when visiting Waffle House with his grandfather, John Donofrio, a few months ago.
“Devonte said he was wondering if anyone knew where he could buy a cheap car—he’d been having trouble saving for one,” Kayzen explained. Devonte, as he and his grandfather discovered, had been walking many miles to and from work each day and was living in a motel room with his wife and two kids. They had to leave a flat that had been plagued with rats and polluted with black mold around eight months before.
“We wanted to find something affordable, so we moved into a low-income area,” Devonte said. “We were just sick of rat and roach infestations and black mold.” My girls were becoming ill. There is no heat or other such things. We had to snuggle up with four or five blankets to be warm when it was chilly outdoors.”
Kayzen was unhappy that his friend had fallen on hard times, so he went home and told his mother about Devonte’s plight, according to the Seattle Times. “He kept saying, ‘We have to start a GoFundMe and help Devonte get a car,'” said Vittoria Hunter. “He didn’t abandon it. He’s a young man with a great heart.”
Kayzen’s mother said she agreed to assist her son in creating a GoFundMe page with the objective of gathering $5,000 for Devonte’s new wheels. “Devonte is one of the most cheerful and upbeat people you’ve ever met!” In the campaign description, Kayzen stated, “He always greets us with the biggest smile.” “I hope your heart is as big as mine and that you will join me in spreading kindness around the world.” “Any amount counts!”
When a local news station found out, contributions poured in, and the fund grew to more than $100,000—enough for a car and a year’s rent for Devonte’s family, she said. Devonte stated that he was taken aback when he realized what his little customer had done. “I started crying—I’d been quietly struggling and didn’t want to ask anybody for anything,” he explained, noting that the majority of his tips are used to cover his family’s $60 per day lodging cost.
Devonte Gardner’s wife, Aissa Shorter, got a job at a nearby McDonald’s, and they worked opposite shifts to care for their kids, Jade, 3, and Amoura, 2. “We had to give up most of our belongings because of the mold, but we’re slowly working our way back,” he explained.
“I enjoy working at Waffle House because I get to make people happy every day,” Devonte continued. “I enjoy meeting new people, especially Kayzen.” It’s incredibly humbling for this small boy to do this out of the goodness of his heart.”