Jerome Edmond is one happy man today, no longer having to endure a 2.5 hour commute each way — three buses and a three-mile walk —to complete his education at a technology school. That's thanks to the generosity of a businessman who bought the 34-year-old retired Army veteran a brand new Lincoln.
Two news stories provided impetus for Patrick Henry, head of Patrick Henry Creative Promotions, to pay it forward to Edmond. The Houston Chronicle wrote of Edmond's five-days-a-week transportation challenge in this article. That caught Henry's eye just as did the nationwide story about Houston tutor and mentor Kenny Thompson who paid the overdue lunch bills for 60 students at Valley Oaks Elementary so that they could have hot meals.
"Our company had a good year in 2013 and I thought it would be nice to share it with someone like Jerome. We are rooting for him!”
"I was touched by the fact that Jerome was a veteran and could not get a car yet did not let that stand in the way of going to school even though it meant a two-and-a-half-hour commute each day," Henry emailed. "I admired that he took care of his mother. Our company had a good year in 2013 and I thought it would be nice to share it with someone like Jerome. We are rooting for him!”
According to the Chronicle article, Edmond travels some 20 miles each way, five days a week, from his home to the MIAT Institute of Technology where he will graduate this summer.
To help Edmond along in his journey, the Patrick Henry team pitched in with a $300 gasoline gift card.
This is not the first time that Patrick Henry Creative Promotions has lent a helping hand. In December, the team hosted a holiday party for 63 wounded veterans and their families.
Jerome Edmond is one happy fellow in his new Mercury.
