KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Park Hill High School students stepped up to show a campus staff member how much he means to them by holding a fundraiser for him.
This staff member is using the money in a way that will in turn help his students.
“Even when I’m out in public and everything, and I’m with my grandchildren, and the kids come up and say ‘hey Bob, how you doing?’ it really makes my head swell, and they’ll say, ‘papa, you’re more popular than the President,’” said Bob Boone, the Campus Supervisor at Park Hill High School.
“Bob’s just such a jolly guy, everyone here really appreciates him, and we just wanted to show that,” said Tate Cleveland, a student.
“Every day I walk by him, he greets me every time, fist bump, ‘Hunter, how’s it going?’” added Hunter Jenkins, another student.
Cleveland and Jenkins are seniors at Park Hill High School.
They started a fundraiser for Boone — the school’s campus supervisor of six years –to say thank you for all he does, and show him what he means to the school.
“It’s the nicest job I’ve ever had. This is kind of my calling, my wife told me,” Boone said.
“Initially I started with the idea of $150 on the GoFundMe, and he bumped it up to $200, and I thought, ‘oh, we might be able to make it,'” Cleveland said.
“We reached five times that in 36 hours,” Jenkins said.
They planned on getting him an AMC gift card, but after word spread, and students, previous students, parents, and people from all over donated, they raised much more.
“I think it’s wonderful. It’s tear-jerking,” Boone said.
Today, the students presented Boone with his check.
Students say Boone says hello to every student and knows everyone by name.
“Talks to everybody, loves everybody, everybody loves him,” Cleveland said.
“I just enjoy the kids. They keep me young,” Boone laughed.
But Boone isn’t keeping the money for himself. He’s donating money to Park Hill Community Alliance for Youth.
“I think it’s really important, mainly to our senior class, because we’ve lost three students in our course, and so it really means a lot to us, because it can help prevent a lot more in the future here,” Jenkins said. “You have things happen every day in the background, people who are bullied, picked on, and they need something to lift up their spirits, and Bob has a way of doing that every day.”
“I’m just tickled to death, and it’s tear-jerking for the kids to do this for me, and I’m very appreciative,” Boone said.
Boone said he’s thankful for everyone who donated, and he’ll be sticking around for a while.
