A New York teenager has been rewarded with both a car and a college scholarship after he spent more than 10 hours cleaning up his hometown of Buffalo after a protest. Antonio Gwynn Jr. got a broom and trash bags and began cleaning the city’s streets at about 2 a.m. on Monday, June 1 and didn’t stop until about noon. What an awesome guy!
- Antonio Gwynn Jr. is a pretty incredible high school senior. The 18-year-old told CNN that he’d seen on the news that Bailey Avenue was full of glass, garbage, and other debris from the protest that had been staged there. Knowing that many people traveled down that road in order to get to work, he decided to take matters into his own hands and get out there.
- Members of his community were stunned. When an organized cleanup group comprised of Buffalo residents arrived later on Monday to see what needed to be done, they were shocked to realize that there wasn’t much left because Gwynn Jr. had already gotten to most of it.
- He’s being rewarded in a big way. As word of Antonio’s amazing work spread throughout the local community, offers to repay his thoughtfulness and hard work came pouring in. Local resident Matt Block, 27, gave Gwynn Jr. his 2004 Mustang Convertable after seeing that the younger man had been asking for car buying advice on Facebook. Gwynn Jr.’s mom also drove the same car before her death in 2018, so the gesture was especially meaningful. Local businessman Bob Briceland, who owns an insurance company, offered him free car insurance for a year.
- Antonio Gwynn Jr. won’t be paying for college either. While he originally planned to go to trade school while he saved for college, he won’t have to now. Medaille College in Buffalo has offered Antonio a full scholarship and he plans to study business when he begins his degree this fall. One day, he hopes to own his own cleaning business.
- While this is an amazing gesture, it’s not the only one he’s ever made. In fact, Gwynn Jr. is a member of Kappa Phi and regularly takes part in community service efforts. However, he’s incredibly grateful for all the kind gestures he’s received from his community. “I appreciate everything everyone is doing for me,” he said.
