HAMPTON, Va. — Four year old Aubrey loves playing games on his phone; a nice distraction while he’s riding the school bus to preschool everyday.
Before school started, his mom Alleyse Muse had to walk him to daycare, a 20 minute walk, rain or shine, because she doesn’t have a car. Then, she’d have to walk to her bus stop to catch the bus to work.
“As a mother you do what you have to do and just go for it," said Alleyse.
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But in February of this year, the Hampton mom got a surprise on her walk to Aubrey’s daycare.
“I had been watching this young lady walking in the cold with her child, and everyday I would go by her, I would say what can I do to help," said Sondra Simmons, our Every Day Hero award winner.
Simmons stopped on her way to work to see if there was anything she could do to help.
"She got out the car and introduced herself, and I introduced myself and Aubrey, and she said what can I do to bless you today and I was speechless,” Alleyse said.
And for more than six months until Aubrey was old enough to catch the school bus, Sondra picked the pair up and drove Aubrey to daycare and then took Alleyse back home five days a week.
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“We talk about our day, work, kids," said Alleyse.
Alleyse tells me Aubrey warmed up to Sondra quickly and all three of them became fast friends.
“He would talk to her and smile a little bit, and he would say bye to her," said Alleyse.
We here at News 3 heard about Sondra’s good deeds from her co-workers.
“I’ve gotten to know her during my time here, and she’s very kind and very compassionate, and when she came to me one morning with this story and said I might be running a little late because of this, my heart just melted," said Mary LaCombe, Sondra's supervisor.
So we set out to surprise the lab technician at work at Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital.
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With her supervisor and several coworkers in tow, we found the unsuspecting good Samaritan.
“I’m Beverly from News 3 and we are here to give you an Everyday Hero Award, congratulations!"
“And Southern Bank would like to give you a $300 Visa gift card, for you ma’am, congratulations”
“Thank you thank you, I’m speechless," said Sondra. "I don’t know what to say."
While words can be hard to find, sometimes actions are more important and can change someone’s life for the better.
“I want to say thank you," said Alleyse. "Because she was there for me."
