Bus driver being bullied by seventh grader wins half a million dollars and chooses to retire.
In 2012, after a video titled ‘Making the Bus Monitor Cry’ went viral, 68-year-old Karen Klein was left devastated. The seventh graders taunted her based on her age & appearance. Shortly after, a kind Ukrainian man named Max Sidorov set up a fundraiser to collect $5,000 so that Karen gets a vacation. Instead, it ends up surpassing half a million dollars, after which she decided to retire. Well deserved!
Karen has been a bus driver and a bus monitor for the past 20 years. And yes, kids could get mean sometimes, as in the case of these four boys in the bus who are generally mean to her. But that day, ‘Things had gone up to a whole another level,’ Karen revealed.
Advertisement
The Youtube video was originally recorded by a student who is always kind to her. While the other mean kids appear determined to make her cry. They began by taunting her on her appearance, then her family.
They would call her a ‘fat-ass,’ threaten to urinate on her house door, and even worse - ejaculate in her mouth or to stab her. One of the kids would even go as far as bringing up her family saying, “They all killed themselves because they didn’t wanna be with you.”
But what they didn’t know was that ten years before, in 2002, Karen lost her son after he had committed suicide. She has also been a widow since 1995 and was party deaf. She would use a hearing aid for that.
Karen attempted to ignore their moves, as she had always done, and chose not to respond. But things went downhill and Karen had to reply, “I know all of your addresses! I’m going to send you all thank-you cards, for being so nice.” The kids didn’t stop at that.
Advertisement
After watching the video, a kind Ukrainian man living in Toronto at the time, named Max Sidorov, took it to reddit, after starting a campaign titled, “Let’s Give Karen The Bus Monitor a Vacation,” on a site called, Indiegogo. The original goal was $5,000 but it quickly went up to $750,000, allowing Karen to do something she never saw coming: to retire.
As for the seventh graders, who were so determined to attain a sense of belonging among their peers, by targeting Karen, they ended up receiving a one year school suspension, plus 50 hours of community service with senior citizens, followed by completing a bullying prevention program.
Contribute or update this story here.
You can subscribe here and never miss another inspiring life-tale!
Our stories are for those days when you’ve lost a little faith in people. These feel-good wholesome stories are here to remind you that kindness still exists, and that small moments can make the biggest difference.
Send story ideas, facts, correction, or kind thoughts to hello@nostalgicgrandma.com
