MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis mail carrier was injured in a hit and run accident and hasn’t been able to work for months. Now, she’s getting some help thanks to a kind neighbor who’s passing it on.
There’s a lot of activity in this quaint neighborhood near Midtown. This is where we find Mr. Wayne Stanfill.
“I’m on Lyndale Avenue in Memphis and this is Mr. Stanfill. How are you doing sir?” Tim asked.
“Doing great,” he said. “91 years old?” Tim asked. “Jim Jaggers has nothing on you because you still ride a bike. How many miles do you ride?
“About six or seven miles,” Mr. Wayne said. “I used to ride further than that but i’ve slowed down a little bit.”
Mr. Wayne is also a veteran and has lived in the same house since 1964.
In his spare time, he helps out neighbors and he just happens to know one neighbor who could use some Pass It On help.
“She had an accident and a number of things that have caused to her to not be able to work,” Mr. Wayne told Tim.
Mr. Wayne’s neighbor, Keesha Allen, was involved in a hit and run accident. She’s been out of work since May.
“And as a neighbor, I’ve been knowing her for quite a number of years,” Mr. Wayne said. “She has three small children, ages five to nine that she’s trying to raise as widow.”
Sounds like this neighbor could use some help.
“I have got ten Benjamin Franklin’s here,” Tim said. “Three hundred from News Channel 3 and seven hundred from our anonymous donors. Do you think that will help? Yes, it certainly will. It’ll be a life saver.”
Mr. Wayne and I walk across the street. He knows this neighborhood very well.
“So, how many yards did you say you were mowing on this street?” Tim asked.
“At one time was doing twenty one yards on this street,” Mr. Wayne said.
That’s when he was in his mid 80s! Moments later, we knock on Keesha’s door.
“On behalf of News Channel 3, we’re here as a neighbor to lend a helping hand,” Tim said.
Mr. Wayne counts out the money, “five, six, seven, that’s one thousand dollars.
“Wow…Thank you,” Keesha said.
Time for a hug.
“And I hope it’s the answer to some of your problems,” Mr. Wayne said.
Keesha’s problems started on her first day as mail carrier for the Post Office.
“On the first day someone hit the mail truck and left. It was like a hit and run,” Keesha told us. “From there I was supposed to be going to therapy. I haven’t been. I’ve just been sitting here at home. It took them forever to pay me and so I’ve just been without income for like a couple of months.”
Fortunately, Keesha has a neighbor like Mr. Wayne looking out for her.
“Mr. Wayne is 90 years old and still cutting grass, Keesha said “[He’s still] taking people to church.”
And he’s helping out with Pass It On. At 91 years of age, Mr. Wayne is still going strong.
We caught him weed-eating a neighbor’s yard after we finished this story.