New York Teenager Rewarded With A College Scholarship After Spending Hours Cleaning Up After A Protest

Antonio Gwynn Jr. is an 18-year-old high school senior from Buffalo, New York. Last week, he decided to take it upon himself to clean up the streets of his community that had endured damage from recent protests, spending around 10 hours cleaning and picking up trash. As a result of his efforts, he was awarded a college scholarship and a new car, according to CNN.

Gwynn Jr. told the publication that he saw a local news report describing Bailey Avenue in Buffalo as covered with glass and other debris. He said he knew people going to work in the morning would need to use that street for their commute, which would have been difficult with all the garbage there. Thus, he set off early Monday morning — armed with trash bags and a broom — to begin his work. He started at 2:00 a.m. and continued working by himself for ten hours.

The next morning, an organized group of volunteers showed up ready to help clean up the street. When they arrived, they were amazed to find that Gwynn Jr. had already done most of what was needed.

Word of Gwynn Jr.’s actions began to spread around the community, who responded with gratitude. A 27-year-old man named Matt Block said he wanted to do something special for the teenager. He told CNN that he saw Gwynn Jr.’s request for advice for buying a car on Facebook. Block stated he had a 2004 red Mustang convertible that he was only using occasionally, so he gifted it to the young man. Bob Briceland, a local businessman, heard of Block’s gift and decided to offer Gwynn Jr. an entire year of free car insurance.

“I just felt compelled to help him out. We just need to get together our whole city and show people how there’s so many good people here,” Briceland said of his decision.

But the kindness didn’t stop there. Medaille College in Buffalo also caught wind of Gwynn Jr.’s story. Upon learning that the teenager had planned to go to trade school first in order to save up for college, they decided to offer him a full scholarship. The teenager will now be heading to the college in the fall, where he plans to study business and perhaps one day open up a cleaning company of his own.

“I appreciate everything everyone is doing for me,” he said of the response he has gotten for his gesture of kindness.

As The Inquisitr previously reported, the protests that have been going on throughout the nation over the past week are in response to the death of George Floyd. Floyd was an African American man who died at the hands of Minneapolis, Minnesota police.