While some people refuse to work, there are others that are willing to do whatever it takes to keep their job. This is the story of one woman who literally walked several miles just to keep her job (and pay her bills). Saying things were difficult for her doesn’t even do her story justice.
She got a job but had to walk a massive distance to work and back. Then, a Sergeant with Nash County police noticed her daily struggles. He stopped her on the street, and her life changed forever. This Nash County police officer left her in tears, but things didn’t stop there.
This story reached news networks around the world, and it’s something that instilled hope back in this local woman’s heart. It honestly leaves you questioning: what would you do to keep your lights on? Would you walk miles in the rain, sleet, or shine?
Would you do that if you knew you were working a minimum wage job? The answer some people give will honestly shock you and let me tell you—this woman certainly had some answers that left us slack-jawed. We’ve certainly never heard of a story like this before.
While many would say Jaylesya Corbett was like any other working person, we’re going to argue that she’s so much more than that. In order to provide for her family and to pay the bills that kept rolling in, she needed to get a job. She began applying at every place she could.
One of those places was Bojangles. This particular Bojangles was over six miles away from her home, but they were the first ones to call her and offer a job. Jaylesya wasn’t picky. She immediately said yes to the job, but the biggest caveat? She didn’t own a car. She would have to walk six miles a day to work, and then another six miles back.
Would you walk six miles to work? In rain, sleet, or shine? This humble, hardworking woman didn’t miss a day. She wanted to keep the lights on, and her fridge stocked with food for her children. With worn shoes, she made this trek daily only to stand on her feet for another eight hours.
It really makes our daily work routine pale in comparison. Because she worked the morning shift, that meant she was getting up in the cold North Carolina mornings at 3 AM to make her long journey to work. Jaylesya tried to prepare by buying a nice pair of shoes, but those wore out quickly after walking 12 miles a day, every day. They also didn’t protect her from the blisters.
While there were cars out, one person, in particular, noticed her long, long walk each day she was scheduled. One morning, Jaylesya was on her morning walk and a police officer rolled up next to her. He told her to get in the vehicle. Of course, we can’t ignore the elephant in the room.
Jaylesya is an African American woman, and African Americans and law enforcement don’t exactly get along. Naturally, she was nervous. Jaylesya kept her head down as the cruiser glided alongside her. Finally, he stopped her.
The officer began to ask her a series of questions like what she was doing. Jaylesya’s heart must have been racing as he investigated her. They began to talk, and the officer realized she spent two hours every day just walking to work and then another two hours just to get home after a long day.
The officer introduced himself as Sergeant Scott Bass. Jaylesya surely asked herself if she could trust him. Being overwhelmed, she got into his cruiser. He revealed he had been watching her for months prior, and he wanted to help her. So, he began driving her to work when he could.
Sergeant Bass was impressed by her work ethic, and he was more than happy to give her a ride whenever he could. That wasn’t all, however. He also asked anyone that was passing by to give her a quick little ride. Something that took minutes to them took her two hours per day.
The pair began to form a friendship that lasted a year and a half. They chatted on the way to work, and she finally got some well-deserved rest. When asked why she walked so far, she answered, “God gave us legs, so that’s one way of transportation.” She did what she had to do.
Sergeant Bass didn’t stop there. He got in contact with a local Walmart and explained the story. He told them how she walked in the pouring rain and in the sweltering heat just to provide for her family. So, the managers at Walmart wanted to do what they could to help her.
The Nash County Walmart donated a new bicycle so she could turn her two hours walk into a 30-minute to an hour bike ride! That certainly improved her outlook on life. Soon, this story began to spread like wildfire through the media and other people began to take notice.
The manager at her store realized her long walk and wanted to help her out a little more. It had become a running joke that some people would call in while Jaylesya would happily walk half a marathon every day just to stand on her feet for eight to nine more hours.
He would say things to those who called in saying they had no ride but “Jaylesya will come get ya, but you’ll be walking!” Thankfully, she got more than a few jokes. Seeing her dedication, management gave her a promotion and a raise at another store – hopefully closer. That made the bike ride a little better.
Jaylesya’s story continued to spread, and it eventually made its way to the Steve Harvey show. There, he interviewed her and asked how she was getting on with her bicycle. Turns out, she didn’t know how to ride a bike! That’s almost a little comedic.
Steve asked her, “How’s the bike workin’ out for you?” Jaylesya didn’t miss a beat but shyly responded, “It’s working out. I’m still trying to learn how to ride it without wobbling or falling off of it.” That being said, she’s as determined to learn (especially since it saves her a lot of walking time).
Steve Harvey just couldn’t let her continue to fall off her bike, so he decided to really hook her up with something even better. While on the show, he said that he was going to give her $5,000. At that point, Jaylesya was absolutely speechless. Her eyes grew wide, and she looked a little tearful.
Then Steve goes, “And that’s not all. I reached out to some friends at Capitol Ford in Rocky Mount, North Carolina...so they wanna make sure you never have to walk in the rain again. So, they’re giving you a brand new 2018 Ford Fiesta SE!” At that point, Jaylesya did begin to cry and embraced Sergeant Bass, who was thanking Steve for the gift.
After this story went viral, other numerous stories have been released about acts of kindness including the story of Walter Carr. He was an Alabama student who got a job at Bellhops Moving Company, but he had to walk to work as well. He’d lost his home due to Hurricane Katrina and his car broke down.
Walter had to walk 20 miles to work, meaning he had to leave at midnight to be at work on time. Like Jaylesya, an officer noticed his plight and pulled over to ask a few questions. Walter explained his situation, and the officer wanted to help in any way they could.
The officer’s name this time was Pelham. The news got back to Walter’s boss, who wanted to do what she could. She stated how Carr is a “humble and kind young man, and cheerful. And most of all, hardworking and tough.” Walter’s response? “This was the first job I had been hired for in a long time, and so I wanted to show them I have a lot of dedication.”
Much like Jaylesya, Bellhops CEO Luke Marklin got involved and wanted to thank Walter for his intense dedication. He gave him a brand-new Ford Escape as an award for his commitment to the company and the job. This just goes to show that hard work and dedication can sometimes take you a long way.
