Eight-year-old Kayzen Hunter is a regular at his local Waffle House in Little Rock, Arkansas. He goes with his grandpa and sometimes with his whole family. And his favorite waiter is Devonte Gardner.
“It was about a year ago when they met. My dad started going and Kayzen would go with him. When he came home, he talked about Devonte and how much he liked him,” Kayzen’s mom Vittoria Hunter told the press
“Every time he comes in, I always give him a high five because that’s what he expects,” Gardner said.
The waiter has memorized Kayzen’s usual order — scrambled eggs with cheese, no toast, hash browns covered with cheese, and an Arnold Palmer.
“He’s a wonderful kid. He tells me jokes every time he comes in, like, ‘Hey, Devonte, I got a joke for you,’ and the next thing you know, we’re laughing,” he adds.
Kaizen’s mom says the family got to know Gardner better over time, learning about his wife, Aissa, and daughters 3-year-old Jade and 2-year-old Amoura.
“As we started to go more and more and we met Devonte, we realized he’s just really a light in the world,” Hunter says.
“It got to the point where we always would sit in his section,” she adds. “Every time we go in, he’s so smiley, he’s always like, ‘Hey, Kayzen, how are you?’”
Then Kaizen learned that Gardner and his family were living in a hotel because their apartment had so many issues, and he also did not have a car to drive to work.
“We wanted to find something affordable, so we moved into a low-income area,” Gardner says. “We just got tired of infestations with rats and roaches and all this black mold. My daughters were getting sick. No heat and things like that. When it was cold outside, we had to bundle up with like four or five blankets in order to stay warm.”
“It was just horrible,” Gardner says, adding that he and his family have been living in a motel for the past eight months.
Kayzen decided he wanted to help his friend.
“He came home and told me that, ‘Hey, Mom, Devonte walks or gets a ride to work and I’m gonna start a GoFundMe.’”
With his mom’s help, Kayzen aimed to raise a modest amount of $500 for Gardner. They posted the GoFundMe titled “Help Devonte get a family car” on Feb. 18.
“Hi, my name is Kayzen, I am 8 years old,” reads the GoFundMe description. “Devonte is a hard-working dad with two little girls and a wife. He is a dedicated worker and has to walk or get a ride to get to work every day.”
Kayzen then explains that Gardner was looking for a decently priced car and that the Hunter family wants to get Gardner’s family into a clean rental property.
“Devonte is one of the most joyous and positive people you’ve ever met!! He always greets us with the biggest smile,” Kayzen wrote. “I hope your heart is as BIG as mine and you will help me spread kindness in the world. Any amount helps!!”
The GoFundMe account started slow, but as more attention came to it, the amount — and the goal — has skyrocketed to over $100,000 as of publication.
