A school principal in South Carolina is leading by example after he took up a third job to help his struggling school.
Henry Darby of North Charleston is now working overnight shifts at Walmart to help his school and his students.
Darby is the principal at North Charleston High School, where 90% of his students live under the poverty line.
“I get a little emotional, because, um, when you’ve got children you’ve heard, sleeping under a bridge, or a former student and her child, they’re sleeping in a car, or when you go to a parent house because there are problems and you knock on the door, there are no curtains and you see a mattress on the floor,” Darby said.
Principal Henry Darby who is also a city councilman, currently also works from 10 P.M. to 7 A.M. three nights a week stocking shelves at a local Walmart, and gives his salary away to help students towards their bills, food, or tuition, and also helps his teachers.
“I was born and reared here, and I saw the need, and I tell folks that people my age, that we basically do not ask for funds if we were to find a way to procure the dollars ourselves, that’s what we would do,” Darby said. “So when I saw the needs of my students and their parents, I decided not to ask anyone for any dollars, just to accept another job.”
When people and news outlets started noticing Darby’s hard work, it became national news and Walmart gave Darby a $50,000 check to use for his school in recognition of his efforts.
A high school principal in North Charleston, South Carolina has gone viral for taking on an extra overnight job at Walmart to help his students in need. @craigmelvin introduces us to Henry Darby, and Walmart presents a surprise donation of $50,000 to his school. pic.twitter.com/w8WToo9RCa
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 29, 2021
Now several GoFundMe pages have been started to help Darby and his community and one of them has raised more than $100,000 already.
Several of Darby’s students were shocked to see their principal working at the retail giant, “Some of them felt this type of job was beneath me, but I tried to teach my students that all work that is honest is honorable,” he said.
Some of them were so inspired that they have also taken up jobs at Walmart. “It’s beyond comprehension,” he said of the community response to his work. “I never thought this would come into existence … When the word got out, it just exploded. It got to the [newspaper], and I’m just overwhelmed with the kindness of all who have sent in their donations. This is so great that people can come together to help on a common cause to help children.”
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