New Zealand truck drivers got together to give a little boy who loves trucks and his birthday to remember.
Ollie Johnson, who lives in Hamilton on the North Island and is seven years old, will turn eight on Sunday. More than 35 trucks and semi-trailers will show up to surprise him.
Katherine wrote on a local Facebook page that she would pay a truck driver $50 to just drive her son around the block on his birthday.
“A little boy needs a truck driver to help him. He doesn’t have any friends, so he can’t ask anyone to his party. Her post said, “He’s a great boy, and we’re wondering if there are any truck drivers who could take him for a walk around the block.”
Ms. Johnson said that since her post, 35 truck drivers have offered to join “Ollie’s Convoy,” which is now so big that it needs police protection.
She told Daily Mail Australia, “Ollie is in pretty bad shape and misses a lot of school.”
I just wanted one driver to give him a short ride as a birthday surprise, and I offered to pay them $50 as a favour.
“It has now blown up completely. People from the North Island and the South Island are giving gifts, cakes, and food for the truck drivers to bring to Ollie.
Ms Johnson said that the post really took off when trucking boss Barry Hart, who owns the shipping company Hart Haulage, shared it.
Mr. Hart offered his own fleet of trucks for the birthday treat and has asked dozens of drivers to join “Ollie’s Convoy.”
Ms. Johnson said, “He doesn’t like to see kids go hungry.”
So he tried to jump over us. Now, everybody wants to be his friend.
At 10:30 a.m., all of the drivers in the convoy will meet at the petrol station in Waitomo. Then, one truck will go to Ollie’s house to pick him up.
The birthday boy will then join the rest of the group and drive 10 minutes to the Hart Haulage yard, where donated food and cake will be waiting.
Ms. Johnson said that her son’s story had become so famous in New Zealand that people on the street could recognise Ollie from the TV.
She is surprised that the surprise hasn’t been ruined, even though she heard about it on the radio while driving with her son earlier this week.
“He looked at me and said, ‘That’s a lucky little boy, Mummy,'” she said.
“New Zealand’s community and kindness have blown me away.”
Paula Southgate, the mayor of Hamilton, wrote that this kind act by a company in Hamilton “warmed my heart.”
This week, Hart Haulage put out a call for truck drivers in the area.
A post on their Facebook page said, “I’d like to help set up a convoy for a young man who turns 8 on Sunday, July 9.”
“When he talks to his family, he says that he loves cars but feels like he’s all alone in the world.
So, we got together with a lot of our friends in the business world to try to make Ollie’s birthday one to remember.
The post got a lot of likes and a lot of offers from truckers in the area.
“Wow, Hart Haulage! This is the best of what people are! One woman wrote, “At a time when there’s so much sad news, this is heartwarming.”
“You all did a great job, and you deserve success in your businesses because you made Ollie’s day so special.”