Jayne Arendt-Verhelst is known as "the happy driver" for her cheerful demeanor.
Last Friday, a homeless woman got in front of the bus and waved her arms. Jayne stopped the bus and opened the door and asked if she was OK. The woman said she needed to get to Cedar St. That's about 20 blocks from where she was. Jayne said as luck would have it her bus route goes right by there. Jayne said she would pay her fare for her and invited her on. As the woman boarded Jayne noticed the woman didn't have any shoes on. She paid the fare and then started driving, but kept thinking about the shoeless woman. At the next stop she asked the lady to come forward. Fox 9 reports spoke with another passenger Sarah Seldon who saw the incident from the back of the bus, Sarah thought the woman might be asked to leave. Instead she overwhelmed with Jayne’s next generous act.
When the woman got to the front of the bus Jayne took off her Sketchers and said "I'm sure they're a bit big on you" (Jayne wears a size 10 and the woman wears 7) but I'm hoping they'll protect your feet till you can get some shoes that fit."
Having experienced homelessness herself, Sarah recognized the significant impact such kindness could have on someone's life and shared the story on social media. That post led to an outpouring of praise for Jayne, which led to the local media coverage. Jayne, however, didn’t expect the attention her act would bring and, at first, she was worried she might get in trouble for her occasional bending of the rules, for goodness sake. Instead, she’s been getting some light-hearted ribbing from her coworkers, who now ask her at the end of the day if she still has her shoes on.