Fall River Teens Warm the Hearts of Neighborhood During Snow Storm

While many students were thrilled to have a snow day on Tuesday, two teens from Fall River saw an opportunity to make a few extra bucks and help out their community.

As a nor'easter whipped through the area, 15-year-old Jaylin Small and 15-year-old Gabriel bundled up and set out to shovel as many driveways as possible, not only to raise a few bucks but to also help out their community during a fierce storm.

Get our free mobile app

Jaylin’s mother, Maneisha Jenkins, was so proud to see the initiative her son took on Tuesday.

“I’m so proud of him; I feel like he is truly an entrepreneur,” she said.

Jenkins gushed over her son's loving personality and that hat he is becoming a little businessman. She expects Jaylin to hit the pavement for the next storm as he looks to raise money for a new pair of sneakers.

Jenkins said the two boys were out shoveling for over six hours and managed to raise around $170.

Allissa Viveiros lives a few houses down from the boys and hers was one of the homes that the boys helped on that snowy day. She was blown away by their kind hearts and entrepreneurial spirit.

“I swear I have never, ever met more respectful teenage boys in my life,” she said. “I provided them a ride to another house to shovel so they could continue to help the community while making money.”

That’s not all. Viveiros was so happy to see young kids working hard, she invited them in for dinner, dried their clothes, provided some new ones and even helped them finish the job.

Jaylin and Gabriel opened up to Viveiros that they were raising money for new sneakers, but truthfully, it was much more meaningful than that.

"They explained to me that their parents do the best they can but they don’t like asking for much as they have siblings that need it more than they do," Viveiros said. "I know Gabe was saying that they moved here not long ago and he is trying to make Mom proud. ... That pulled my heartstrings."

While Jaylin and Gabriel’s main goal was to raise money for sneakers, they also proved that the stereotype surrounding Gen-Z may be way off.

People are quick to say that kids these days don’t know the meaning of hard work, but these Fall River teens prove otherwise.