Garbagemen Brighten Biggest Little Special-Needs Fan’s Day with Backpack Full of Goodies

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What is it about those garbage truck drivers that is so special to kids? Perhaps it’s the big, noisy trucks, colored like a rainbow at times. Whatever the reason, it seems that kids are enchanted by them.

Such is the case for young Evan Brenneman, from Plainfield, Indiana, who announces it’s trash day to his parents excitedly every week. Evan suffers from a condition known as Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting development and growth.

“He seriously came in at 3 this morning and yelled “Tur-day! Garbage truck! ORANGE!” He loves this big orange truck and the big-hearted guys who drive it ???? Thank you James Bullock,” wrote Evan’s mom, Natalie, on her Facebook page.

“We can hear it coming down the road, so he would run to the window and watch it,” she said, reports the IndyStar.

Evan’s fascination with the sanitation truck had been growing. Then, something exciting happened.

“One day, James popped out and said, ‘Hey do you want to come see the truck?’” Natalie recalled.

Ray’s Trash Service truck driver James Bullock had already struck up a friendship with little Evan, and on Dec. 13, 2018, he turned up to collect the trash and also give the little boy a few surprises.

After the two exchanged hugs, he handed Evan a backpack emblazoned with their logo, “Ray’s Trash Service,” announcing to the boy he was now officially part of Ray’s team.

He then delved into the backpack to reveal some hidden treasures, such as a special shirt, a bright-orange cap, a beanie, stickers, and a miniature rubbish bin. Evan was delighted as Bullock presented each item to him, and his smile was enough to light up a somewhat cold morning.

Natalie videoed the exchange and shared it on Facebook, thanking Ray’s team for their kindness towards Evan, saying it made his “favorite day of the week even better!”

Evan had recently had a birthday party as he was about to turn 3, and the Bullock family were there to help celebrate.

“It was so funny, because Evan was just thrilled that he was there. He was his favorite party guest,” Brenneman said.

“Oh my gosh, my heart bursts every time,” she said. “... I know he’s in the middle of his work day and probably wants to get it done quickly, but he stops and talks to Evan. He always gets down on his level, looks him in the eye, gives him a hug, offers him a high-five.”

“It’s just so great that he pauses to talk with us and to spend a little time with Evan.”

Workers from Ray’s Trash Service in Johnson County, Indiana, had been making an impression on another youngster. This time, it was an 11-year-old girl from Greenwood.

Hope Parker was born with half a heart, and she is unable to speak due to a stroke she suffered in open-heart surgery. She has endured around 20 heart surgeries.

“She has been critically ill and we are living in the bonus round and we are aware of that, so we do not take anything for granted,” said Jennifer, the girl’s mom, to WTHR.

The crew on the truck, Dylan and Tim O’Conner, had noticed the little girl’s excitement when they did the rounds, and wanted to do something special for her.

“We get a lot of kids that come out and watch us but not like her she comes out waves, says hi. It makes our day just 10 times brighter,” said Tim O’Conner.

“I asked her mom when was her birthday, so we could get her something nice,” said Dylan O'Conner.

At the end of the week, they delivered on their word.

“I was overwhelmed. I was completely overwhelmed, I was having trouble speaking because I just felt so blessed,” Jennifer said.

And Hope is sure to remember that day the garbage team stopped with kindness to celebrate her milestone.

Tim O’Conner summed it up with a few words:

“She was overwhelmed. That was probably the happiest kid I have ever seen,” he said.

“It all goes back to what my mother told me. Treat others the way you want to be treated, the way you would treat your family,” Dylan told Fox59.

And the kindness of the duo didn’t go unnoticed, with Fox 59 and Community Health Network awarding Tim and Dylan with the February Fox 59 Community Hero of the Month Award.