All aboard! A 10-year-old spreads love of trains to 84 kids Olean, N.Y.
The only thing that Jon Thomas “J.T.” Robertson, 10, loves more than trains is talking about trains. For Make A Difference Day, he shared that love with 84 disadvantaged children who otherwise couldn’t afford to ride one. “There are thousands – billions! – of kids who love trains as much as me,” he says. “But with the cost of everything going up, they can’t get that great experience.”
So he and his 6-year-old pal, Josh Tsujimoto, collected 14,000 cans – including more than 1,000 by canvassing with Josh’s red wagon – and recycled them to raise nearly $1,000. That was enough to treat 84 kids and their adult chaperones to a two-hour trip on the nearby historical Arcade and Attica Railroad.
“Next year,” says Linda Kempf, railroad general manager, “he wants to sell out the whole train!”
$10,000 Make A Difference Day grant donated by Paul Newman creates volunteer opportunities for young people via the United Way of Cattaraugus County, Olean, N.Y