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Hazelwood teen who paid off student lunch debts receives special surprise

KIFI

By Melanie Johnson

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    WATERLOO, Illinois (KMOV) — The Hazelwood teen who has gone viral for paying off lunch debts for students at his elementary school has received a special gift for his generosity.

ā€œIā€™m trying not to cry,ā€ says 14-year-old, DeJuan Strickland. ā€œI know all those kids are going to be really happy because of this.ā€

After watching News 4, resident Yolanda Duncan reached out and wanted to give DeJuan a token of appreciation for his selfless work.

On Thursday, Duncan surprised DeJuan with a personal check to match the donation he gave to McCurdy Elementary to clear the negative meal balances at McCurdy Elementary.

ā€œYou paid off the studentā€™s lunch debt and I wanted to give it back to you,ā€ said Duncan. ā€œI just wanted to reward positivity.ā€

DeJuan first told News 4 the fuel behind his Tech Boy Lunch Initiative came from his own experience of going hungry at the lunch table in 4th grade.

ā€œIā€™m really thankful and grateful to everyone who did donate because it really will help make a change at Hazelwood School District and when we continue this more at all schools,ā€ Strickland says.

ā€œIā€™ve never had that challenge in my life. If I didnā€™t eat, it was because I didnā€™t want to eat. So, I said this is a positive Black boy doing something good in the community,ā€ Duncan says.

News 4 decided to dig deeper into local school food insecurity problems and find out how much money students owe in other districts.

In the Parkway School District, students owe a combined $54,000.

In Rockwood, student meal debt is over $18,000 and in Clayton the negative balance is just over 4,000 dollars.

ā€œI am only one person but when everyone starts coming together and starts doing this too, it will spark some change,ā€ says Strickland.

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Article Topic Follows: CNN - Regional

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