It’s often the case that when snow is forecast we just think about all the things we were going to do that we now have to put on hold.
It’s very frustrating having to spend the day inside when you have places to be.
With the media littered with negative stories about teens, it’s good to be reminded that there are so many good teenagers out there who can often teach us ‘oldies’ a thing or two.
When the weather forecast up to 8 inches of snow in a New Jersey community two teens immediately thought of a neighbor and what they did next has gone viral.
Brothers Brian and Patrick Lanigan could have just thought about their own plans for a snow day.
But instead their first thought was their neighbor Natalie Blair.
Natalie depends on dialysis treatments and if she can’t get to her treatments it could be a life or death situation.
Brian, who works as a local Emergency Medical Technician, had helped to clear Natalie’s driveway before but knew he would be working when the snowstorm hit this time.
So he turned to his little brother and high school senior Patrick to help.
Cleared the snow in the dark
Without hesitation Patrick reached out to his friends to help, after all two hands are better than one.
Four of his fellow Parsippany High School seniors answered the call and volunteered to spend the night in the Lanigan household so they could get up at 4.30 a.m. to clear their neighbor’s driveway.
The boys managed to clear the snowfall from Natalie’s driveway in 30 minutes which left them enough time to rest before heading to school.
Patrick’s father Peter Lanigan tweeted a photo of the helpful boys praising their actions.
His tweet went viral with so many people coming out in praise of the young men.
Community helper
Peter said this act of kindness was not at all out of character for his son and described him as a “small kid with a big heart.”
He said that Patrick helps his community in many other ways as an active church member and at school Patrick is a “peer buddy,” serving as a role model for students on the autism spectrum.
Find out more about these remarkable teens in the video below.
[arve url=”https://abc7ny.com/video/embed/?pid=5169968″ /]
There is so much good to be celebrated in the world and it’s wonderful to the young helping the old. What a great example these boys are!
Most teenagers are good hearted. Thank you for showing this. I would much rather hear stories like this than those few getting in trouble!
Please share to pay tribute to these teens and the older brother whose first thought was his needy neighbor.
