Hazelwood teen who paid off student lunch debts receives special surprise
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.
“I’m trying not to cry,” says 14-year-old, DeJuan Strickland. “I know all those kids are going to be really happy because of this.”
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.
“You paid off the student’s lunch debt and I wanted to give it back to you,” said Duncan. “I just wanted to reward positivity.”
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.
“I’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,” Strickland says.
“I’ve never had that challenge in my life. If I didn’t eat, it was because I didn’t want to eat. So, I said this is a positive Black boy doing something good in the community,” 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.
“I am only one person but when everyone starts coming together and starts doing this too, it will spark some change,” says Strickland.
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