Passengers give Chicago teacher hundreds of dollars after hearing about her students

A Chicago teacher recently boarded a Southwest flight to Florida with only her carry on but she walked off with so much more. 

The woman sitting in aisle 14 struck up a conversation with a man next to her about her struggles as a charter school teacher in Chicago, specifically, working with kids who come from low-income households.

Kimber Bermudez has 32 kids in her class at Carlos Fuentes Elementary School in the Avondale neighborhood. Many of them are children of immigrant parents who struggle to make ends meet.

Some of her students are homeless.

Bermudez told her seatmate it broke her heart to see the kids come to school hungry and in need of some of the most basic items.

The man then asked for her work contact information, saying his company would like to donate items to the school.

That was heartwarming enough but today Bermudez told us that’s not all he did.

“Right before the plane landed was when the real magic happened,” Bermudez said. “ A stranger tapped my shoulder and I thought he was going to apologize for his son kicking me, but instead he handed me a wad of cash.”

Bermudez says she saw $100 on top but didn't count it right away.

It wasn't until later she realized the man handed her five $100 bills. And that gesture on the plane she says, led to a chain reaction.

“He had told me right before, he said ‘Do something amazing’ and I guess it sparked other people's interest because the plane landed and the man on the aisle across from me said ‘I don't have much, but will this help?’ And the guy in front of me turned around and I had no idea what I had.”

When she finally got to the car where her mother was waiting at the airport, she counted a total of $530.

Bermudez said she doesn't know the name of the man who gave her the $500 or the other generous strangers but she wishes she could recognize them.

She was encouraged by the kindness of strangers.