Today’s story comes from Gorton, Manchester, England. It is about a boy named Donnan McHale – an aspiring young individual, nine years of age, who was trying to make an honest living and save up so he could get a Christmas present for his little sister.
Having the mind of a proper salesman at such a young age, Donnan purchased packets of four air fresheners from a pound shop and sold them at a profit – 1 pound each. He used to make his sales outside of a local Tesco petrol station where all of the employees knew him and liked him for what he was doing.
It turns out his school teachers thought otherwise. The teachers from Sacred Heart called the police on him. Donnan’s mother, Alicia McHale, was shocked when police knocked on her door and asked for her son.
While speaking to Manchester Evening News, Alicia spoke on how it happened:
‘I asked them what the problem was. They just said ”we’ve had a phone call from the school, it’s from Sacred Heart, could we come in a minute”?’
After a brief conversation with the boy, police were satisfied and didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. Alicia continued:
‘Donnan explained… the officers were absolutely fine with it.
‘They said they would have to pass it on to the care team but they thought he was doing a great job.’
After this rather upsetting turn of events, Alicia received a call from children’s services adding to her horrifying experience. She said: The vicious attack by two dogs has left her shaken and terrified, fearing for her children’s safety. She couldn’t shake off the images of the scene, replaying them in her mind and wondering how this could happen in her quiet neighborhood. As the days passed, the trauma weighed heavily on her, making it difficult to find any sense of normalcy.
‘I was shocked, I’ve never had police at my door.
‘We’re really proud of Donnan – they should be praising him for doing something like this when we’ve got children causing havoc on the streets.’
‘He was only doing it for an hour after school each night before he came home to get his tea. It’s just round the corner.’
Alicia further talked about how this could’ve been handled much differently:
‘I’ve no idea why. It should have been the headteacher, it should have been a discussion between us and the headteacher.’
According to Alicia, their local Tesco knew her son, and the manager even had the mother’s number. The staff kept an eye on him to ensure he was safe and protected. This Tesco is situated on Hyde Road in Gorton, Manchester – pictured below.
A Tesco representative also spoke on Donnan’s situation:
‘When our colleagues heard that Donnan wanted to raise some money to buy his little sister a Christmas present they were very touched and they made sure he was safe at our store.’
In a world where most children don't even know how to handle life at such a young age, Donnan stands out and proves himself by being a responsible, intelligent, and caring young man. He even made enough money to buy himself a coat, a bike & a phone.
We wish both Alicia and her son, Donnan, all the best in the future and hope Donnan doesn’t let this incident get his spirits down – he’s truly any corporation’s ideal employee. More power to the mother-son duo!
Source: Manchester Evening News
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