Skip to Content

Oklahoma man pays off thousands in students’ lunch debt to honor late wife

<i>KOCO via CNN Newsource</i><br/>Sean Cummings is traveling across the state to award schools the funds
Arif, Merieme
KOCO via CNN Newsource
Sean Cummings is traveling across the state to award schools the funds

By Alyse Jones

Click here for updates on this story

    CHANDLER, Oklahoma (KOCO) — A man who wiped away lunch debt for 20 Oklahoma schools said he his mission isn’t over yet.

Sean Cummings is traveling across the state to award schools the funds, saying he will continue to do this until the money runs out.

“If you have something bad happen and you have the opportunity to make it into something great, take it,” Cummings said.

With a stroke of a pen, nearly $2,000 went to 130 Chandler students to pay off their lunch debt.

“At the end of the year, these kids have some debt. It rolls over to next year and the next year,” Cummings said. “Some schools were pulling diplomas and stuff if they’re seniors, so we started with seniors first. Then, like we were able to do here, we did the entire school’s lunch debt, so now it’s over.”

Chandler wasn’t the only school reaping the benefits of his generosity. It was just one on a long list of schools Cummings said he hopes to help.

“We are a little over $40,000, but we are still sitting on $25,000,” Cummings said. “If it keeps working, we’re going to keep doing it. I will keep doing this as long as there’s money there.”

Cummings began the effort in honor of his late wife Cathy.

“This was one of the things. She was a chef. She owned restaurants, and her biggest thing was to feed people,” Cummings said.

Now, Cummings said he is fulfilling a dream his wife has always had.

“I think this would be honestly beyond anything in her wildest dreams. This is exactly what she’d like to see done with her legacy, and if nothing else, we could figure out a way for somebody in politics to solve this problem so it’s not a problem again next year,” Cummings said.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Article Topic Follows: CNN - Regional

Jump to comments ↓

CNN Newsource

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

ABC 17 News is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content