A tent, a college, a community, and a car

This story is full of remarkable people, each of whom did one right thing.

Nineteen-year-old Fred Barley was determined to register for college. Even if it meant getting to the Gordon State College campus in Barnesville, Georgia by bicycle, a 50 miles trek which took him 6 hours. Even if it meant sleeping in a tent until classes started in August. He is homeless; he has slept in tents before.


As local word spread about Barley's situation, a number of people stepped up to help. Police didn't charge him with trespassing or vagrancy; they put him up in a motel. A pizzeria offered Barley a job. A Barnesville resident set up a GoFundMe page to help with Barley's college expenses, raising over $183,000 in a month!

The story went viral. One person who heard about it, Andy Ungaro of Philadelphia, wanted to help too. He runs a repair shop and had just received a 2004 Hyndai Elantra as a trade. He fixed up the car so it would run another 60,000+ miles, drove it down to Barnesville, and presented it to Barley as a gift. Ungaro hopes Barley will pass the gift on to another needy college student when he's done with it.