Jerry Quinn

Have you ever heard the saying, the more you give the more you receive? Jerry Quinn is a great example of that. Jerry is not a rich person, but instead of buying his new apartment, he paid for a man’s kidney transplant. The man is 33 year old Franklin Piedar. This is why I think Jerry Quinn is a hero to others.

Franklin Piedar arrived in New York from Ecuador ten years ago and had been suffering from chronic kidney failure ever since. When Piedra got sick, the restaurant where he worked let him go. Since then, he has been shining shoes for a living on Wall Street. Piedra is a viable candidate for an organ transplant; his mother wants to give him a kidney, but he has no health insurance. This problem is familiar to millions of Americans. A transplant would cost $100,000. Piedar wrote the government asking for help; they didn’t even write back. He contacted the Ecuadorian Consulate in New York. Basically, he said, they suggested he go back to Ecuador and die.

Jerry Quinn is from Boston and had been saving up for a new place to live. He was about to pay a large down payment on a two bedroom apartment in the heart of Boston with a river view and all, but then he had another thought. “When I woke up, it was on my mind again. The first thing that came to my mind was the condominium downtown,” he said. “You know what, I think I can do without the water view and use that money to help this gentleman, Franklin.”

I think that Jerry Quinn is a hero to others near and far because he did something nice for another person without asking for a reward. Quinn helped Piedar out of the kindness of his heart, not because someone asked him to. I think the world would be a better place with more people like Quinn. Jerry Quinn stands out as a hero because he is a local citizen, not a celebrity; but to Franklin Piedar he is a hero.

This story teaches people to do what you think is right. Jerry Quinn will be known as a local hero to society but a lifesaver to Piedar Franklin. Franklin and Quinn became best friends. Piedar comes to see Jerry any time he’s gets time off from work.