Community comes together to raise money for local man's heart transplant

"George is the type of person who doesn't know a stranger,"

Friends of George Hamilton, like Mike Davis, will tell you he has a big heart- but right now he's fighting to keep it beating.

"He had a heart attack and he needed a defibrillators and a pace-maker put in," said Davis "And you cannot drive a school bus when you have a defibrillator in, so he lost his job,"

While his heart attack was some years ago, recent medical problems landed Hamilton back in the hospital this past December.

In order to get the treatment he needed, Hamilton was moved to a clinic in Cleveland Ohio, where he's been since March.

This had led Hamilton's wife, a Doddridge county teacher’s aid, to take a leave of absence so she can care for her husband.

Davis worked with Hamilton as a school bus driver and decided he wanted to find a way to help

"Bus drivers are the ones I asked to help put it on because myself I'm a bus driver and George was a bus driver,"

Davis decided they would organize a benefit spaghetti dinner at the local park.

But as the word has spread about Hamilton's story Davis says the community has stepped in to help as well.

"I'm having a lot of response from the community, I've had a lot of stuff donated, and there's a lot of people coming out to help with the dinner,"

All the money made during the dinner this Sunday will go towards Hamilton's medical expenses.

The hope is that he's able to get well enough to be a candidate for the heart transplant list and eventually back to being the friendly neighborhood everyone knows him as.

"He talks to everybody, he's friendly to everybody, just a person you like to be around,"

The benefit dinner for George Hamilton will be this Sunday, June 30th, in Doddridge county park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner is 9 dollars a plate but donations are welcome.

For more information contact Mike Davis 304-627-5513