Community Rallies to Surprise Crossing Guard with World Series Tickets for 'Bucket List' Goal

Rachel DeSantis

An elementary school crossing guard put out a call for World Series tickets, and his beloved students and their parents listened.

Dozens of families in Arlington, Virginia, joined forces to surprise crossing guard Jeff Covel, who is a die-hard Washington Nationals fan, with a pair of tickets to Game 4 on Saturday against the Houston Astros.

The heartwarming moment was captured on video, with members of the community cheering as they approached Covel with the special gift.

“So wonderful everyone!” says Covel, who is overcome with emotion as the crowd soon breaks into a “Go Nats!” cheer. Many are decked out in Nationals gear, and one student is even holding a sign that reads, “We [Heart] Mr. Jeff!”

The sweet surprise was set in motion after Covel propped up a homemade sign near his crosswalk that asked if anyone had any connections that could help him score tickets, CNN reported.

“Need World Series Tix (1 or 2) For 1 game only, prefer face value, ‘bucket list,’ Mr. Jeff Crossing Guard,” the sign read.

Local parents Rachel Sullivan and Colleen Wright took notice, and took it upon themselves to make his dream come true.

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“He’s just so great with the kids, learning everyone’s name, and always greeting everybody with a smile,” Wright told ARLnow.com.

Sullivan shared a photo of the sign to a private Facebook page, and soon organized a Google form for parents at Nottingham Elementary School to pledge donations, as a bit of research found that standing-room-only tickets were going for $1,000.

“I figured his job is standing, so I wasn’t going to make him stand at the World Series,” Wright told CNN.

More than 60 families pitched in, managing to pull together $2,445 for two tickets for Covel to attend the game at Nationals Park.

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“I teared up a little bit when I saw them coming down the street,” he told CNN. “To me, it means so much to be appreciated for doing something that I enjoy doing. They are my extended family.”

Covel, who has worked as a crossing guard for six years, said he will take his wife to the game, and that they’ll be sure to show up early in order to soak in the atmosphere.

He was honored as one of six statewide crossing guards of the year in 2015, Inside Nova reported.

The Nationals are currently up 2-0 against the Astros in their very first World Series appearance.