When a 90-year-old Air Force Veteran named Donald entered U.S. Gold and Pawn in Manchester, New Hampshire, he had no idea his life was about to change dramatically.
The veteran has been caring for his wife, who suffers from dementia and needed to pawn jewelry after his rent increased.
That’s when TikTokker Jenelle Marie stepped in. When Donald returned to the store, Jenelle Marie surprised him with $1300, the amount he needed to pay to get his items back, and filmed the sweet interaction for her audience.
@jenellemarie0212 #veteran #actofkindness#usgoldandpawn #manchesternh #fypage #viral#feelgoodvideo ♬ original sound – Jenellemarie0212
That alone was a beautiful and generous moment. But it was only the start.
Encouraged by the reaction to that video, Jenelle Marie launched a GoFundMe for Donald and the results took everyone by surprise.
The GoFundMe shares that Donald cares for his wife “around the clock” since the couple did not have children and has no immediate family left.
“He is the sweetest old man you could ever meet and loves his wife dearly,” she said.
When Jenelle Marie handed Donald the initial $1300, he said, “Oh my goodness, I could kiss you,” as the tears welled up.
He added, “When I can afford it, one of these days, I’m going to call you and ask you to lunch.”
“I appreciate that, but we’re just happy to do it,” Marie responded. “(The money) is from me, my fiance and like 25 people.”
Before Donald left, he told her, “I’m so excited… this is fabulous.”
But Donald was in for a bigger surprise. As of Saturday morning, the GoFundMe had reached millions of people all over the world and had raised over $400,000 to help Donald and his wife.
Jenelle Marie shared his reaction to the news that she has helped lift an incredible burden from his shoulders in an update on the fundraising page.
My fiancé and I sat him down and asked him to make sure he remembers to breathe when we tell him this news. He was looking at us very confused.. I explained that the fundraiser I made for him had gone viral (Which of course we had to explain what viral meant to our 90 year-old friend) I told him that meant that everyone in the world was seeing this and stepping forward to donate. At that point before I even told him what the fundraiser was at he was already extremely emotional and couldn’t believe all the kindness from strangers across the world.
When he came in yesterday, the GoFundMe was at $164,000 And when I told him the amount, it was just absolute hysterics from both of us.. It was a truly beautiful and emotional moment something that I will never forget. He graciously said he could never ever thank us and the people who donated enough.. He said he didn’t deserve it. He was ‘just an ordinary man’, but we explained to him that he’s so much more than that!
For everyone who has reached out asking to share the video of giving him the news I am so sorry to tell you that we have to respect our 90 year-old veteran friend’s wishes- That was a very vulnerable emotional moment for him And he does not want that shared as I’m sure everyone can understand. He’s going to send out a thank you to everyone in the world who donated today.. Thank you so much to every single one of you who has donated, sent well wishes & prayers, messaged me about resources for Donald, shared the gofundme, came down to the store just to give a hug!, I mean, seriously none of this would’ve been possible without all of you guys, and we are just so blown away at all the kindness that exist out there that we very seldom hear about. You ALL are angels in disguise and THIS type of love is what this world needs.
Jenelle Marie shared a video from Donald expressing his gratitude.
@jenellemarie0212 #donaldtheveteran #manchesternh#usgoldandpawn #gofundme #manchesternh ♬ original sound – Jenellemarie0212
She also shared that the GoFundMe will stay open until Donald can meet with an attorney and talk about what exactly needs to be done and how to put this money in a safe account for him to access.
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