An act of kindness unfolded in a New England Pawn Shop and the outpouring of support has now gone global.
Jenelle Mariean employee at US Gold & Pawn in Manchester, New Hampshire, was moved by the story of Donald, a 90-year-old Air Force veteran dealing with the financial hardship of rising rent while caring for his wife, who was recently diagnosed with dementia. .
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Donald was frequenting the pawn shop to sell his jewelry for rent, which led Marie and her fiance to start a GoFundMe campaign to help the veteran.
“He told me his wife had just been diagnosed with dementia and his landlord had to raise his rent, so it tugged at my heartstrings,” Marie. said NewsNation. “I told the owner of the store and he decided he wasn't going to collect interest from him… I thought that was really kind of him and it inspired me and my fiance to start what I thought would be. some GoFundMe.”
Marie made a TikTok showing the initial $1,300 raised for Donald, and the campaign went viral. Contributions began to pour in.
@jenelemarie0212 #veteran #actofkindness #usgoldandpawn #manchesternh #fypage #viral #help video ♬ original sound – Jenellemarie0212
“I hope two lessons: one is the smallest act of kindness that can really change someone's life in more ways than you can ever imagine, and the other is just to raise awareness that we need to do better for our veterans ,” Marie said.
In a follow-up video, Marie birthday wishes posted for Donald from around the country, including a bag of autographed Los Angeles Dodgers hats and balls.
The GoFundMe is currently over $434,000.