A client who is 91 years old and a veteran of the war received approximately $450,000 in contributions after a TikTok video that was uploaded by a lady from New Hampshire went viral. This resulted in a tremendous outpouring of support.
Jenelle Marie, who works at U.S. Gold & Pawn in Manchester, New Hampshire, has said that she started a GoFundMe campaign for the client called Donald this summer. She decided to do so after seeing that Donald had been visiting the business for almost a year in order to sell the jewelry that belonged to his wife.
Jenelle, who requested that her full name not be used due to the nature of her line of work, tells PEOPLE, “I don’t usually pry and ask my customers what they need the money for.” Nevertheless, I was under the impression that he (Donald) was a unique client. I then said, “Is everything all right?” I am unable to comprehend. “Why do you require such a large sum of money?'”
He informed her that his wife is experiencing health problems, and that as a result, his landlord had to increase his rent.
Jenelle explains that Donald is a former pilot in the United States Air Force who has been married to his wife for more than sixty years on this day.
According to her, “He stated that he does not have any children, no family, and no friends left.” What he stated was that he had outlived all of them. Consequently, it is just him and his wife.”
Jenelle, who was moved by his narrative, shared her thoughts with the proprietor of the pawnshop regarding Donald and his financial difficulties. The proprietor requested that the interest be removed from the amount that Donald had borrowed, according to Jenelle. An further motivation for Jenelle and her fiance, Jay, who is the manager of the pawnshop, to start a fundraising drive on Donald’s behalf was provided by that special gesture.
According to what Jenelle said about Donald in the description of the GoFundMe page, “He is the sweetest old man you could ever meet and loves his wife dearly.”
According to what she wrote, “He takes care of her around the clock, and his landlord is raising their rent, and he is falling behind horribly with all of his bills.” There is a tremendous amount of fear that he is going to be relocated, and that they are going to force his wife to go into a home. At the moment, I am in the process of locating a new rental property for him that is within his financial means; nevertheless, I was hoping that I might raise some money in order to alleviate some of the financial strain that he is experiencing.
In the beginning, the couple was able to gather $1,300 thanks to the contributions of their friends and fellow family members. When Donald came back to the pawnshop, Jenelle gave him an envelope that contained the money. She recorded the scene on film and gave it to him later.
“I can’t let you do this,” Donald says in the video footage, displaying a clear expression of astonishment and emotion.
After some time has passed, he expresses to Jenelle, “This is the best birthday present anybody has ever had.”
Following the event, Jenelle uploaded the video on her Facebook page so that her family and friends could see Donald’s reaction when he was presented with the gift.
As she puts it, “I thought it was a really cute video all around.” “In the post that I made on Facebook, I expressed my gratitude to everyone who contributed to Donald’s cause and made a donation. Here is a little excerpt of his response. Please enjoy! And every single one of my close pals said, “Oh my God, that is the cutest video ever.” It was then that someone said, “Oh, you ought to post that on TikTok.”
After some time had passed, Jenelle uploaded the video of Donald to TikTok, and it almost instantly became very popular, with at least 14 million views and 1.7 million likes.
Two hours later, Jenelle says, “I go on and check my TikTok after posting it, and it’s something crazy, like 8,000 views, a hundred comments.” Jenelle was referring to the fact that she had posted the video. “I just made a donation to the GoFundMe campaign,” one of the comments said. Wow, this is incredible. And my response is, “What?” There is no mention of the GoFundMe campaign in that film.'”
When Jenelle went to check the website for the fundraising, she saw that the total had surpassed $2,000 at that point.
“I contacted my fiance,” she recounts, “and I immediately thought to myself, ‘Holy crap. We were able to raise $1,300 after a month of fundraising and scraping together our last few cents. It has already reached the point where it was in two hours. At first, I didn’t believe that it was going to go anywhere. All he can say is, “This is incredible.” When it arrives again, we will be able to give him the remaining portion of it.'”
A steady stream of donations came in at a rapid pace.
Jenelle elucidates, “So here I am at work, and yet another hour has passed.” “I had a lot of clients to attend to. A second glance at my TikTok reveals that it has had twice as many views, twice as many comments, twice as many likes, and twice as much money on the GoFundMe page, which is now at $5,000. I said to myself, “I simply cannot believe this.” As a result, throughout the day, my friends and relatives have been sending me texts that say, “It’s at $5,200, it’s at $5,500.” Everybody is providing me with an update. Nowhere in the world have I ever gone viral.
On a later date, after the GoFundMe campaign had reached a total of $136,000, Jenelle phoned Donald and requested that he visit the pawnshop so that she could explain the situation to him.
Upon his arrival, she informed him that she had not terminated the GoFundMe account after the first sum of $1,300 had been taken out of it. Additionally, she disclosed to Donald that she had captured the video of her handing him the money and that the tape had gained widespread attention.
It is her who says, “He has just started crying.” It seemed as if he was on the verge of hyperventilating as he placed his head in his hands. Going from $1,300 to $136,000, I said that GoFundMe had increased. Suddenly, he began crying his eyes out in a panic. In spite of the fact that he was quite emotional, he just said, “I am just a regular person.” It is these veterans who are in more need of this than I am. “He is extremely, extremely humble.”
Donald requested that his full name not be used in public and was not available to talk with PEOPLE about the video and the GoFundMe campaign. He also requested that his full name not be used in public.
However, he has participated in a few interviews where he discussed the fundraising drive and the significance it had for him.
When asked about Jenelle’s act of kindness, he said, “I think it restores my faith in humanity,” in an interview with the local television station WMUR. I have high hopes that this would motivate others to maybe take action in a similar manner in order to assist all of the poor veterans who are now in need of assistance since they are in critical need of assistance. They are in fact true.”
Jenelle has disclosed to People that she has established a trust fund for Donald by putting him in touch with an attorney. Regarding the rent, she also had a conversation with his landlord.
Jenelle shares her opinion that “his landlord is a really nice guy.” It has been around twenty years since Donald and his wife have been living with the same landlord, and he has never increased the amount that they pay for their rent. He has a healthy amount of affection for Donald. But with that said, it’s still a business at the end of the day and he has his expenses he has to pay for, so he had to raise his rent.”
According to Jenelle, Donald intends to use the funds from the GoFundMe campaign to fix the couple’s 1994 Mercedes. This is one of the things that he plans to accomplish with the money.
“I’m like, ‘You want to get a vehicle that’s thirty years old fixed rather than just go buy one?'” she adds throughout the conversation. “However, it is really simply a reflection of who he is. During the first thirty years of its release, he purchased it for his wife on the occasion of her birthday. Because it has emotional value for both him and her, he would prefer to just have it mended.
Jenelle, on her part, has said that she has really enjoyed the sensation of giving back in such a significant manner, and she encourages others to participate whenever they are able to do so.
“It’s really nice to be able not just be the one who started this,” she says, “but to be able to witness firsthand how much kindness still exists in the world that we very seldom hear about.”
“Thousands of people donated, strangers all around the world, and it’s just really beautiful,” she continues to explain. I have high hopes that this may motivate someone to perhaps do a kind act for a person who could be in need of it, since you never know what might result from doing something like that. I also hope that this could bring some awareness, too, for struggling veterans.”