![Donald veteran]()
As much as I love this story, it's still heartbreaking that it was necessary in the first place.
Our veterans sign up to give their lives to protect our country and our freedom. And when they come back home, I don't think there's any arguing that we don't do enough to take care of those who served.
A 90-year old veteran named Donald recently went viral on TikTok after an employee of a pawn shop in Manchester, New Hampshire posted a plea for help. As the employee named Jenelle explained, Donald has been struggling to pay his rent and take care of his wife who was recently diagnosed with dementia.
Jenelle was hoping to help Donald find an affordable place to rent, and also started a GoFundMe page to help him with his expenses.
Well Donald had been forced to pawn his jewelry to pay his bills, and a few weeks later he came back into the pawn shop with some more jewelry that he was planning on selling to help pay off his debt. But instead, Jenelle had a surprise for him: An envelope with $1,300 in cash.
Donald initially insisted he couldn't take the money, but Jenelle promised him that it was something the community wanted to do for him. And it was nearly enough to cover his $1,380 bill that he needed to be able to get his jewelry back.
But if Donald was blown away by that gift, he never could have imagined what would come next.
After video of the heartwarming interaction went viral, donations poured in to the GoFundMe from folks wanting to help out. As of right now, the fundraiser is sitting at over $300,000 as more donations continue to come in. And according to Jenelle, Donald couldn't believe it:
"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!"
Donald understandably isn't a fan of all the attention, but Jenelle did post a video of the hero thanking everybody who donated:
"I'm not too sure that I know what to say or how to say it, other than to say that I'm profoundly grateful for everything you've done for me."
Hopefully Donald is able to live the rest of his life without having to worry about how he's going to pay his bills. That's the very least that our veterans deserve - although they also deserve so much more.
