A HOMELESS MAN, A $20 CAN OF GAS AND A $265,000 FUNDRAISER.
DRIVE TO HELP HOMELESS VET RAISES $255,000
I WISH THAT I COULD DO MORE FOR THIS SELFLESS MAN, WHO WENT OUT OF HIS WAY JUST TO HELP ME THAT DAY. TRULY BELIEVE THAT ALL JOHNNY NEEDS IS ONE LITTLE BREAK. — KATE MCCLURE
PHILADELPHIA • Kate McClure ran out of gas on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia.
“Driving into Philly one night, I made the mistake of thinking that I would be able to make it all the way down I-95 with my gas light on. Needless to say, I was wrong,” wrote the 27-year-old from New Jersey.
Her saviour came in the form of a homeless man, Johnny Bobbitt Jr.
He walked a few blocks and used his last US$20 to return with a can of gas.
Touched by his kindness and generosity, McClure started a GoFundme.com fundraiser hoping to raise US$10,000 for Bobbitt, an ex-Marine and firefighter.
As of Thursday night, almost 9,000 people had donated US$255,168 in 12 days.
“This is nuts,” McClure told the New York Post on Wednesday — when the money raised was about US$65,000. “It has changed my entire outlook about people, my outlook about people has skyrocketed. It’s the best Thanksgiving that I’ve ever had.”
Bobbit was said to be in “shock.” “We spoke to him (Tuesday), and it was around $17,000,” McClure’s boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, told the paper. “He kept saying. ‘I don’t want to waste this chance’.”
For her fundraiser, McClure wrote, “Johnny sits on the side of the road every day, holding a sign. He saw me pull over and knew something was wrong. He told me to get back in the car and lock the doors.
“A few minutes later, he comes back with a red gas can. Using his last 20 dollars to make sure I could get home safe.
“Johnny did not ask me for a dollar, and I couldn’t repay him at that moment because I didn’t have any cash, but I have been stopping by his spot for the past few weeks. I repaid him for the gas, gave him a jacket, gloves, a hat, and warm socks, and I give him a few dollars every time I see him.”
After a few visits, she started the fundraiser with the hope of using the money toward housing and other expenses for the 34-year-old Bobbitt.
“I wish that I could do more for this selfless man, who went out of his way just to help me that day. Truly believe that all Johnny needs is one little break. Hopefully with your help I can be the one to give it to him.”
A woman has offered to pay his rent for a year and a recruiter for Amazon — where Bobbitt would like to work — has reached out.
McClure said the Marine Corps vet from North Carolina fell on hard times and had been homeless for about a year and a half. He started living on the streets after being robbed at a shelter.
The couple told the Post that they hope to take Bobbitt shopping and to a Thanksgiving dinner at McClure’s mother’s home.
“He’s a genuinely good guy so I think he deserves everything that’s coming to him,” McClure told the paper.
Meanwhile, a homeless man in Connecticut who found a $10,000 cheque and returned it to its owner because he wanted to “do the right thing” has been rewarded. Fox 61 television reported that real estate agent Roberta Hoskie — who lost the cheque — had arranged for Elmer Alvarez to have an interview for a job with one of her business partners.
At a ceremony at the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce honouring Alvarez, she reminded Alvarez that she would also pay for his real estate course through her school and English language classes.
But she then gave him another gift.
“You don’t have to worry about being in the cold. We have housing for you,” the station reported her telling Alvarez.
A grateful Alvarez was in tears Wednesday as he learned he had somewhere to live.
“What I did, finding that cheque and returning it, I would do it all over again,” he said on NBC.
“Honestly, I give it from the bottom of my heart and I expect nothing back in return,” said Alvarez. “There’s always angels out here in heaven and earth.”
Hoskie said she was once homeless herself.
She said the only condition was that Alvarez helped another homeless individual once he was back on his feet.
“When you get on your feet, you go ahead and you do it for the next person and the next person and the next person,” she told him, according to Fox 61.
“I’m going to go for it,” Alvarez told the station.