An 82-year-old Navy veteran who worked at a Walmart in Maryland to make ends meet has retired thanks to the generosity of strangers.
Butch Marion officiallyleft his jobon Wednesday after online donors helped raisemore than $108,000for him via GoFundMe, according to FOX affiliate WTTG.
Rory McCarty, who started the fundraiser in December after getting Marion’s blessing and posting about it on TikTok, presented the Cumberland man with a check for the money as he exited the store.
“I’m just so excited for him,” McCarty, 53, told the outlet.
Marion’s story first gained traction last month after he crossed paths with McCarty, who was visiting Walmart to buy a pack of batteries, according to WTTG.
In aTikTok videoshared on Dec. 16, McCarty told Marion about a clip he saw on the platform in which a woman asked viewers to help her raise money to support a different 82-year-old Walmart worker.
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“Now imagine that someone raised that kind of money for you!” McCarty said in his TikTok video.
Sure enough, TikTok users showed up to help. As of Thursday, more than $115,000 has been raised via the fundraiser.
GoFundMe
In the clip, Marion said he worked at his local Walmart to help make ends meet, and had been working since age 11.
When asked what he would do with the money, the man said he would see his children, do some work around his house and “enjoy” the rest of his life.
The fundraisergarnered $100,000in just two days, according to WTTG. Marion told the outlet that it was a Christmas miracle.
On Wednesday, Marion and McCarty embraced outside of the Walmart as they celebrated the newest chapter of Marion’s life.
“I feel like a new man,” the former retail worker told WTTG. “This is just unreal.”
Despite being strangers less than a month ago, Marion and McCarty are now friends. They even met up with Rizzo for a meal late last month.
McCarty shared a video of the triodining out together, in which he praised Rizzo for her idea to help others and inspiring him to do the same. “I saw her video, and that’s what triggered me to do your video,” McCarty told Marion in the clip. “So without her, all this couldn’t be possible.”
On Thursday, McCarty shared a series of photos from Marion’s final day at Walmart along witha special messagefor those who helped the retail worker.
“Butch wanted me to thank everyone of you out there that contributed to this miracle that you gave him,” McCarty wrote in the video’s caption. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart, he said.”
source: people.com
