A retiree goes to pawn his jewelry to care for his sick wife—and receives the surprise of his life: “I can’t let you do this”
His wife's illness and the constant increases in the price of their rent forced the old man to pawn his car and all of his wife's jewelry.
For nearly a year, 91-year-old Donald, a US veteran, had been visiting US Gold & Pawn in Manchester, New Hampshire, selling off pieces of his wife’s jewelry. Each time, he’d ask for a little more money.
Janelle, one of the shop’s employees, began to notice the pattern. “I don’t usually pry or ask customers why they need the cash,” she told local station WMUR. “But something about him felt different. I finally asked, ‘Is everything okay? Why do you need so much money?’”
The case was first reported by People magazine. According to the elderly man, his wife had an illness that required him to care for her 24/7. However, their landlord, with whom they had a rental agreement, decided to raise the price of the apartment, worsening the elderly couple’s situation.
At that point, Donald was behind on several bills and had been selling everything he considered valuable in his home—including a 1994 Mercedes, a gift he had given his wife decades earlier. They had no close family, friends, or loved ones to turn to. He was completely alone, fighting to care for his wife and hold onto their home.
Community help
The story touched Janelle Marie, an employee at the pawn shop, who spoke to the store owner about reducing the interest on the elderly man’s loan. The pawnshop owner agreed to the employee’s request, and she and her husband, Jay, the store manager, wanted to do more for the veteran. They knew the discount the store was offering wasn’t enough to help him and wanted to take it a step further.
Together with her fiancé and a few others, Jenelle Marie launched a GoFundMe campaign. What started as a modest fundraiser of $1,300 quickly went viral, eventually raising over $400,000... “He is the sweetest old man you could ever meet and loves his wife dearly. He takes care of her around the clock and his landlord is raising their rent and he is falling behind terribly with all of his bills. He’s deathly afraid he’s going to be displaced and that they are going to make his wife go to a home. I’m currently looking to find him a new place to rent that is within his budget, but I was hoping I could fundraise some money to lessen his load of financial stress,” Jenelle Marie explained in the campaign description.
When Jenelle took out the donation money, she put it in an envelope and gave it to Donald when she returned to the pawn shop. The moment was recorded and later uploaded to social media so people could see how the kindness of many people helped an elderly person in need.
“I can’t let you do this,” the veteran excitedly exclaimed to Jenelle. In response, the employee explained that it was a donation from many good people who wanted to help him. “This is the best birthday present anyone has ever received,” Donald confessed, holding the envelope.
A touching surprise
Within just two hours of going live on TikTok, the video had racked up over 8,000 views and more than 100 comments. Many viewers said they had already donated to help. At that point, the GoFundMe campaign Janelle and her fiancé Jay had launched had raised about $2,130, surpassing their initial goal of $1,390..
Just one hour later—around 3 p.m. EST—donations had surged past $5,320. By the end of the day, the campaign had reached an astonishing $144,850.. He started crying uncontrollably. He was so emotional and just said, ‘I’m just an ordinary person. These veterans need this more than I do.’”
The video reached 14 million views, and the final donation reached €385,587. Jenelle arranged for a trust to be set up for the elderly man and spoke with his landlord to ensure they wouldn’t be left homeless. She also wanted to get her old car back, which had great sentimental value.
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