An opportunity to help an elderly veteran care for his ailing wife prompted thousands of “angels in disguise” to step up.
“This is the best birthday present anybody ever had.”
(Video: WMUR)
At nearly 91-years-old, disabled U.S. Air Force veteran Donald had found himself in an all too common predicament as he cared for his wife, recently diagnosed with dementia. As he struggled to make ends meet and worried about losing her to a home, friends at a Manchester, New Hampshire pawn shop kicked off a small effort that turned into a viral campaign closing on $350,000.
A message from Donald after being presented with a sum of $250,000 Friday from the active crowdfunding campaign featured the veteran and his friends Jenelle Marie along with her fiancé at U.S. Gold and Pawn.
“Well, I wanna say hello to everyone out there, all you wonderful people. Your generosity and your kindness is just overwhelming,” he explained. “I’m not too sure that I know what to say or how to say it other than to say I’m profoundly grateful for everything you’ve done for me. Thank you so very much. God bless you.”
@jenellemarie0212 #donaldtheveteran #manchesternh #usgoldandpawn #gofundme #manchesternh ♬ original sound – Jenellemarie0212
In a previous video shared by Marie, Donald could be seen presenting pieces of jewelry in an effort to meet a debt of $1,380 that he owed, only to find out that she had taken up a collection that had raised initially raised $1,300.
“You are an angel in disguise. You really are. I don’t know what to say,” he was heard saying. “This is the best birthday present anybody ever had.”
“I’m so excited, I don’t know what I’m doing. Oh my gosh. This is fabulous,” added the veteran who had expressed his hope to take her to lunch as a thank you when he could afford it and said, “I could kiss you.”
@jenellemarie0212 #veteran #actofkindness #usgoldandpawn #manchesternh #fypage #viral #feelgoodvideo ♬ original sound – Jenellemarie0212
After exceeding 10 million views, Marie’s video had helped bring in nearly 13,000 donations for Donald and his wife that, at the time of this posting, had nearly reached $350,000.
“I think it restores my faith in humanity,” he told WMUR. “I’m hoping that this will inspire people out there to maybe do something similar to help all of the rest of the unfortunate veterans that are out there because they desperately need help. They really do.”
According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, efforts to combat veteran homelessness included securing permanent housing for more than 46,000 in 2023 as the rate of homelessness dropped by nearly 5% since 2020 and over 52% since 2010.
Marie had explained that her goal was to find Donald and his wife a permanent housing solution with the money and that they were going to work with an attorney to establish a secure account for him to access the donated funds.
She also explained how they had broken the news to him that there was more than the initial $1,300 because the news was interested in covering the story after he tried to reject any more financial help. “I told him that the news got wind of this and they wanted to do a story and it made him nervous. He’s a very private person and he does not want to be on the news or any press contacting him. At that point, I knew that I had to tell Donald what was really going on so we had him come down to the store right away.”
“My fiancé and I sat him down and asked him to make sure he remembers to breathe when we tell him the news,” the update to the fundraiser detailed. “At that point before I even told him what the fundraiser was at he was already extremely emotional and couldn’t believe all the kindness from strangers across the world. When he came in [Thursday], 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 said he didn’t deserve it. He was ‘just and ordinary man’, but we explained to him that he’s so much more than that!” wrote Marie. “You ALL are angels in disguise and THIS type of love is what this world needs.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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