After an extraordinary act of kindness, an 82-year-old US soldier and Walmart clerk is finally able to retire.
Warren Marion of Cumberland, Maryland, received a $108,682 check last week as a result of the generosity of internet contributors.
Rory McCarty, a small company owner with a large TikTok following, had created a GoFundMe page for Marion.
He shared a video of them both in December that has been seen over three million times.
McCarty claimed he wanted to assist Marion, a US Navy veteran and widower, “do the things he would love to do” in his GoFundMe page last month.
He runs Bug Boys, an eradication company, and has a popular TikTok account with the same name, with over 300,000 followers, where he publishes videos of crawling insects.
He said he was inspired to help the elderly veteran through his social media platform after seeing a similar success story on TikTok. A widely circulated video and online fundraising enabled another 82-year-old Walmart employee to retire unexpectedly.
“As a business owner … I was astounded seeing this little older man still grinding. Working eight to nine hour shifts,” McCarty said on the GoFundMe page.
The campaign was a resounding success. McCarty reached his fundraising target in a matter of days, and others are still contributing.
Mr Marion’s last day on the job was last week, after he gave his two-week notice. The new retiree was met by cheers from loved ones as she walked into the Walmart parking lot with balloons.
The first word out of Marion’s lips once he was handed the cheque was “wow”.
He stated in December that the monies will be used to pay off his mortgage and allow him to visit his children in Florida.
“All I can tell you is the good Lord has blessed me for what I did in my younger years,” Marion said.