Online Fundraiser Raises Over $66K for Homeless Good Samaritan
An online fundraising effort to help a homeless man who returned a lost backpack containing thousands of dollars has raised far more money than the organizer ever imagined.
Glen James, a homeless man living in Boston, Massachusetts, found the backpack last Saturday outside of a TJ Maxx store. Inside the bag were a passport, $2400 in cash and almost $40,000 in traveler’s checks. He flagged down a police officer patrolling the area and turned in the bag, for which he received a special citation from the Boston Police Department earlier this week.
But one man – Alabama native Ethan Whittington – wanted to do more to honor James’ good deed. After reading about the selfless act, Whittington set up a donation page at GoFundMe.com, hoping to raise $200 to $300 for James.
Within 24 hours, the site received more than $55,000 in donations from over 2,000 people. After the explosive response, Whittington set a new goal of raising $500,000, and is working with an organization that will help him get the money to James, along with donations of computers, clothing and even job and housing offers that have come along with the outpouring of money.