Acts of Kindness
TikToker raised over $180K so an elderly woman could finally retire and pay off mortgage
We need more of this in the world. That's for sure.
Michael Dabu
12.12.22

Itโ€™s heartbreaking to see elderly people that are still working long hours just to provide for their needs. They are forcing their old and weak bodies for the sake of getting that paycheck so they could survive.

Truth be told, most of them are already forgotten by their children and other family members. They know that they have nobody to rely on but themselves and that crossing their legs at home will not do them any good thatโ€™s why theyโ€™re forced to work.

โ€œLife shouldnโ€™t be this hard. I feel bad.โ€

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TikTok - @dbon973_
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TikTok - @dbon973_

Thatโ€™s how Devan Bonagura captioned his candid TikTok video of an elderly woman who was sitting alone in the break room of Walmart. She was wearing the companyโ€™s vest and a name tag that read โ€œNolaโ€, obviously, sheโ€™s an employee who was only on break.

TikTok - @dbon973_
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TikTok - @dbon973_
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When he uploaded the 15-second-long video on his social media account, he didnโ€™t expect that it was going to gain that much attention from millions of people. As of this writing, the video now has 31.3 million views, with 4.6 million โ€œheartโ€ reactions, tens of thousands of shares, and comments.

Some of the viewers even suggested the creation of a GoFundMe account for the elderly woman in the video.

He took in the suggestion and made a GoFundMe but what happened next totally blew his mind.

TikTok - @dbon973_
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TikTok - @dbon973_
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There he encouraged people to donate by writing, โ€œLetโ€™s help Nola retire. Nola works at Walmart and that says enough. Letโ€™s all come together and help.โ€

Looking at the account, Devan couldnโ€™t believe the number of people who extended their help by donating to his good cause. And in just 24 hours, it had already raised more than $100,000! The next thing he did was meet Nola and transferred the money to her account.

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โ€œThey saw that youโ€™re a very hard worker, obviously,โ€ Devan told Nola. โ€œWe are all super proud of you, and we wanted to offer you the $110,000 that has been raised for you.โ€

The elderly woman couldnโ€™t be more thankful for what she received from all the kind people who gave their donations. However, she said she still had to work to get $60,000 to completely pay off her house.

โ€œThatโ€™s whatโ€™s holding me at work โ€“ the house,โ€ she said.

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A post shared by Devan Bonagura (@dbon973)

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She promised to retire once sheโ€™s done paying off her house. In the meantime, it would take care quite some time to earn that $60,000 considering her pay and her everyday expenses.

Unfortunately, Devan got suspended from work because of his kindness.

TikTok - @dbon973_
Source:
TikTok - @dbon973_

As viral as the video got, Walmart also took notice of it and responded to it differently.

โ€œTheyโ€™re getting a lot of backlash, so they told me I need to delete the video and delete the fundraising page and return all the money to the people that donated it or theyโ€™re going to get the cops involved,โ€ he said in one of his videos.

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The donations didnโ€™t stop coming and they even reached over $180K! Nola said that sheโ€™s going to retire on the first of the year and she also extended her gratitude to all the people who donated. Finally, she can stop working and enjoy her senior life the way itโ€™s supposed to be.

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As for 19-year-old Devan, by looking at his TikTok videos, heโ€™s now made helping people a habit. Heโ€™s spreading love through his random acts of kindness like tipping a waitress $500 for water and rewarding people for their honesty.

Watch the 15-second video that changed both Devanโ€™s and Nolaโ€™s life.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

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