A good deed shines in a cruel world. One former Louisiana news anchor came to the aid of a 90-year-old veteran. She helped to raise more than $220,000. This comes after the reporter saw the veteran pushing shopping carts in the summer heat on Memorial Day. She decided to do something to help him.
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Ex-anchor Karen Swensen crossed paths with US Air Force veteran Dillon McCormick on Memorial Day. McCormick works at Winn Dixie in New Orleans where he pushes shopping carts to support himself. Since he doesn't drive, McCormick even walks more than a mile to work every day.
Upon discovering this, the former WWL-TV anchor started a fundraiser for the veteran. It instantly paid off. "Mr. McCormick is working to EAT, he said. He needs $2500/month to live and says he only gets $1100 from social security," Swensen wrote on a fundraising page. "So he must push carts in triple digit heat to make ends meet."
Veteran Gets A Fundraiser
The veteran ended up with more than $222,410 with the fundraiser still on-going. Swensen got some help from her friend Hoda Kotb, who hosts Today. Kotb shared the fundraiser helping to make it go viral. Swensen said she was "blow away" by the generosity of all those who donated to the veteran.
Likewise, the veteran got emotional when he learned about the funds. He called the fundraiser a miracle. "I think it's great," he said in an Instagram video Swensen posted online. "At my age it's probably a miracle."
Initially, he thought it was a scam. However, Swensen got the help of Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto III to convince the veteran that it was all legitimate. Swensen plans to transfer all of the funds over to him in a few days. It should be enough for the veteran to quit his job and get out of the summer heat.
As for Swensen, she said her faith in humanity was restored. Initially, she was upset that someone at McCormick's age had to work so hard to make it. However, she said that the fundraiser showed goodness as well.
"Should he choose to remain working, it will be just that - his choice," she said."I was so profoundly upset. But I was then equally impacted by the response. It was just a restoration of a belief in humanity."
