A TikTok user’s fundraising campaign has raised more than $180,000. This is to assist an elderly Walmart employee in paying off her mortgage and retiring. Devan Bonagura shared a 15-second TikTok video of an elderly woman sitting alone in the Walmart break room. She was dressed in a Walmart uniform, complete with a nametag and a vest. “Life shouldn’t be this difficult. “I’m sorry,” says the caption on Devan’s TikTok video.
The touching video has received over 24.1 million views on the popular social media app. Devan did not anticipate the video gaining widespread attention so quickly. Some of them even encouraged him to start a GoFundMe campaign to help the woman. His viewers were not disappointed because he quickly set up a GoFundMe page for her. “Let’s help Nola retire,” the description says. Nola works at Walmart, which says it all.
Let us all pitch in and help.” His viewers were not disappointed because he quickly set up a GoFundMe page for her. “Let’s help Nola retire,” the description says. Nola works at Walmart, which says it all. Let us all pitch in and help.” It had raised more than $100,000 in just 24 hours. Devan posted a video of himself meeting Nola for the account transfer on November 5.
“They obviously saw that you’re a very hard worker,” he told the woman. “We are all extremely proud of you, and we wanted to present you with the $110,000 that has been raised for you,” Nola said she would accept it, but she needed to work to get another $60,000 to pay off her house. She agreed that the money would be useful, and that it would no longer take her so long to save for her mortgage.
Walmart employees are paid an average of $19 per hour, so it will most likely take Nola a few more years to earn the additional $60,000.Nola also stated that she plans to retire once she has paid off her mortgage. “The house is what keeps me at work,” she explained. Despite this, she was determined to work hard so that she could retire and enjoy the rest of her life without financial obligations. She was grateful to everyone who helped to lighten her load.
Unfortunately, Devan’s act of kindness was not overlooked by Walmart, which was heavily criticized as a result of the video. “They’re getting a lot of backlash, so they told me I needed to delete the video and the fundraising page, and return all the money to the people who donated it, or they’re going to call the cops,” he said in one of his videos. “So I told them to do whatever they had to do because I’m going to get this money to this woman one way or another,” he continued.
Devan also informed his audience that his employee had suspended him with pay. Devan’s GoFundMe campaign had raised more than $172,000 as of November 10, which should be enough for Nola to pay off her mortgage and retire. Devan gained 132k followers after posting Nola’s video, and despite all of the challenges and criticism from some of his viewers, he did not stop helping people and doing fundraising efforts, which he also posted on social media. One of these was a $500 tip to a waitress for a cup of water.
Devan recently shared a video of his conversation with Nola in order to update viewers on the woman’s current situation. When asked how she was doing, she said she was fine and was grateful for Devan’s assistance. Nola also stated that she will retire on January 1st and leave Walmart after working there for 20 years. She also thanked everyone on TikTok who helped with fundraising, spreading the word, and donating.
Finally, she left Devan a lovely message and best wishes. “I just want to make sure you do well and get what you want, and I hope it works out that way.”Here’s a quick video of Nola taking a break at Walmart: