Once in a while, humans perform selfless acts that restore their faith in humanity, and this TikTok user (@Dbon973_), Devan Bonagura, is one of them. He shared a now-viral video with almost 30 million views of an overworked senior citizen at Walmart.
Nola told Bonagura that she needed the work to pay off her mortgage loan and retire. He captioned the video, which showed her looking tired and sad. “Life shouldn’t be this hard.”
RELATED STORIES
Her story prompted him to make a GoFundMe to raise funds for her plight and grant her an early retirement.
Meeting And Exceeding The Fundraiser Goal
Bonagura’s video now has over 4.1 million likes, 30,000-plus shares, and 37,900-plus comments from fellow TikTokers. His hashtag encouraged TikTokers to blow the video up, and they did.
Within 24 hours, he created a fundraising account via GoFundMe and raised over $175,000 on a goal of $15,000. Once he exceeded the goal beyond measure, Bonagura disabled the fund for further donations and made a second video presenting Nola with the money he raised.
Walmart Is Allegedly Displeased
Upon presenting Nola with the first $110,000, she accepted it with reservations saying she still needed to make $60,000. She thanked Bonagura for lightening the burden, leading him to raise more money, and he reached the goal.
Despite Bonagura’s kind gesture, he alleged that Walmart suspended him with pay because the video led to backlash over their employment of the older woman. The company then threatened to involve the police if Bonagura didn’t take down the fundraiser and videos, but he refused to succumb to the threats.
Commenters Share Safety Tips
TikTokers encouraged him to present Nola with the money off Walmart’s property and after work hours to avoid legal loopholes. Another told him to get a lawyer when talking to the police, while more users threatened Walmart, saying they’d react if the company fired him for his altruism.
Nola Had A Normal Old Person Reaction
Commenters joked about Nola being a typical old person focused on the problem rather than the result. They posted jokes like,
One commenter wished for him to get a better-paying job because of the alleged mistreatment from Walmart and his third-party employer.
Good People Still Exist
Bonagura’s actions were heartfelt because Nola would’ve worked at least two years to raise that extra $60,000 after taxes and more to make the entire $170,000-plus. It’s great to see that there are still good people in the world with the bad news trudging in daily.
