A veteran with cancer was in such financial turmoil that he tried to sell his hearing aids on Facebook to help pay for a vehicle so he and his wife could go to their medical appointments. Many commenters mocked him, but kindness won when three people stepped up and organized a fundraiser and a GoFundMe to help the veteran out.
Gilbert Hoppe served in the Army from 1962 to 1966. Today, the 75-year-old veteran has kidney cancer and he cares for his wife with COPD. Desperate for a vehicle, he was willing to give up his hearing so he could take his wife to her appointments. That is a tremendous sacrifice.
Rather than recognize the love and sacrifice it takes to offer up hearing aids, many people taunted him. When one called him an “idiot,” Kristi Bighley had enough and decided to help Hoppe. Along with two others, she organized a fundraiser for this new friend. She also started a GoFundMe page.
Bighley, Jena Faue, and Chris Wright came together to help out the Minnesota veteran. These three had never met, but their desire to step up and help brought them together and they did a remarkable job! The crowdsourcing fundraiser has raised over $32,000 of its $40,000 goal. The fundraiser held at an American Legion raised thousands as well.
Hoppe and his wife were very touched by the outpouring of support and their new friends. When asked how he feels about the community’s effort to help him, the veteran replied, “Good. Couldn’t feel any better.”
The video below will remind you there are lots of good people in this world. The effort to help out this veteran was multi-generational.
Many people wanted to help this man who chose love over the ability to hear in order to help his wife. Thanks to all of these generous people, Gilbert Hoppe won’t need to do that.
Earlier this month, another GoFundMe exceeded its goal to help a WWII veteran pay off his medical bills. The VA had let him down, but caring citizens and a fellow veteran stepped up!
Share this if you support our veterans!
Source: Western Journal