"He told me that his wife had just got diagnosed with dementia and his landlord had to raise his rent on him, so it kind of pulled on my heartstrings," Marie told NewsNation. "I told the owner of the shop and he decided he wasn't going to collect interest from him ... I thought that was really kind of him, and it kind of inspired me and my fiancé to start what I thought was just going to be a little GoFundMe."
"I hope two lessons: one is the smallest act of kindness can really change someone's life in more ways than you could ever imagine, and the other is just to raise awareness that we have to do better for our veterans," Marie said.
Marie made a TikTok of her presenting the initial $1,300 raised to Donald, and the campaign went viral. Contributions began pouring in.
In a follow-up video, Marie posted birthday wishes for Donald from around the country, including a swag bag with autographed hats and balls from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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