The Alan Barnes Fund started with a modest goal of £500 — about CDN $950 — to help a disabled British man who’d been attacked to cover costs to move to a new home.
But word got out and a gofundme.com page set up for the man has skyrocketed to hundreds of thousands of dollars in just a few days.
Reports say Barnes, 67, was retrieving his garbage bin from in front of his Newcastle-area home Jan. 25 when he was attacked. In the attempted robbery he was knocked to the ground, and his collarbone was broken.
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Barnes is just 4’6″ and weighs just over 80 pounds. He was born with sight and growth problems, due to his mother contracting German measles while she was pregnant. Feeling unsafe in his home since the attack, Barnes has been staying with his sister.
A local woman, Katie Cutler, read about Barnes and decided to set up the donation page. More than 10,000 people have donated in just a few days, and the funds continue to pour in.
Barnes told The Mirror he was “shocked” when he heard how much money had come in. Barnes vowed to use the money wisely, and may even be able to buy his own home with the money raised.
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