For the third time in recent weeks, kind-hearted and generous social media users have helped a senior Walmart employee get closer to retirement by donating their hard-earned dollars.
Rory McCarty, a TikTok creator in the U.S., is the latest person on the platform that’s been able to tap into the generosity of the social media community, raising close to US$100,000 for Butch, an 82-year-old Walmart worker.
McCarty first shared a clip of Butch working the till at Walmart on Dec. 17. McCarty can be heard explaining to Butch that other workers had gone viral on TikTok and received large donations through fundraisers on GoFundMe.
“Imagine that someone raised that kind of money for you,” McCarty says at the end of the video, which has garnered millions of views.
“We ought to do that for Butch,” read the caption on the video. “Who would donate?”
On Dec. 19, McCarty set up a GoFundMe page and set a goal of $100,000.
“As a business owner and knowing how hard it’s been to try to find good help for my business, I was astounded seeing this little older man still grinding,” wrote McCarty.
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“I wanted to help this Navy Veteran to live the remainder of his years traveling to see his kids in Florida. Get him off his feet for 8 hrs at a time. And do the things he would love to do that he may not be able to for financial reasons. Every penny will go to Butch.”
As of press time, two days after the fundraiser began, 4,400 donations have poured in and the goal has been reached.
McCarty told Insider that he had spoken to Butch on the phone the day after the GoFundMe took off, and Butch told him that he wanted to be fair to his employer and give two weeks’ notice. But he also said that he was “done” working at Walmart.
In a follow-up video posted on Dec. 19, Butch told the internet that he’s been working since he was 11 years old and was looking forward to visiting his children in Florida and would “enjoy my last 10 or 12 years I’ve got.”
Butch, however, isn’t the first senior Walmart worker that’s been the beneficiary of such kindness.
In early November, New Jersey TikTok creator Devan Bonagura helped to raise more than $186,000 for Nola, a Walmart employee in her 80s.
Nola accepted the funds raised on GoFundMe, but said that she would still have to work at Walmart until she can pay off the $60,000 mortgage on her home.
And earlier this month, TikTok creator Liz Rizzo shared video of an 82-year-old Walmart greeter in Arizona holding a cane and leaning up against a cart for support.
The greeter, Carmen Kelly, said she had to continue working despite her deteriorating health because she only had $50 in her bank account and needed to cover her medical bills.
In all, more than $130,000 was raised on GoFundMe for Kelly, who told ABC News that the donations are “a miracle.”
She said that she would continue working because she loves her job, but that the money would help her cut back on hours, buy a home and live closer to her grand and great-grandchildren.
“This will be the golden years for me.”
According to Walmart, the average American Walmart associate makes $19 an hour.
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