When a homeless man gave his last $20 to help a woman desperately in need, he never expected anything in return; but one selfless act of kindness earned him a life-changing opportunity when the woman repaid him for his generosity in the most amazing way possible.
A Woman in Need of Help
Kate McClure (R) and Johnny Bobbitt (L)
Driving alone on a desolated road, late at night, is a scary scenario for any woman, but, the situation can get worse if your car runs out of gas and you must walk to the nearest gas station to get help. For Kate McClure, her worst nightmare came true when her car ran out of fuel in the middle of nowhere and she had to resort to walking for half an hour to reach the closest gas station for a refill.
McClure recalled that October night as one of the scariest moments of her life. When her car suddenly stopped on the empty road, she got a sinking feeling in her heart thinking that if she had to leave her vehicle behind to get to the gas station, there was a chance that she may never make it back safely. With her heart beating out of her chest, McClure got out of her car and started heading in the direction of the nearest gas station – but suddenly, she ran into a stranger and both of their lives were forever changed since that moment.
Former Marine, Johnny Bobbitt, years ago with his dog
An Act of Kindness
The night McClure’s car broke down, there was another man who witnessed the entire chain of events walking down the same road. He quickly approached Kate as she got out of the vehicle to get gas and asked her what was wrong. The man’s name was Johnny Bobbitt, a former marine, who had spent the past one and half year of his life living on the streets of New Jersey.
Bobbitt would spend most of his time sitting by the side of same road where he saw McClure, asking strangers for money to survive. On that particular day, he had been able to collect $20 and was about to buy himself dinner before calling it a night. When he heard McClure’s story, he knew immediately that he needed to do something to help her. Johnny told her to get inside the car and lock the doors while he would walk to the gas station and get some fuel.
Kate said that Bobby left her in the car to get gas without asking her for a single dollar. He knew that she would not have trusted him if he had asked for her money and left – after all, he was just a stranger to her. A little while later, Johnny returned with a can of gas that he paid for with the last $20 that he had and he did it just to get Kate home safely. McClure could not repay her savior for his kindness since she did not have any cash with her that night but, she knew that Johnny hung out on the same road every day in case she ever needed to find him and return his $20.
Kate and Johnny after the start of the GoFundMe campaign during an interview with BBC Radio
Paying it Forward
The next day, Kate returned to the same place where she had met the homeless man and gave him warm clothes as well as $20 for the gas. Smitten by his kindness, Kate visited Johnny almost every day to give him some money and learn more about him. However, she wanted to do something big to repay the man for his kindness.
After discussing with her boyfriend, Kate decided to start a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Johnny. In the description, she said that she wanted to raise enough cash to buy the kind, homeless man a house. From getting to talk to Johnny, Kate found out that he wanted to find a job and be able to earn money for himself, and having a place to sleep and eat in, would make the transition easier for him.
Kate (L), Johnny (C) and Kate’s boyfriend who assisted with the campaign (R)
Homeless… No More
Kate knew that by advertising the campaign on social media platforms would earn the support from some of her family and friends. The initial goal of the campaign had been set to only a $10,000 but, as the story became viral, people around the world started donating money, raising more than $400,000 in funding!
In an interview with BBC Radio, Johnny said that the support from hundreds of people around the world had humbled him and he would never take people’s generosity for granted. The former U.S. marine expressed his wish of buying a house and his dream truck with the money.
