Christians in New Orleans and across the US have rallied to the assistance of a 90-year-old US Air Force veteran who claimed he was still forced to work collecting shopping trolleys from around a supermarket carpark to support himself.
One of shoppers at the Winn-Dixie store was Karen Swensen, a former news presenter who’s something of a legend in New Orleans and also a Christian. She spotted Dillon McCormick struggling to move the trolleys in sweltering mid-30s degree heat. When she asked him why he was still working at his age, he replied: “to eat.”
She also found other shoppers voluntarily helping Dillon do his job including a 73-year-old man with a limp who told Karen: “Matthew Chapter Seven, Verse 12 says all things that you want someone to do for you, do for them. So it’s action that the mind of Christ is based on. Put that into action, rather than just watching him sweat it out.”
Karen wrote about Dillon on the GoFundMe page: “He had the kindest smile and greatest attitude. He is grateful for his job and his work ethic speaks for itself. He pushes carts for HOURS. I met regular shoppers who say they see him doing this “all the time.” Some, like the man with a limp, get out to help him. Many do double takes.”
Dillon told Karen he needed around A$3840 a month to survive, but received less than half of that from social security. She felt compelled to help and launched a GoFundMe campaign that raised nearly A$350,000 in 24-hours, thanks to the generosity of thousands of people touched by Dillon’s plight. He expressed profound gratitude for the support, calling it “a miracle” at his age.
The single man who has no family planned to donate a quarter of the money to a local church, but it’s unclear whether he’s a member. He also planned to keep collecting trolleys at Winn-Dixie one day a week, not because he has to, but because he wants to. “If you stop working, you stop living. The good die young so it looks like I’ll be working a long time,” Dillon laughingly told CBS News. His mother lived to be 104. His grandmother was an Irish immigrant who came over to America in the late 1800’s as an indentured servant after slavery was abolished.
Born in 1933, Dillon served across the US and even in Greenland during his US Air Force career. His story highlighted the struggles many American veterans face in their later years. Crosswalk.com wrote: “Veterans who have dedicated their lives to serving and protecting our country should not have to endure the hardship of working strenuous or menial jobs in their later years. Their sacrifice and commitment deserve our utmost respect, care, and compassion.”
Image: Screenshot from GoFundMe page
