A TikTok video of Butch Marion started the fundraiser
An 82-year-old Navy Veteran is expressing his gratitude after receiving over $108,000 in donations that allowed him to retire from Walmart.
"It's so overwhelming and it's so big," Butch Marion told "America Reports" on Monday, "I can't even put my arms around it to tell you the truth. It's so amazing how good people are from around the world. Now, this ain't just here... and why was I, out of everybody, the one picked?"
The fundraiser was spearheaded by bug extermination business owner Rory McCarty, a Walmart customer who walked into the store and filmed Marion ringing up items in the checkout line and posted the video on TikTok. McCarty explained how his faith in Jesus Christ prompted him to give back. After seeing a video about Elizabeth Rizzo, who raised over $133,000 for an elderly woman, he wanted to do the same.
"As a business owner, it's hard for me to find good help," McCarty reflected on Marion’s work ethic, "I'm expanding and so when I went into Walmart, I seen this man leaning over and working and I was just blown away... The Lord, just prompted me to get my video out and I did and I started videotaping him."
Marion, a grandfather, had previously worked at General Motors, but retired so he could take care of his ex-wife’s husband, according to a previous Fox News report. After his death, Marion took care of his ex-wife and later returned to work following her passing.
McCarty’s TikTok video led the Navy Veteran to receive over $108,000 in just two days. Marion said he will use the funds to pay off his bills, give back to others and visit his daughters down south after five years away.
"I would like to thank everybody around the world that gave me this," Marion said. "I'm like a bird out of a cage now."
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