There is a responsibility we have to help one another. It often gets lost in the shuffle of day-to-day life. Life moves at such a fast pace, that sometimes we forget to stop and just listen to one another. When a New Hampshire woman met an elderly disabled veteran at the pawn shop where she worked, she did what so many others forget to do – she listened.

Ninety-year-old Donald, an Air Force veteran, had made his way into the Manchester, N.H., pawn shop desperate to raise money. Donald’s wife had just been diagnosed with dementia, and he was struggling. When he made his way to the counter, he met Jenelle Marie. The two began talking.

Donald smiles while holding a check representing the donations that poured in from all over the world. Photo by Jenelle Marie

The young woman said she couldn’t help but be curious as to why someone his age would need to sell jewelry, so she asked him why. She wasn’t prepared for his answer. “He told me that his wife had just got diagnosed with dementia and his landlord had to raise his rent on him, so it kind of pulled on my heartstrings,” Jenelle said.

“I told the owner of the shop, and he decided he wasn’t going to collect interest from him,” she said. “I thought that was really kind of him, and it kind of inspired me and my fiancé to start what I thought was just going to be a little GoFundMe.”

@jenellemarie0212 #veteran #actofkindness #usgoldandpawn #manchesternh #fypage #viral #feelgoodvideo ♬ original sound – Jenellemarie0212

But, sometimes when one person listens, they can get others to, as well. Knowing she could help, Jenelle took what she had in savings, $1,300, as well as contributions from her fiancé, friends and family. She shared a video of Donald receiving the money, and it went viral. In the video, Donald calls Jenelle “an angel in disguise.” But what they both couldn’t know is how much Donald’s story would mean to others.

After Jenelle created the GoFundMe for the elderly veteran, donations poured from all over the world. The total as of now is $400,000, and still growing. Jenelle gave an update on telling Donald about what kind strangers had done for him. “I told him that meant that everyone in the world was seeing this and stepping forward to donate,” she said.

Even before I told him the amount, he was already extremely emotional and couldn’t believe the kindness of strangers across the world.”

Donald couldn’t believe that so many people would care that much. He said he didn’t deserve it, and that he was “just an ordinary man.” But as Jenelle told him, he was much more than that – he was inspiring others with his selflessness and love for his wife.

Jenelle said that once she and Donald have met with a lawyer to make sure the money will be managed properly, she will close the fundraiser. Along with her fiancé, Jenelle is working to find a more affordable place for Donald and his wife to live.

She has hope that people will hear this story and learn from it. “I hope two lessons: one is the smallest act of kindness can really change someone’s life in more ways than you could ever imagine, and the other is just to raise awareness that we have to do better for our veterans,” she said.

Sources: Sunny Skyz | News Nation