generalspeaking

Monday, August 27, 2018

The Generosity of the Human Spirit

"This is nuts. It has changed my entire outlook about people, my outlook about people has skyrocketed. It's the best Thanksgiving that I've ever had."
"He [homeless man Johnny Bobbitt, 35] will never have to worry about a roof over his head again!!"
Kate McClure, Philadelphia

"Giving him [Johnny Bobbitt] all that money, it's never going to happen. I'll burn it in front of him."
"[Giving an] addict [the money would be like] giving him a loaded gun."
Mark D'Amico, Philadelphia

"From what I can see, the GoFundMe account raised $402,000 and GoFundMe charged a fee of approximately $30,000."
"Mark D'Amico and Kate McClure gave Johnny about $75,000. There should be close to another $300,000 available to Johnny."
Bobbitt's lawyer Chris Fallon

Kate McClure helped raise more than $400,000 for Johnny Bobbitt Jr., a homeless man, to repay his kindness.

Stranded on the Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, out of gas, and with no money to pay for the fuel, a stranger approached Kate McClure, handed over his last $20 to help her out of her dilemma. The grateful young woman and her boyfriend, Mark D'Amico decided to track down the homeless man and do something to help him, in turn. They turned to GoFundMe and began a fund-raising campaign for him, explaining what he had done, though homeless, for a complete stranger, depriving himself for someone else. The fund went viral.

People responded in astonishing numbers; by the time it reached $65,000, Kate McClure was expressing her amazement at people's compassion and generosity. The fund kept growing until it reached a truly impressive $400,000 from contributors all over the world who were themselves impressed by the selfless reaction of the homeless man to the temporary plight of a young woman. Bobbitt, an ex-Marine and firefighter began living on a camper on land owned by McClure's family.

He had a place to live, but he was penniless, with no money to buy food, seek medical attention or any other necessity of life. And he began wondering how it was that a young woman who worked as a receptionist could possibly afford to buy a new BMW and go to California, Florida and Las Vegas for vacations with her boyfriend, taking a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon for good measure. He knew that D'Amico, working as a carpenter, was a gambler.

DAVID SWANSON / File Photograph

Johnny Bobbitt with Kate McClure and Mark D’Amico last year.

The funds that had been gathered through the GoFundMe campaign weren't released to the man they were supposed to give prospects for funding a new life to, other than an initial amount used to buy that camper. D'Amico confessed to having used five hundred dollars of that total collected for gambling, but stated he had restored that money to the total. McClure said none of the money meant for Bobbitt had funded her vacations or her vehicle; it was all her own money.

GoFundMe is prepared to investigate whether the $400,000 was mismanaged and it plans to ensure that Bobbitt "receives the help he deserves and that the donors' intentions are honoured". Strangely enough, only $200,000 remains in the fund of the total donors raised of $400,000 and Bobbitt no longer has that camper. Still, McClure insists she and her boyfriend did all they possibly could to aid the homeless man. "I think it might have been good intentions in the beginning, but with that amount of money, I think it became greed", speculated Bobbitt.

Pro bono lawyers with whom Bobbitt had been put in touch by homeless advocates are determined to see justice done. "I think he is just a genuine, sincere person who has been the victim of so many bad circumstances", said Jacqueline Promisio, one of the lawyers working on Johnny Bobbitt's behalf. She and her colleague Chris Fallon are representing Bobbitt's interests.