Rory McCarty was shocked to find an 82-year-old Navy veteran and widower still “grinding” out 8-9 hour shifts at a Walmart. He realized at that moment he could put his social media influence towards a good cause.
Helping raise $108,000 in just a few days, McCarty gave it all to help the man finally retire. Warren Marion walked into Walmart in Cumberland, Maryland, for the final time last week after having handed in a two-week notice. He was greeted with cheers, balloons, and a large check for $108,000.
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McCarty runs an extermination business called Bug Boys, and in a true 21st century story, managed to amass a TikTok following of 300,000 by showing videos of creepy crawlies he finds during work.
“As a business owner … I was astounded seeing this little older man still grinding. Working eight to nine hour shifts,” Mr McCarty said on the GoFundMe page he set up on December 19th to help fund Marion’s retirement.
“I wanted to help this Navy Veteran to live the remainder of his years traveling to see his kids in Florida. Get him off his feet for 8 hrs at a time. And do the things he would love to do that he may not be able to for financial reasons.”
A video he posted of them both in December has been viewed over three million times, and the GoFundMe met its goal within a few days.
It’s actually the third Walmart employee that TikTok users have managed to coax into retirement, and Marion is the second 82-year-old to receive the generosity of this particular social media platform.
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An elderly woman named Nola was filmed on break at another WalMart by TikTok user Devon Bonagura, who managed to raise a whopping $175,000 for her retirement.
