Over $200K Was Donated To This 89-Year-Old Popsicle Vendor For His Daughter’s Funeral
If you grew up in a city where paleteros (street ice cream vendors) or eloteros (street corn vendors) roam the sidewalks, you know they often have to endure punishing heat and push through long walks on their routes.
That’s a lot to take for anyone, but even more grueling for an older man. That’s why when 89-year-old Fidencio Sanchez was spotted pushing his little ice cream cart around Chicago, it was heartbreaking.
Joel Cervantes Macias learned that the man started selling these “paletas” (Mexican ice cream) to pay for his recently deceased daughter’s funeral. Macias not only bought 20 of the cold treats for $50, he started a Go-Fund-Me campaign, hoping to raise $3,000 for Fidencio.
The campaign started September 9, and in just a few days had blown by the $3,000 goal, as an overwhelming amount of support from over 12,000 people around the world poured in, to the tune of $285,145, as of this writing.
Cervantes has tried to be transparent throughout the campaign and said that he will livestream when he hands Sanchez the money.
An update also stated that the campaign would stay up for a few days since people are still donating.
