Morgan walked into his bedroom to find a pill bottle filled to the brim with change and a handwritten note that simply read, “$11.19. Coffee money. Love, Dad.”
Pleasantly surprised and heart-warmed, the teen couldn’t help but share her dad’s adorable gesture on social media. Little did she know, the post on her Twitter account with only 40 followers would take on a life of its own overnight.
As some know my dad is mentally and physically handicapped and so especially now that he’s older he’s unable to work or earn an income but he’s been saving his pocket change for the past month for some reason and I thought nothing of it til I came home from work to this today❤️ pic.twitter.com/rdEqu6u8rf
— Morgan Porterfield (@morganp_2018) June 2, 2018
She woke up to over 60,000 likes the following morning!
“I was so confused. I was like, ‘Why is it getting that much attention?’” said Morgan.
GoFundMe
In perusing the comments, she realized the Internet was starving for uplifting stories. Several commenters convinced Morgan and her four siblings to start a GoFundMe page for their dad so they could make a donation.
Jim had no idea about the GoFundMe, but within only a few days, it racked up several thousand dollars. To date, it has reached over $20,000 of its $25,000 goal, and contributions are still being made regularly.
His kids kept the donations a secret until Father’s Day when they surprised him with the amount that complete strangers had raised on his behalf.
“He was confused at first… like, ‘Why?’” said Morgan. “Then he teared up. The things he does for us are just normal for him.”
Jim feels so blessed that the unexpected funds have provided a safety net for him and his family.
Morgan’s hope is that her dad’s simple act can be an encouraging reminder to others:
“No matter what your situation is, there’s no reason not to love everyone and treat everyone with kindness and be the best you can be. My dad is a prime example of that. He doesn’t care about anything but making the people he loves happy.”