A Young TikTok User Found Out That 81-Year-Old Nola Worked As a Cashier to Pay Off Some Debts and Raised $180,000 for Her

People often complain that social media does more harm than good. But Nola Carpenter now thinks otherwise. The woman used to work in a big supermarket and her future seemed hopeless. But then she met Devan Bonagura, and the young guy decided to share her story online. So, just a single post changed her entire life!

Devan Bonagura was shocked by Nola’s story.

Devan worked as a consultant at a small store located in a supermarket. In the breakroom, he met a tired cashier named Nola Carpenter. The woman told him she had to work, even though she was 81 years old. She had to pay off her debts and save money for her pension.

Devan decided to shoot a video of the story and share it on TikTok. He wrote that life is not supposed to be this hard. In several days, the video had 27 million views and 4 millions likes. A lot of people were touched by Nola’s story.

To help Nola, the subscribers suggested that Devan create a page on GoFundMe. In just 1 day, they gathered $100,000 so that Nola could finally pay off her debts. Devan didn’t expect such success.

Devan met the woman, told her about the reaction from the people, and gave her access to the funds. He said, “They saw that you’re a very hard worker. We are all super proud of you.”

Nola was shocked and agreed to accept the money. Unfortunately, she needed $60,000 more to actually leave her job. Carpenter’s daughter, Kathy, explained that her father had gotten in a car accident several years ago, and he couldn’t work anymore. So Nola had to provide for the family alone and pay off the mortgage.

Kathy said that her mother really loved her house, and she didn’t want to lose or sell it. So, for the past 20 years, she had been working to pay off the loan. The financial help of other people helped her save the house.

Bonagura almost lost his job because of this story.

After Devan posted his video, the supermarket managers contacted him and asked him to take it down. He was in trouble. But Bonagura insisted and said that Nola would get the money one way or another.

At the same time, the donations were still coming in, and by the middle of November, the sum was $186,000. It was finally enough for Nola, and she was happy she could finally retire.

The woman is going to work in December in order not to leave the store during the busy holiday season. And she’s quitting at the beginning of the next year. The only thing she will miss is her everyday communication with customers. Carpenter says that many of them came by the store every day just to check in on her.

We’re really happy for Nola for saving her house and finally being able to enjoy the rest she deserves.