GoFundMe shuts down fundraiser for man still working at 81 years old as wife battles cancer
GoFundMe has shut down a fundraiser for an elderly man because of apparent violations of its terms of service.
Last week, a video of 81-year-old Don Johnson went viral. In the doorbell footage, Don is seen carrying two heavy pieces of luggage up someone's stairs.
Don, from Dallas, Texas, works as a contractor who returns lost luggage to people. He's been doing the job for three years to help pay for his wife Josephine's cancer treatment. The pair have been together for 57 years.
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A fundraiser went on to be set up for Don by Erin Howell, who saw the elderly man carrying the luggage up her stairs and went on to find out more about him.
After learning of his age and circumstances, she created a GoFundMe page which went on to raise over $281,000.
On the page, she'd described Don as looking 'absolutely exhausted'. Erin wrote: "The other day, I looked out my door cam and saw an 81-year-old man slowly and painstakingly carrying my heavy luggage that had been lost on a recent flight up a steep flight of stairs.
"He looked absolutely exhausted, and his steps were heavy with effort."
However, the fundraiser has now been taken down.
In a statement to Fox 4, GoFundMe said: "Ensuring GoFundMe is a safe and trusted place to give and receive help is our top priority.
"After further review by our Trust & Safety team, the organizer account and fundraiser have been found to be in violation of our Terms of Service, and the fundraiser removed and refunded."
They said they had taken action 'to protect donors’ generosity and 'require authenticity and transparency for donors'.
Now, Don's daughter Amy Johnson has spoken out to claim the fundraiser was taken down on 'a technicality'.
She explained: "The account was originally mine so we thought it would be easier if we just used it.
"They didn't allow us to provide any documentation. They just basically said that they were refunding everything."
Breaking down on camera, she added: "Everything on that page is 100 percent true. My mother is suffering from pancreatic cancer and my dad is delivering luggage to help.
"It's absolutely devastating right now because we had so much hope and we were able to take care of the medical bills and everything, so to lose it is just really hard."
In a later TikTok video, she elaborated that updating the name the account was under was allegedy the reason GoFundMe took action.
She said there had been $700,000 in donations before the fundraiser was shut down.
Prior to the fundraiser being deactivated, Don had shared his hopes that the money raised would allow him to stop working.
"I think I'm going to be able to stop working, and that's amazing," Don said in an interview with Fox 4. "So we're not quite totally over the hump yet, but we're getting there very quickly."
His wife added: "I can face it. I think that's the big difference. Some have made comments and they're praying for us. And it's just, it's a joyful feeling."
Over 5,300 people are said to have donated to the page before it was shut down.
A new fundraiser has been launched for Don on GiveSendGo, which currently has over $45,000 in donations.
UNILAD have reached out to GoFundMe for further comment.
Niamh Shackleton