Elderly Walmart Employee Gets $186,500 For Her Retirement, Courtesy Of A 15-Second Video That Went Viral With Over 29M Views

Good things come to those who wait. Or at least that’s how the saying goes.

Maryjane

• Published in Interesting
• December 3, 2022

Despite our initial skepticism, the goodness we encounter might just make our hopes come true. One Walmart employee has received more than $186,000 in donations from Devan Bonagura, also known as @dbon973_ on TikTok, in the hopes that she will be able to pay off her mortgage and retire.

Since being posted, the 15-second video has received over 4 million likes and more than 29 million views. It shows Nola, an older woman sitting in the break room wearing a Walmart staff uniform and name tag, looking down at her lap.

Although he worked for a different firm than Walmart—one that sells phones there—he still felt as though Nola were his own grandmother. After watching the video, hundreds of people asked Devan to set up a GoFundMe page for her so that they could all contribute to her financial needs.

He agreed, setting up a fundraiser for Nola with the slogan "Let's help Nola retire" and a $10,000 fundraising target. After the project kicked off, some people thought the initiative was a ruse.

They hoped that Devan wouldn't just use Nola's story to gain fame, but that all the money would go to Nola. Devan repeatedly told them that Nola would receive all of the donations.

More info: GoFundMe | TikTok

To help Nola, an elderly Walmart employee, pay off her mortgage and retire, more than $186,000 was raised by the TikTok community

Devan Bonagura saw Nola resting when she was taking a break and the caption from the 15-second TikTok video started it all

On the way to Nola's retirement, there were other obstacles to be overcome. Devan claimed that Walmart had gotten in touch with him regarding the popular TikTok and requested that he stop what he was doing, take down the GoFundMe page, and give the donors their money back.

Following the publication of the video, the company reportedly received numerous complaints and threats, and they warned Devan that he would be subject to police intervention if he didn't comply with their demands. Despite this warning, Devan persisted.

The video has received over 29 million views and more than 4 million likes. Thousands of people have requested that Devan create a GoFundMe page for the woman.

So he did, naming the campaign "Let's Help Nola Retire" and setting the target at $10,000. They raised more than $110,000 in only one day, all of which Devan promised would go to Nola.

There were hiccups along the way. As a result of the outrage, Walmart contacted Devan and requested that he take down the GoFundMe page and return all the money.

Additionally, it appeared that many people wanted to donate, as the GoFundMe page raised over $100,000 in just 24 hours, staggeringly exceeding the initial goal. Devan shared a video on TikTok of him meeting Nola to share the good news with her and to deposit the money gotten.

In his formal introduction, the man said how he had uploaded a video of her on social media and that it had sparked a flood of demands to support her retirement. Later in the video, one of Nola's kin was seen transferring the funds to Nola's name.

Devan declined and went to see Nola to make the offer. She disclosed that her goal was to pay off her $170,000 mortgage.

Due to the fact that people paid attention and contributed more than $186k, Nola will be able to retire and lead a carefree life. We hope for the best for her and Devan in the future!

Here is the initial video that started the incredible project

The video was concluded by Devan posting a picture of himself and the woman with the caption, "We love you Nola." Devan and Nola sat down to provide a brief update in the most recent TikTok video.

She will retire at the beginning of the new year because she wanted to support her coworkers throughout the holiday season. She had over 20 years of experience working at Walmart and will miss her customers, but she is looking forward to unwinding.

People applauded Devan and found comedy in Nola's sassiness as they expressed their excitement for this project

Appreciate it but...

You did a beautiful thing for her

Some money going to the kid

We come together when someone needs it

Thank you so much for doing this

How humble

You are a awesome young man

God bless

He deserves to be blessed

God bless you Devon

Life should not be this hard

Good things are coming

Sadly, before all of this was through, Devan took one more hit. He disclosed that his employer has since suspended him with pay.

He seemed to have taken the short end of the stick for his own life in order to improve it for another. But the supporters he has amassed during this process appear to be on his side.

Maryjane