Amelia Finefrock
Air Force veteran Anthony Johnson has been selling newspapers out of a beaten up stand at the corner of Milwaukee and Faragutt for the past seven years. Anthony connected with Chicago Police Lieutenant John Garrido close to a year ago when John decided to give Anthony a better place to sell his newspapers.
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Garrido posted a Facebook Live video asking for help and volunteers stepped up, spending the last few weeks transforming this stand.
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Thanks to Tony Marino of Marino Jeep, all of this was done with the help of local sponsors. They also took Johnson to the local Dick’s Sporting Goods and bought Johnson all new winter attire to help him stay warm.
Johnson makes about $120 a week from his newsstand, and most of the time, he’s just trying to survive. He says he sleeps outdoors more often than indoors – so John helped with that too – setting up a GoFundMe account to help with Anthony’s living expenses.
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“While this is not a long-term fix, our hope is this will give Anthony a chance to get a leg up to take care of himself down the road. We will also look into other resources that may be available to him as a vet,” the GoFundMe page says.
Today, the newsstand looks brand new, and artist Peter Bucks is painting two murals on the stand.
The new and improved newsstand will be unveiled Thursday night at 5:30 p.m.
