Sam Amico
Not everything about TikTok has to be annoying. Sometimes, it can actually be used for good. Or in the case of Devan Bonagura, used for really, really good.
Videos by Rare
Bonagura, who goes by Dbon973_ on TikTok, managed to raise $170,000 in a GoFundMe account to help a Walmart worker retire. He did it via his social media platform.
“Life shouldn’t be this hard,” he captioned a video showing an older female Walmart employee. His clip asking for donations last just 15 seconds. It raised $100,000 almost as quickly.
Devan Bonagura on TikTok
@dbon973_ :/ I feel bad. #fyp #blowthisup #sad #walmart ♬ Jocelyn Flores – XXXTENTACION
Bonagura said he doesn’t work for Walmart, but rather for a third company that sells products to the retailer. He eventually posted another video in which he told the woman about his viewers’ willingness to help her retire.
“They saw that you’re a very hard worker, obviously,” Devan Bonagura told the woman. “We are all super proud of you, and we wanted to offer you the $110,000 that has been raised for you.”
But that actually wasn’t enough. She still had a mortgage. “I’d accept it, but I’d still have to work until I get the other $60,000 paid off the house,” she told him.
On the bright side, the GoFundMe was nearing that mark — totaling $168,000 at this writing. On the downside, Walmart has received threats as a result of the video and told Bonagura to take it down.
“They’re getting a lot of backlash, so they told me I need to delete the video and delete the GoFundMe and return all the money to the people that donated it or they’re going to get the cops involved,” he said in a November 4 video. “So, I told them to do what you have to do because I’m getting this money to this woman one way or another.”
He later added that his own employer had suspended him with pay. But it seems it’s all for a good cause, and the woman should be able to retire. In that sense, Bonagura sacrificed a lot of himself to help someone else, and we can probably all learn from that.
