A GoFundMe set up to help a Walmart worker, Nola, retire has raised over $100,000 in 24 hours after a video of her in the breakroom looking thoroughly dejected went viral onTikTok. This outpouring of support resulting from a viral video comes just months after a letter delivered to the CEOs of Apple and Google revealed thatthe FCC commissioner wants to ban TikTok.
TikTok has quickly established itself as one of the fastest-growing social apps, growing to over 1 billion active monthly users since its launch in 2016. Owned by parent company ByteDance, TikTok’s focus on short-form video has made it stand out from other social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. In an effort to respond to TikTok’s growth, some rival social media apps have made their own attempts at promoting short-form videos, often to the frustration of existing users. Gaming has become a popular topic on TikTok, with gaming-related videos like one showing an85-year-old grandpa getting a PS5 for his birthdayattracting large numbers of viewers.
RELATED:TikTok Has Banned Hasan Piker
In a video uploaded toTikTokthat has now been viewed over 15 million times, user dbon973_ shares footage of his coworker, Nola, sitting in the Walmart breakroom looking thoroughly worn out from the day. Overlaid with the words “Life shouldn’t b this hard…” and backed by somber music, the heart-wrenching video quickly went viral, leading to calls from the comments for a GoFundMe to be established for Nola. In a series of follow-up videos, dbon973_ confirmed that a GoFundMe had been established and expressed his surprise and joy at how much money had already been raised.
After raising over $100k in just over 24 hours thanks to the donations of over 9,000 people, and making plans with Nola’s daughter to surprise her with the news, dbon973_ shared a video of himself going to meet Nola at the Walmart parking lot. Explaining how he had recorded Nola and posted the video online after seeing how hard she worked, dbon973_ told Nola about the outpouring of donations before transferring the account to her ownership. Clearly surprised but happy at the news, Nola states that the donations would pay off over half of what she still owed on her house. After a string of recent, high-profilecontroversies on TikTok, this heartwarming video shows that the platform also has the potential to be a source of good.
In an age where it can sometimes seem like social media only highlights the worst of humanity, stories like this are a reminder that these powerful tools can also be used to bring good into the world. As TikTok continues to disrupt the social media landscape, creating a growing number ofTikTok starsalong the way, many users likely hope that more positive stories like this will begin to appear on the platform.
