Fidencio Sanchez is an elderly paleta vendor from the Little Village area of Chicago who is still working hard after retirement age. Sanchez’s story became a trending topic on Facebook after Chicago local, Joel Cervantes Macias, shared a heart breaking image of an elderly man struggling to push his paleta cart.
The campaign was put together by Joel Cervantes Macias, a native of the predominantly Latino neighborhood of Little Village in Chicago. As Macias was driving around, he saw Don Fidencio struggling to push his paleta cart.
“It broke my heart seeing this man that should be enjoying retirement still working at this age," Macias said in a GoFundMe page he created for Sanchez. “I had to pull over and took this picture. I then bought 20 paletas and gave him a $50 and said may God bless him and drove away,” Macias added.
Macias initially posted the photo on Facebook, where he received a huge response. Immediately, he and a friend launched a GoFundMe page to help Sanchez and his wife. Sanchez’s story picked up so much attention, local news organizations came to interview him and his wife.
“Mr. Fidencio Sanchez and his wife recently lost their only daughter and are still heartbroken about the situation. His elderly wife was selling paletas also to help pay bills, but she fell ill and can’t work anymore,” Sanchez wrote .
The campaign, which was set at a $3,000 goal, has surpassed over $150,000 since it kicked off on September 9. The campaign is still trending.
You can donate here:
https://www.gofundme.com/2am4q7kk?pc_code=wd_md_ca...
