“Technicality” Ends $700k GoFundMe Campaign
on • Updated
A GoFundMe page that brought in nearly a million dollars was shut down due to a controversial reason that has was internally categorized as “factual misrepresentations.”
Donald Johnson, who is 81 and lives in Texas, has been working as a delivery driver for a service that returns luggage that gets separated from travelers.
His shifts, which the New York Post reported sometimes last 14 hours at a time, have seen him travel 200,000 miles in a car that is now riddled with mechanical problems.
All of this work has been for a sole purpose: covering the cost of his wife’s cancer treatment bills.
However, on Sept. 25, GoFundMe suddenly pulled the campaign down from its website, refunding about $700,000 to donors.
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Why GoFundMe Pulled The $700,000 Campaign From Its Website
“We had over $700,000 in donations, and it’s absolutely devastating right now,” said Amy Johnson, the daughter of Donald and Josephine Johnson, in a TikTok video. “We had so much hope and were able to take care of medical bills and everything.”
She added, “It’s just really hard.”
From Sept. 2 until Sept. 25, a GoFundMe campaign that was setup to financially help 81-year-old Donald Johnson was taken down on what the Johnsons describe as a “technicality.”
This campaign, it was revealed, was created by Amy Johnson, but she created it under the name Erin Howell.
The video that started the campaign was originally taken by a woman named Erin Howell, and it showed Ring Video Doorbell footage of Donald lifting her luggage up the stairs.
Working as a delivery driver for a luggage return service, Donald works 14-hour shifts every day to pay for his wife’s pancreatic cancer treatment bills.
Donald and Josephine have been married 57 years.
See the video that initiated the viral GoFundMe campaign, here:
@helpdonretire His name is Don. He is 81 years old and puts over 200,000 miles a year on his car delivering lost airline luggage because it’s the only job that will hire him. He isn't doing this by choice—his beautiful wife of 51 years, Josephine, is currently fighting a severe battle against pancreatic cancer. The medical bills are crushing them and his car keeps breaking down. At 81, he should be home holding her hand, not lifting bags that weigh half as much as he does on the highway. I started a GoFundMe as their local neighbor to get Don home. Please help us share his story and get him off the road. 💔👇Link to help Don retire is pinned in comment section! #gofundme #mutualaid #humanity #kindness #helpdon ♬ original sound – HelpDonRetire
That video was then shared to a GoFundMe that Amy created under Erin Howell’s name, with Amy admitting on TikTok, “The [GoFundMe] account was originally mine, so we thought it would be easier if we just used it.”
In a separate video, Amy explained that the campaign grew “organically,” and that it was their hope to be able to maintain the GoFundMe campaign.
For GoFundMe, however, that was not sufficient.
The campaign was terminated, and the $700,000 raised was refunded to the donors, with GoFundMe detailing its reason for this course of action in a statement to FOX 4:
“Ensuring GoFundMe is a safe and trusted place to give and receive help is our top priority. After further review by our Trust & Safety team, the organizer account and fundraiser have been found to be in violation of our Terms of Service, and the fundraiser removed and refunded.”
GoFundMe added that “taking action like this allows GoFundMe to protect donors’ generosity and our continued ability to support people who are fundraising to help others.”
Now, they have setup a fundraiser on a different crowdfunding website, called GiveSendGo.
As of noon EST on Monday, Sept. 28, the GiveSendGo campaign has raised just over $51,000.
To contribute to the new campaign to help Donald Johnson pay for his wife’s cancer treatment bills, visit their campaign on GiveSendGo, here.
This is a developing story.
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