$80,000+ raised & new wheelchair for 94-year-old Santa Ana man selling Tamales outside of a bank

This hard-working Santa Ana elderly man has a fresh set of wheels and a new outlook on life.

Fullerton resident Kenia Barragan pulled off one of the best random acts of kindness of the year. According to an Instagram post she put out earlier this week (June 5, 2020) after seeing this 94-year-old man selling Tamales in front of a Chase Bank in Santa Ana and deciding he did not deserve this kind of life of work at his age, she did something about it and opened up a Go Fund Me.

In a matter of days, over $80,000 was raised for this hardworking man. He got a new wheelchair to replace the beat up one he was sitting on, and he reached out to to all those who donated, thanking them for their generosity.

Check out Kenia’s Instagram post below including the GoFundMe.

View this post on Instagram

Came to Chase earlier and noticed this man. He was selling tamales, so I approached him and gave him the cash I had and told him to keep the tamales for someone else. I started talking to him, and he told me that because he’s old, no one will hire him, so he sells tamales for a lady, and then she gives him money at the end of the day. His name is Joel, he’s 94 years old and uses a wheelchair to get around. He can barley afford to buy his coffee and bread in the morning to eat, and doesn’t have money to pay for a phone, let alone his medication. I found all this out, just by taking a few minutes out of my day to acknowledge a stranger. I gave him my phone number, and told him to call me whenever he needs anything… this breaks my heart. If anyone wants to help him out, please reach out to me. Second video is me giving him $50 that someone donated to him and a Torta Ahogada I bought for him. He said he’s gonna go to church tomorrow and pray for me. ?link in my bio

A post shared by ?????? ????????? (@kenia714) on Jul 5, 2020 at 1:33pm PDT

Here’s the location where Kenia spotted him.

His name is Joel, he’s 94 years old and uses a wheelchair to get around. He can barley afford to buy his coffee and bread in the morning to eat, and doesn’t have money to pay for a phone, let alone his medication.

Kenia goes on to tell the GoFundMe supporters he currently lives with his daughter, who also has a family of her own, in a nearby apartment. Joel supposedly enjoys selling Tamales to earn a bit of money so he doesn’t have to be much of a burden to his loved ones.

Tamale Man

With this amount of donations brought in, naturally, people are skeptical that Kenia would donate the entire amount but she’s ensured donators she’s working with Joel’s daughter and GoFundMe to ensure that 100 percent of all the funds will go to Joel.

in addition, she assured us Joel won’t be sitting out in the blistering sun anymore, selling tamales, and will instead enjoy himself.

With fewer people venturing outdoors because of Covid-19, people who work street vending jobs like this have been hurting because of less foot traffic. But, at 94-years-old, no one at that age needs to be working to make ends meet.

You, alone, think you can’t do much, but, with social media and supporters, a lot of good can be done in a short amount of time.

Thank You, Kenia, for setting a good example.