The world was taken in by the news of a 56-year-old man from Detroit who walks 21 miles to and from
work each day.
The Detroit Free Press first covered the tale of Robertson's
grueling commute, explaining that he leaves his home at 8 a.m. and does not
return until around 4 a.m. Because Robertson can't afford to own and maintain a
car in the Motor City on his $10.55-per-hour salary, he must rely on public
transportation, rides from good samaritans and his own two feet to get him
where he needs to go Monday through Friday.
Evan Leedy, a student at Detroit's Wayne State University,
set up a GoFundMe account to help raise money to buy Robertson a car. It began
with a simple goal of $5,000 and skyrocketed to over $200,000 from thousands of
people after Robertson's story was picked up my media outlets around the world.
Now, the GoFundMe drive has raised $231,958 to help him buy a
car. The fundraiser was started two days ago by Evan Leedy.
“What an incredible journey,” Leedy writes. “James is an
amazing guy and it was so great meeting him last night. Blake Pollock and
myself are working on creating a board/committee to handle the money that is
raised. Attorneys, financial advisors, ect (sic), are all coming into play.
We
are making sure to consider every angle of this fundraiser. It is so exciting
that every penny that is being raised is going to James to help him with
whatever he needs in life. Thank you all for your continued donations, kind
words, and support.”
The 56-year-old injection molder, who does not appear to be
physically fit, has somehow managed to trek to his job every day since his car
broke down back in 2005 to faithfully
complete his 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. shift.
Since none of Robertson’s co-workers live near him, he is
unable to hitch a ride to or from work. Robertson who is yet to miss one day
of work — begins his day at 8:00 am, even walking along some treacherous areas
along the famed 8 Mile and through all kinds of bad weather with rain, sleet,
hail or snow.
"I am just so stunned," Robertson told People
magazine Tuesday. "Who would have thought that just a simple walk would
have turned into this? I would have told you that you were crazy a few days ago
... I am taking this as a sign that it's time I start driving again," he
said. "And getting more than two hours of sleep a night
So amazing, there's still a lot of good in the world, don't stop believing.
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