Lowe's greeter gets help to buy new wheelchair
UPDATE MONDAY: The amount raised in the GoFundMe account has grown to $25,810, donated by 628 people in three days. The original goal was $8,000.
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The first thing customers usually see when they enter the Lowe's in Springettsbury Township is Chris Veseth's smile.
But Thursday night, those same customers brought Veseth, who was born with cerebral palsy, to tears.
That's when the greeter at the home improvement chain found out that people who he has helped over 17 years, had helped him.
"The wonderful thing about Chris is, he treats everyone the same. Whether he has just met you, or he has known you all of his life, " said co-worker Dot Caloia, who helped Veseth set up a GoFundMe account to help him purchase a new wheelchair.
What neither of them expected was the kindness of people who, for the most part, only knew him from the few moments of interaction upon entering the store.
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In less than 24 hours, the account had raised almost $13,000 -- $5,000 more than what the wheelchair cost. The additional money will be used to fly him to California to be fitted for the chair, plus also the cost of shipping. Anything left after that will go to his twin sister, who also was born with cerebral palsy and is diabetic, Veseth said.
"Last night, as the donations were rolling in, my co-workers and I were looking at it just in disbelief," Caloia said. "It's just so heartwarming to see people who want to give back to someone who has shown them so much kindness over the years."
Veseth, 38, was overwhelmed by the generosity of people he barely knew.
"I'm just kind of speechless. I was crying all last night," he said. "I think we take it for granted sometimes, but there's a lot of good people in this world."
