CHICAGO — The history-making fundraiser for Little Village's "Paleta Man" has ended making more than 120 times its original goal.
The fundraiser, the largest GoFundMe campaign there has ever been in Illinois, raised $385,290 in nine days. That money will be donated to Fidencio Sanchez, an 89-year-old man who has spent decades selling paletas — a type of popsicle — in the city.
The money will be given to Sanchez and his wife during a public presentation at Poncho's Paleteria next week, according to an update to the GoFundMe campaign. A lawyer is helping the Sanchez family handle the donation, according to the update.
Sanchez attempted to retire earlier this year, but he returned to work after just two months when his daughter died, said Gustavo Gutierrez, who provides the paleta cart to Sanchez. Sanchez works for hours nearly every day and typically makes just $50-$60.
A man who spotted Sanchez earlier this month decided to help the "Paleta Man," creating a GoFundMe campaign. That money will be used to help Sanchez and his wife relax and take care of themselves.
The campaign quickly went viral, and more than $100,000 was raised in a single day.
It's among the top 25 largest campaigns in the entire United States, said GoFundMe spokesman Barlett Jackson. More than 16,000 people from 52 countries have donated to the campaign.
Gutierrez said Sanchez has spent his entire life selling paletas, going to churches, schools and selling around the neighborhood. But business can be slow at times, and people worry about his health. Gutierrez has taken to preparing Sanchez's cart each morning, filling it with paletas, so the "Paleta Man" doesn't have to work harder than he needs to.
"The entire community [of] Little Village knows about Mr. Fidencio because for decades he's always been selling," Gutierrez said. "He wants to continue. Which is great in terms of spirit, but we're concerned, of course, that something could happen to him. So we're trying to make it as easy as possible for him ... ."
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