ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / NEWS

An elderly Kroger cashier was living in a homeless shelter. A stranger’s kindness turned it around.

The TikToker turned out to be a philanthropist who has dedicated his life to make dreams come true.
PUBLISHED NOV 20, 2024
Screenshot from Charlie Rocket's TikTok video | Image of Charlie and Sonja (Cover image source: The Dream Foundation | TikTok | @charlie)
Screenshot from Charlie Rocket's TikTok video | Image of Charlie and Sonja (Cover image source: The Dream Foundation | TikTok | @charlie)

The increasing cost of living, which includes rising food and rent prices, has made it hard for Americans to make ends meet. Seniors who had saved money all their lives are losing their funds in a bid to survive. The financial stress has been especially hard on the homeless as affordable housing is getting harder to find. In desperate times, the power of kindness was demonstrated by TikTok creator Charlie Rocket (@charliemore), who helped out an elderly cashier at his local Kroger store struggling to make ends meet. 

Screenshots showing Sonja at the checkout of Kroger (Image source: TikTok/@charlie)
Screenshots showing Sonja at the checkout of Kroger (Image source: TikTok/@charlie)

On his trip to the grocery store, Charlie came across a tenacious elderly woman working as a cashier. He couldn't help but talk to the woman to find out more about her life and see if he could do something to help. “I saw this elderly woman working at Kroger,” Charlie wrote in a video shared with millions of his followers on TikTok.


@charlie Link in bio to donate 🥹 We talked to miss Sonja for an hour and she said it was okay for our foundation to launch her a fundraiser. 100% of the donations go directly to her 🙏🏻❤️ #elderly #homeless #fypp #kindness ♬ What Was I Made For? [From The Motion Picture "Barbie"] - Billie Eilish

 

“The manager told me she’s living in a homeless shelter. Life shouldn’t be this hard. Let’s help her out," he added. In a follow-up video, Charlie went up to talk to the woman named Sonja and asked some basic questions to get to know her better. He found out that Sonja was homeless and had been working long shifts to stay afloat. When Charlie asked her what her dream in life was, the answer left everyone emotional. Unable to hold back tears, Sonja told him that her dream was to find affordable housing. "I’m staying at the women’s shelter," she added.

Charlie then followed that up with, “What is something you’re praying for?” to which Sonja simply said,  “Strength.” The woman further shared that it was the third time she was living in a shelter.


@charlie Link in bio to donate. My heart broke to pieces when she told me she was sleeping on the floor some nights at the homeless shelter 💔😔 Miss Sonja needs our help! Let’s get her into a house and retire her 🙏🏻 #elderly #fypp #viral #homeless ♬ To Build A Home - Slowed + Reverb - The Cinematic Orchestra

 

Thus, Charlie ended the video with a plea to his viewers, saying that he wanted to help Sonja and find accommodation for at least a year. Luckily for Sonja, Charlie wasn’t just any average shopper off the street. The creator is a philanthropist and the creator of the nonprofit The Dream Machine. According to the foundation's website, Charlie was diagnosed with a brain tumor which nearly shattered his dreams of becoming an athlete.

However, he overcame his medical challenges and continued to compete. He ran four marathons and successfully completed the 'ironman' challenge. He lost 125 pounds and his brain tumor went into regression, the bio noted. Charlie then dedicated his life to helping others and making people's dreams come true. 



 

Through The Dream Machine, he has helped several others who hit “rock bottom” like him. For Sonja, Charlie set up a fundraiser with a modest goal of $12,000 as he estimated that the housing that she needed would cost $1,000 a month in Nashville.



 

To everyone's surprise, contributions from Charlie's followers surpassed the goal in an hour, according to Goal Coast. In less than a week, the fundraiser amassed over $85,000 which was enough to put a roof over Sonja's head for the next seven years. At the time of writing, the fundraiser is still active and it has raised over $101,000 for Sonja.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
According to the expert, personal letters and a signature from Tolkien himself added to the value of the book.
7 hours ago
Chistina and Katie Currie won over $88,000 in cash and two exotic vacations with their stunning performance.
8 hours ago
After everyone backed out, the billionaire Shark stepped up to help the founder of Diaper Dust.
1 day ago
Sun kept repeating the incorrect phrase but couldn't identify the error in time.
1 day ago
After almost closing a deal with Mr Wonderful, the founder of 'Simply Good Jars' pivoted hard.
1 day ago
The host thought it was the "worst possible answer" to give even as the team felt it was good enough.
2 days ago
Adding to the controversy, the owner of Dr. Mudd's lapdesk asked Harrison for $100,000.
2 days ago
With just milliseconds to spare, Sarah LaPilusa pulled off an incredible Bonus Round win.
2 days ago
Ozark Trail 64 oz Water Bottles were recalled after the lids of faulty bottles forcefully ejected.
3 days ago
The player laughed and giggled her way through the puzzles to win prizes worth over $57,000.
3 days ago
Scott Riccardi placed an unbelievable wager during Final Jeopardy! to win a massive amount in a day!
3 days ago
The guest got a 200% return on investment on her sculpture that she bought from Macy's.
3 days ago
Jennings had a record-setting winning streak as a contestant before he became the host.
4 days ago
The player, Ron Wheeler, tragically got no clues after his letter picks for the final puzzle.
4 days ago
The former kids champion, Skyler Hornback knew what was coming.
4 days ago
The fans took issue with the clue being too tough and unnecessary for the contestants.
5 days ago
Cuban wanted to strike a deal with the founder of Coconut Girl and gave her an ultimatum.
5 days ago
Although the word did make a lot of difference, some fans felt that the decision was ridiculous.
5 days ago
The guest, who found the item online, didn't think it was the real deal until he heard its value.
6 days ago
The player Samantha secured the first big win of Ryan Seacrest's run on the show.
6 days ago