A fundraising campaign for Fidencio Sanchez has raised more than 50 times the original $3,000 that was sought. Go Fund Me

We can say, with no ideological intent whatsoever, that it is not good news that an elderly man in a prosperous nation must depend on the kindness of strangers; but if we add one iota of oomph to the momentum of a story like this going viral, we are more than happy to share occasions when that kindness is demonstrated with drama:

Strangers Raise $165,000 In 3 Days To Help Chicago Popsicle Vendor, 89

It was just a glimpse, but the scene spoke volumes — and started a push for help. Joel Cervantes Macias was struck by the sight of an elderly man pushing his cart of frozen treats on Chicago’s 26th Street, so he took a photo. That was last week; as of Monday afternoon, Macias had raised more than $165,000 to help a stranger.

“It broke my heart seeing this man that should be enjoying retirement still working at this age,” Macias wrote on a Go Fund Me page he set up for the 89-year-old vendor, Fidencio Sanchez. “I had to pull over and took this picture. I then bought 20 paletas and gave him a $50 and said may God bless him and drove away.”

After posting a picture of Sanchez on Facebook, Macias quickly learned that others had the same response to seeing the man bent over to push his cart full of paletas, the traditional Mexican frozen treats. Many who commented wanted to know how they could help the man — and one of them, Joe Loera, suggested the Go Fund Me page.

Several donations total more than $1,000, but most of them are much smaller. In all, more than 7,000 people have chipped in. And when Sanchez began his day Monday morning, he did so with a half-dozen news crews around him, including one from Telemundo…

Read the whole story here.