A Louisiana grocery store employee who captivated the hearts of social media users for letting a young autistic customer stock the store’s shelves is getting $100,000 to go to college.
Jordan Taylor, an employee at Rouses Market in Baton Rouge, went viral this week when he noticed customer Jack Ryan watching as he refilled the store’s coolers and decided to show the young man how to restock the shelves.
The viral video shows Taylor working with Ryan for more than 30 minutes to restock the coolers with orange juice and milk.
Jack Ryan’s father captured the video of the heartwarming encounter, and his sister, Delaney Edwards Alwosaibi, posted it to Facebook. The video has racked up at least 7,900 likes and more than 9,500 shares on Facebook as of Saturday morning.
“Talk about a stand-up young man!!!!” Alwosaibi said of Taylor in her Facebook post. “We all know autism makes going out difficult, and sometimes grocery stores can be a challenge. This young man took the time to slow down and allow Jack Ryan to help for over 30 minutes, guiding him as he finished his task.”
Alwosaibi, who was impressed with Taylor’s act of kindness, started a GoFundMe page to raise money for Taylor’s college education.
Taylor told Alwosaibi that he wants to become a teacher in the future and loves math. The campaign initially had a goal of $10,000, but the campaign had such an overwhelming amount of support that the page raised more than $100,000 by Friday.
As of Saturday morning, the campaign received more than $105,000 in donations.
A GoFundMe spokesperson told Fox News that Taylor’s campaign is the top trending campaign on GoFundMe, and people from around the world have donated to the fundraiser.
“Donors from Baton Rouge to Bangkok have been inspired by Jordan and Jack Ryan’s story. Nearly 3,000 people have donated $100,000 from all across the US and all around the world. Donors from Japan to Germany, from Ireland to Italy, have stepped up and taken action to show their support,” GoFundMe spokesperson Bobby Whithorne said.
A friend of Ryan’s family also started a separate GoFundMe page on Thursday to raise money for the family to care for Jack Ryan and his 26-year-old autistic brother. The campaign raised $2,820 as of Saturday morning and has a goal of $20,000.