A day at her clothing store job turned into a life-changing moment for a 92-year-old employee who says she can’t afford to retire when a complete stranger decided to help her out.
April Steele says she was looking around a Burlington store in Pompano Beach a few weeks ago when one of the store’s workers caught her eye.
“I noticed this lady working in the dressing room. This woman’s got to be in her 80s, and she is still working! My heart sank,” said Steele.
Moved by what she saw, Steele said she took action.
“I thought, ‘Why is a 92-year-old woman working? It just seemed unbelievable to me,” she said.
After meeting employee Muriel Connick, Steele shared her story on a local Pompano Beach Facebook group. Then, at the suggestion of others, she created a GoFundMe to help cover Connick’s expenses.
The 92-year-old told 7News her Social Security check doesn’t cover her basic expenses, so she’s forced to continue working.
“Well, I have to,” she said. “It’s the rent, and it’s the car payment and the car insurance and the telephone, electricity, and cable.”
The response to the GoFundMe was immediate.
“And it has taken off. People have been so generous,” said Steele.
In just a few weeks, over $5,000 has been raised.
Connick said she never expected this outpouring of support from strangers.
“I was really surprised. Yeah, and I didn’t know she was going to do all this. I thought she was going to give me a card and say, you know, ‘This is to help you,’” said Connick.
While speaking to Connick at her mobile home, she showed 7News how her aging wooden floorboards visibly pop up as she walks across them.
Steele says part of the GoFundMe money will go toward fixing the floors and making her home safer.
“How could you not want to help?” said Steele.
Despite the challenges, Connick says she’s working with grace and determination, now supported by generous South Florida strangers.
“I don’t know who they are,” she said of those donating to the GoFundMe. “[But] I thank them very much, and I don’t know what I’d do without them,” she said.
Steele hopes the community will continue rallying behind Connick to ease her financial burden and give her the chance to finally enjoy her golden years.
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