The pandemic has resulted in many of us making a lot of online purchases. And it’s probably fair to say that many of them weren’t actually necessary, although who would turn down a sale on cashmere yoga pants during this trying time? Ever hear of retail therapy?
But when Jennifer Bryant, mom of 4-year-old Noah, received a phone call from her sister telling her a delivery showed up at her house addressed to Bryant, she was immediately suspicious.
And she had every reason in the world to be concerned. The delivery consisted of three 70-pound boxes and inside the boxes was a total of 51 cases of SpongeBob popsicles — close to 1,000 of them —because Noah had gotten access to her Amazon account and spent $2,618.85, all on the treats.
Now, like most of us, Bryant — a mother of three working toward a master’s degree in social work — lacks the freezer space for the 918 popsicles. She also said didn’t have an extra $2,600 lying around to spend on the accidental purchase.
Even worse was the fact that the popsicles were non-refundable.
Thankfully, one of Bryant’s classmates, Katie Schloss, decided to set up a GoFundMe page last week to help Bryant pay for Noah’s purchase.
And it worked. To Bryant’s relief the page surpassed its initial goal of raising $2,618.85 in just under 24 hours. As of Monday afternoon, the page had received an overwhelming number of donations, totaling more than $23,896.
Jennifer Bryant later added an updated note to the page, thanking everyone who donated.
“Thank you SO much for your mind-blowing generosity and support,” she wrote on May 4. “We’re so grateful to have made back the $2,618.85 in a mere 24 hours!. As a parent to a child living with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), all additional donations will go towards Noah’s education and additional supports. We cannot thank you enough. Truly.”
Talk about a sweet ending to the story!
