Wendy's Employee & Mother Left Homeless After Home Burns to Ground, Students Raise Funds To Help
Students at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, have rallied around a campus fast-food employee, trying to raise funds to repair his home that was destroyed in a fire.
Malcolm Coleman is a beloved overnight employee at a Wendy’s restaurant located on the USC campus.
He works to support himself and his mother, trying to recover financially and emotionally from a painful 2019.
Robert Caldaroni, a business student at USC who loves a good chocolate Frosty, recently learned just how difficult Coleman’s personal circumstances were and decided to help.
“Last year, on January 14th, 2019, an electrical fire nearly destroyed the Coleman family’s entire home. It is currently uninhabitable. Malcolm and his mother have been couch-surfing ever since,” Caldaroni wrote in a Facebook post.
“If you mention Malcolm’s name to a USC student, you will probably be met with a smile. The extraordinary care he takes of students and his incredible work ethic have made him into somewhat of a local celebrity at USC, and deservedly so,” he continued.
Caldaroni explained that students had come together to get a quote on what it would cost to repair Coleman’s 875-square foot home, repairs that Coleman could not afford.
With money for the repairs, Coleman and his mother would be able to move back into their home and have stability for the first time in over a year.
“The lowest quote our team received to repair the damages done to their small, 875 sq. ft. home is just over $75,000. Despite working full time, due to an insurance lapse, Malcolm cannot afford the repairs,” Caldaroni wrote.
“For years, Malcolm has gone above and beyond to care for students without expecting anything in return; now we have the opportunity to help out a friend in need.”
On the GoFundMe campaign for Coleman and his mother, Caldaroni further explained that Coleman’s father died in 2019 and his mother has been in and out of the hospital, trying to recover on the couch or recliner at a home that is only temporary.
Despite the stress, fear and uncertainty over the future, Coleman continues to work with a joyful heart, refusing to give in to resentment or despair.
“Malcolm never complains and takes every day as a blessing. He clocks into work every night to continue taking care of his mother and puts a small portion of his check towards maybe one day being able to return home,” Caldaroni wrote.
“Working in fast food isn’t easy. It’s grueling. Stressful. Anxiety filled,” Coleman wrote on Facebook. “And a lot of the time you feel like your work ethic is in vain. All of the things that you bring to the table (are) taken for granted. And sometimes you feel completely disregarded as a person. But people like you, Rob … the rest of the students at USC, and my other customers (my peeps) remind me that it’s a bigger picture and to keep being me.”
Roughly one month later, the GoFundMe campaign has raised just under $40,000 and is still climbing, slowly but surely toward the $75,000 goal.
Caldaroni told Today that Coleman has been “shocked and incredibly grateful” that community members and total strangers would donate to his cause.
“After our fundraiser really started to take off this week, Malcolm has been in very high spirits and is still very much in a state of shock,” Caldaroni said. “To see our community and country come behind him like this has been nothing short of inspirational.”
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