99-Year-Old WWII Vet Crowdfunds $34 Million For Health Care Workers
“It isn’t for me, it’s for all the people, the doctors and the nurses, whichever country you are in, it’s for them because they are doing so well.”
A 99-year-old WWII Veteran and his daughter have raised over $34 million to support health care workers and staff at the UK’s’s National Health Service.
Captain Tom Moore’s daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore wanted him to keep active while in lockdown after he broke his hip more than a year ago, NBC reports. So she promised him one pound, or approximately $1, for every lap that he did around his garden by his 100th birthday on April 30.
Armed with a walker and determined to complete 100 laps, Moore began his challenge to raise money for NHS Charities Together, which collects funds for UK hospitals as well as health care staff and volunteers. The father and daughter also started a JustGiving page on April 8 in honor of his challenge, and aimed to raise £1,000 by the end of the month.
After local media began covering Moore’s mission, donations flooded in, prompting them to keep increasing their target amount. Now, less than two weeks later, they have raised millions of pounds.
On April 16, Moore completed his challenge well before his birthday, surrounded by a guard of honor from the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment and cheered on by a crowd of health care workers.
He also received a message from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and was honored by the Keighley Town Council with the Freedom of Keighley accolade.
“It isn’t for me, it’s for all the people, the doctors and the nurses, whichever country you are in, it’s for them because they are doing so well,” he told NBC News. “They are the front line and we're all behind giving them back up, providing the goods they need, and a little pat on the back to tell them how well they are doing.”
According to his JustGiving page, Moore grew up in Keighley, Yorkshire and studied to be a civil engineer. He was then enlisted at the beginning of the war in 1940.
“He was later posted to 9DWR in India, and served and fought on the Arakan, went to Regiment to Sumatra after the Japanese surrender and returned to be Instructor at Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in Bovington,” the page explains.
As of April 22, Moore’s page has raised £28,093,888 which is approximately $34,622,767.