James Robertson commutes a total of 21 miles a day just to get to work and back home, and his quiet daily struggle has inspired so many individuals that a social media fundraising activity held to help him buy a car has raised already over $115,000, over a hundred thousand dollars more than the expected $5,000 mark!
Robertson, 56 lives in Detroit and in order to get to his job in a factory located at Rochester Hills, he has to walk eight miles and walk another 13 miles back home five days a week.
Evan Leedy, 19 of Macomb Township, a Wayne State University student taking up computer science told the Detroit Free Press that he was impressed by Robertson's story and decided to help him through the GoFundMe website. "I just used my phone. I created the go-funding site and within an hour we had $2,000," he said.
Leedy added he will make sure the money will really benefit Robertson and that any publicity caused by his story will not pressure the Detroit local to share his donations. "And I think some of it should be set aside for his insurance and gas and maintenance," Leedy said.
For his part, Robertson was amazed that his story has received so much attention and publicity. He was also touched that complete strangers have responded generously, even offering to buy him a new car or giving him their old ones. Some offered to pay for his bus tickets while others even offered chauffeur services.
A Downriver car dealership even offered to give him a 2014 Chevrolet Cruz or Sonic. "He gets to choose," said Angela Osborne, customer service specialist at Rodgers Chevrolet in Woodhaven. "We were just impressed with his determination."
And while Robertson's car woes have been solved by generous hearts, he now has to contend with the unbelievable cost of car insurance in Detroit. The Detroit Free Press shared that a nationwide survey conducted just last week found car insurance in Detroit to be the costliest in the nation, with an average of $5,000 a year.
But Robertson remains confident that he can manage the car insurance the same way he managed his daily treks.
"I can work that insurance thing out," Robertson said. "It might be tough, but my dad used to say, tough times don't last — tough people do."
