Brooklyn Green, 21, decided to see a film at her local AMC cinema in Maryville, Tennessee. There, she noticed an elderly employee named Mary collecting rubbish. Impressed by how hard Mary was working, Green recorded her moving a rubbish cart and shared the video on TikTok.
Green also started a GoFundMe page to collect money to help Mary retire. She initially hoped that family and friends might give enough to cover roughly one month's rent. However, the video quickly reached a large audience, and donations passed $100,000 during the first day. By the following day, the total had risen to $146,000.
When Green returned to the cinema to surprise Mary, she was not there. The manager in charge explained that Mary had worked in cinemas for more than 45 years. Mary enjoyed her work and worried that stopping might make life worse for her. Green eventually met Mary and surprised her with the donations. Their meeting was recorded for the people who had contributed, and Mary thanked them for their support.
