Crowdfunder for big-hearted homeless man raises more than £10,000
A woman who was helped by a homeless man when she became stranded after a night out has raised more than £10,000 to say thank you.
Nicole Sedgebeer, from Milton Keynes, missed her last train home and was left outside Euston station in central London at around 3am on March 4.
The 22-year-old set up a Crowdfunder initially hoping to raise £1,000 for “my homeless friend Mark”, but since then nearly 800 donations have raised more than ten-fold that amount.
Ms Sedgebeer (pictured) had nowhere to go, no battery on her phone, and hours until her next train after a night out in the capital.
Feeling “very vulnerable” and “about to burst into drunken tears”, she was approached by a homeless man called Mark who took her to an all-night cafe, promising to return to walk her back to the station in time for her next train.
Though she doubted his word, Mark came running back down the street at around 5am next morning to escort her safely back.
Ms Sedgebeer said: “Not only did he turn up but he had to get a bus to come get me.
“This man who I probably would have avoided eye contact with if he asked for spare change, completely changed such a negative event into the most eye-opening event in my life. Mark you are one special man.”
Ms Sedgebeer said she was “completely overwhelmed” after her original post went viral and was shared more than 18,000 times across the social networking site.
She created an online fundraising page because she wanted to “do something to help Mark and all the other homeless people around Euston”.
On Sunday she posted on Facebook announcing that she had reached the £8,000 target she had set. Since then, the money has soared to over £10,000.
She said: “Best birthday gift ever seeing how much people have donated for Mark. Thank you to everyone who’s helped us hit our target. Let’s keep going!”
The page is due to stay open for donations for 24 more days.
To donate, visit: https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/helpthehomeless
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