Elderly Popsicle Man Grateful for $380K in Donations, But He's Not Ready to Quit

CHICAGO, IL — Fidencio Sanchez and his wife, Eladia, are still trying to accept the reality that they are $380,000 richer thanks to the generosity of strangers from around the world and a poignant photograph that gained global notice.

"Until a couple of days ago, they didn't believe it," said Joel Cervantes Macias, the man who took the photo and also helped start a GoFundMe campaign to allow Sanchez, an 89-year-old paletas vendor to take a day off from selling the frozen treats from his street cart in his Little Village neighborhood.

But the Sanchezes had to believe it, as Cervantes Macias and Jose Loera, who also helped put together the charity drive, presented the couple with a giant novelty check for $384,290 during a media ceremony Wednesday afternoon outside Paleteria Y Neveria Poncho, Fidencio's employer.

The money was raised after Cervantes Macias, a Wisconsin restaurant owner, posted a photo of Sanchez to Facebook after spotting him during a Chicago visit. That posting also told the story of how Sanchez had needed to come out of retirement after his daughter's death and his wife's illness.

Loera saw the update and was moved by it. He contacted Cervantes Macias, and the two created the GoFundMe drive to raise $3,000 to give Sanchez a day off. However, the outpouring of support was so great from people around the world that the campaign turned into an effort to fund Sanchez's retirement.

"We're all the same people. Everyone wants a good feel-good story," Cervantes Macias said about why Sanchez's story touched people from countries such as Germany, Argentina and Israel.

RELATED: 15,000 People in 52 Countries Donate $330,000 So Elderly Popsicle Man Can Retire

Sanchez, addressing the media in Spanish on Wednesday, Sept. 21, said he was ecstatic and thankful that his community and the whole world contributed to the fund. His soft voice occasionally drowned out by traffic along Pulaski Road, Sanchez said the experience has overwhelmed him, and he has been touched by people's generosity.

As far as what the couple plans to do with the money, a lawyer for the Sanchezes said they will be working with a financial planner to look at their options.

"It's going to help his financial security. … I think he might get a hearing aid," Cervantes Macias told reporters.

When asked how the money has affected Sanchez, Cervantes Macias replied: "How would $380,000 help you?"

Still, this influx of cash doesn't mean Sanchez will be giving up selling popsicles on the street. The vendor hasn't decided whether he'll give up pushing his cart down neighborhood streets yet, Cervantes Macias said.

"He says he's going to keep working," he said. "It keeps him young. I told him to get a treadmill."

Besides bringing people from around the world together to help Sanchez, the GoFundMe drive also created a connection between Cervantes Macias and Loera. The two didn't know each other, even though Cervantes Macias knew Loera's brother and sister. But they've now built a friendship together, Loera said.

And while he has a new relationship with Cervantes Macias, Loera wasn't sure how much contact he'll have in the future with Sanchez and his family.

"I'm pretty sure they're going to want to disappear for a while," he said. "But it'd be cool to see him again on a holiday or something like that."

Joel Cervantes Macias (left) and Jose Loera (right) present Fidencio Sanchez and his wife, Eladia, with the money raised from a GoFundMe campaign. (photo by Joe Vince)

Like What You're Reading? Stay Patched In!

• Like our Crime page on Facebook
  
• Live Traffic and Transit Updates