Devlin Reiley loves seeing Littleton Dennis on her trips to Giant. She describes him as smiling, happy and lighthearted on every visit.
So she was disappointed to hear that he couldn’t accept her invitation to share a Thanksgiving meal with her family, especially since he would be spending the holiday working two jobs without much time to celebrate.
Reiley reacted by creating a GoFundMe campaign, recruiting friends, family and co-workers from the Rappahannock Area YMCA to help pitch in and make a little Christmas miracle.
And the community came through.
Their efforts raised more than $2,000 in donations, in addition to wrapped gifts and a holiday party at the Italian Station in Dennis’s honor.
Dennis, who was born and raised in Fredericksburg, graduated from James Monroe High School as part of the Class of 1969 before serving in Vietnam, where he earned the Purple Heart after being wounded in the right leg. His two jobs include one cleaning floors and his position as a porter at Giant, where he’s been for more than 14 years.
He’s gracious for the support, which he says he plans on using to fix his vehicle that’s in need of repairs. There are also arrangements for Dennis to spend time off over the holidays with friends and family.
Which is what Christmas is all about.
Update: Dennis’s GoFundMe can be found at bit.ly/3FNryDR.
