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UPDATED, 9:40 AM EST, 2-9-15: The news keeps getting better for James Robertson, the Detroit man who made headlines last week for traveling 21 miles five days to get to his $10.55 per hour factory job in Rochester Mills, Mich., because he could not afford a car. On Friday, he received a new red Ford Taurus, a gift from a Ford dealer in Sterling Heights, Mich., according to USA Today, and today a GoFundMe drive has raised just over $351,000.

 

Our congratulations go out to Robertson. It appears his hard work is paying off!

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UPDATED, 5:41 PM EST, 2-3-15: James Robertson’s dedication has paid off. You might recall that he’s the man who walks 42 miles a day roundtrip to his $10.55 per hour factory job in Rochester Mills, Mich., because he could not afford to buy a car.

Now, a GoFundMe drive has raised $231,958 to help him buy a car. The fundraiser was started two days ago by Evan Leedy (pictured below, left), 19, a Wayne State University student, with a goal of raising $5,000.

When the pair met for the first time Tuesday, Leedy wrote a post at the fund site saying the 56-year-old Detroit man has requested assistance managing the fund.

“What an incredible journey,” Leedy writes. “James is an amazing guy and it was so great meeting him last night. Blake Pollock and myself are working on creating a board/committee to handle the money that is raised. Attorneys, financial advisors, ect (sic), are all coming into play. We are making sure to consider every angle of this fundraiser. It is so exciting that every penny that is being raised is going to James to help him with whatever he needs in life. Thank you all for your continued donations, kind words, and support.”

What a blessing! We wonder how Robertson will decide to spend the money.

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Talk about dedicated a worker! When James Robertson’s (pictured) story appeared in the Detroit Free Press about how he walks 42 miles a day roundtrip to get to his $10.55 per hour factory job in Rochester Mills, Mich., because he can’t afford to buy a car, hordes of readers sprung in to action by contributing to a GoFundMe account so that he can buy a car, according to the New York Daily News.

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The 56-year-old injection molder, who does not appear to be physically fit, has somehow managed to trek to his job every day since his car broke down back in 2005  to faithfully complete his 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. shift.

Since none of Robertson’s co-workers live near him, he is unable to hitch a ride to or from work. Robertson — who is yet to miss one day of work — begins his day at 8:00 am, even walking along some treacherous areas along the famed 8 Mile and through all kinds of bad weather with rain, sleet, hail or snow.

The Motor City received more than 16 inches of snow on Monday and not even this fact kept Robertson from walking his daily trek in order to maintain his perfect work attendance.  “I’ve had worse. This is reminiscent of those snowstorms last year, and I made it then,” he told The Detroit Free Press.

Since Robertson’s story broke, he has reportedly had hundreds of offers to donate free vehicles, bus tickets, bicycles, and even a daily chauffeur service.

Robertson’s GoFundMe account, which is now at nearly $50,000 in donations, was started by Evan Leedy, 19, a Wayne State University student, who was moved by the conscientious employee’s plight.  After Robertson’s article was published and Leedy read through various online comments from folks who wanted to reach out and help the man, Leedy decided that a fund would be just the right move, saying, “I just used my phone. I created the go-funding site and within an hour we had $2,000.  I set the goal at the beginning of $5,000.”

Leedy wants to make sure that Robertson receives all of the money so that he won’t be forced to share with others and that the money will also cover insurance and maintenance of the vehicle.

The question still remains:how many pairs of shoes does the man go through in the course of a year?