A kind-hearted man is looking out for his neighbors this holiday season. A user known as ColinDetroit, whose real name is Colin McConnell, turned to social media for support after learning that his downstairs neighbor, Donald Wilson, lost the mother of his three children.
In a video posted to Instagram last week, Colin showed what the love and support of people coming together can do for those in need. He began by explaining that the man who lives in the duplex below him shared some distressing news.
“He told me that the kids are going to be around a lot more because their mother had passed,”
McConnell said in the video, “And the kids were walking up the stairs at the time. I just saw their little legs, and my heart just broke instantly. I wanted to do something more for them. And he said, ‘We don’t really have winter coats.’ I thought he had three daughters because the son was wearing his sister’s clothes — it was because he didn’t even have clothes.”At first, when he offered the single father’s help, he admitted that Wilson told him no. However, after persisting, Wilson finally agreed to let McConnell set up an Amazon wishlist for the children in time for the holidays. He shared it on his TikTok, hoping to drum up attention, but only thought a few people would see it.
Fortunately, people came together quickly for Wilson and his family. McConnell said the very next morning, packages were already showing up on his porch when he woke up. The video sparked such a movement that hundreds of boxes of supplies were being sent to their duplex.
He said in his video, “I didn’t think it would do that big and all of a sudden, it was thousands! I was like, ‘What! Oh my God!'”
The gifts donated to Donald Wilson’s kids, Honesty, Poetry, and Donald Jr., were food, toys, and clothes.
McConnell continued, “I want him to feel that he’s supported, not just by me, but now, these kids have thousands of aunties and uncles all over the world.”
Wilson admitted that it was difficult to accept all the gifts, but McConnell helped him through it. He explained, “That was the biggest thing for me, not feeling like I’m able to do it, or I’m not capable of doing it, but Colin made it easy. He made me feel at home. He made me feel like a brother, like family.”
Although Honesty, Poetry, and Donald Jr. will have to spend Christmas without their mother, Wilson said the loss has been made easier with those like McConnell.
Wilson said, looking over all the gifts strangers bought for his kids, “It’s like she’s here. It’s like she’s a guardian angel speaking to us from all of you.”