Truth be told, there aren’t a hell of a lot of people who are all that excited about the Summer Olympics officially starting tonight. While we all have certain reasons for that—namely, the turmoil in Brazil that has caused a number of star athletes to pull out from the Games—one man who doesn’t share that opinion is Ellis Hill.
Hill, an Uber driver from Philadelphia, has a son named Darrell Hill who’s competing in the shot put in Brazil, which gives him a pretty solid reason to pay close attention to what’s going on down in South America.
The elder Hill, who was talking to a passenger about his son a few weeks ago, telling her that he can’t afford a ticket to Rio to see his son compete, was asked by the passenger if he would go should she help raise money for him.
Per People:
“When I told her about my son she was really amazed, but when she asked me if I was going over there to watch him, I said I really couldn’t afford it,” Hill, a retired bus driver, tells PEOPLE.
That news broke Willock’s heart.
“It was devastating to hear that,” Willock tells PEOPLE. “Here’s this wonderful man who has a close relationship with his son and I know any parent would want to see their son or daughter compete at the Olympics, but it was very understandable how that could be out of reach.”
“She asked me, ‘If I could get you a ticket would you go?’ ” Hill recalls. “And I said, ‘Oh my goodness I don’t even know you!'”
“She said, ‘No. I believe you and I were fated to meet and I’m going to try to make this happen,’ ” Hill continues.
After exchanging information, Willock set up and raised $8,200 on a GoFundMe page for Ellis Hill to get to Brazil to see his son compete, while also restoring faith in humanity.
Would like to personally thank everyone who donated to help my Dad get to Rio, we achieved our goal. God is Good. #Thankful
— Darrell Hill (@B1GHomie) August 1, 2016
Funny how a little luck can go a long way. Now excuse me while I maintain this permanent smile on my face after hearing how awesome this story is.