Accounting junior Patrick Cormier was stopped by a police officer and issued a $200 ticket for speeding on Tuesday. Cormier was not sure how he could pay it.
“When I got the ticket, I was really scared. I didn’t have money to pay for it because my work pays bi-weekly,” Cormier said. “I had just been going with the flow of traffic, but the police officer just got me out of the bunch.”
Cormier shared the unfortunate news on social media, asking people for help on Snapchat. Almost immediately, Cormier noticed donations on the money-transfer app, Venmo.
“I initially just put it on my [Snapchat] story as a joke, but people actually started sending me a dollar or two here and there,” Cormier said. “I was so grateful for even that little bit of help, but I thought it was absolutely hilarious that people were actually going with it, so I decided to just run with it and make it something really funny.”
Cormier started posting videos with updates for his friends as the night progressed, raising $120 in three hours. In less than a day, there was enough donated to cover the ticket.
One hundred twenty-five people donated to Cormier, who said he felt very grateful for the friendships he made at the University, including the connections he made as an ambassador, Student Government member and member of the 2019 Homecoming Court.
“The next day, I posted another video thanking everyone for their contributions because it’s honestly insane that I can just say ‘Hey, I need a little bit of help,’ and I have people right there by my side willing to contribute their little piece to the puzzle,” Cormier said. “It was honestly so humbling to see that sight on such short notice.”
One of the donors, kinesiology freshman Chloe Glover, said she felt moved by seeing the overall support Cormier received.
“It honestly restored my faith in humanity,” Glover said. “I mean the fact he reached his goal and was able to pay it off with all of his friends putting up $1 to $2 just says a lot about the amount of people that came together to help out. It was hilariously heartwarming to me, and it made me happy to know that it got taken care of. That’s the kind of support everyone needs.”