Morristown Ticket-Taker’s tale of the times: Crowd-funding to the rescue?

A GoFundMe campaign quickly raised nearly $66,000 for Eric 'Fluffy' Glover, Morristown's 'Ticket Taker Guy.'
A GoFundMe campaign quickly raised nearly $66,000 for Eric 'Fluffy' Glover, Morristown's 'Ticket Taker Guy.'
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A GoFundMe campaign quickly raised nearly $66,000 for Eric 'Fluffy' Glover, Morristown's 'Ticket Taker Guy.'
A GoFundMe campaign quickly raised nearly $66,000 for Eric ‘Fluffy’ Glover, Morristown’s ‘Ticket Taker Guy.’

By Peggy Carroll

The story of Eric “Fluffy” Glover touched hundreds of people. In just one week, 1,719 friends – or mere acquaintances – donated $65,805 to help the popular movie ticket-taker leave the ranks of the homeless and find a new room of his own.

The account is now closed – but Fluffy’s story is not.

An online petition has been launched by Anthony Recenello, a former Randolph resident, who is looking to persuade AMC, Fluffy’s employer in Morristown, to up his status from part-time to full-time and provide him with a raise and benefits.

Up to now, Fluffy’s claim to fame was his seconds-long pantomine as he takes a ticket.

Eric Glover, from 'thank you' video.
Eric ‘Fluffy’ Glover, from ‘thank you’ video in January.

Recenello, a matchmaker with a dating service, who has been described as a “wingman for hire,”  has already garnered more than 1,300 signatures at Change.Org… though he says on his Facebook page that it will take thousands to do the job.

So far, AMC has only said that it was not aware that Fluffy was without a permanent address and promised to use its internal assistance programs to help. It has not as yet responded to the petition drive.

Fluffy’s story is still another example of how the internet is changing lives.

The tale began when Fluffy, who has worked at AMC at Headquarters Plaza since 1987, lost his room at a cousin’s house when the cousin became ill and the house was sold. For months, he apparently lived where he could.

Until, that is, a woman named Lidia Udrija , opened an account for Fluffy on a website called GoFundMe.

Welcome to the world of  “crowdfunding.”

The concept is not new. People in need – whether because of illness, the death of a loved one, loss of a job or financial woes – always have reached out for help from family, friends and neighbors.

Crowdfunding merely changes the fundraising venue. Instead of word of mouth, the appeal is on an online platform — there are many of them — that raise cash, often a good deal of it, from many people and in quick time.

There are crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter, which helps fund new businesses and art projects and there are sites like GoFundMe. Self-described as the world’s #1 personal fundraising site, it has raised more than $1 billion dollars to help pay for everything from medical and funeral costs to tuition bills and water bottles for Flint, MI.

And it allows prospective donors to zoom in on the people who live or work near them.

That it successful is borne out by the numbers. GoFundMe lists at least 20 campaigns that have raised more than $200,000 since the site opened in 2010. Top amount: $2,025,600 for Eliza, a 4-year old girl from South Carolina, who suffers from the rare San Felipe disease. Other large amounts went to people who were injured in shootings, in accidents or suffered serious illness.

Social media pundits said the difference between success and failure is how well the case is presented (there are websites that give tips on how to write a persuasive stories) and how well the campaign sponsors spread the word through other media.

Fluffy’s campaign appears to have been particularly successful. The original goal was to raise $50,000. Its total puts it well ahead of other local campaigns that exceeded their goal by a thousand or two – if they reached their goal at all.

However, as of Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, Fluffy still was awaiting the electronic transfer of the money from GoFundMe to his bank account.  He said he got an email last week saying it would take a few days. “I’ve waited long enough,” he said.

Fluffy has been staying with friends in the meantime. His first priority upon receiving the money, he said, is to fix his car, so he can expand his search for a room to rent.

His efforts to find subsidized housing so far have been unsuccessful, Fluffy said.  The cinema has given him a few extra hours of work, “but there’s a tight budget here, and they can’t give me full-time.”

S A T I S F A C T I O N

What motivates people to use crowd-funding to help others? And should they? How safe are these sites? Do they fund scammers and thieves as well as miracles?

People go to the crowdfunding sites usually because they honestly want to help, said Dr. William Babula, a psychologist based in Long Valley.

“They may know the person or know someone who does. They think ‘this person’s okay.’ It gives them inner satisfaction to give $5, $10 or $100 and know they are helping someone. It just feels good. They believe they just might be helping some guy get better or get a better life.”

And unlike contributing to national charities, they know exactly where their donation is going and how that money is going to be used. “You don’t know if you give to a large fund-raising organization,” Babula said, “if it is going to pay for administrative costs or actually help a patient.”

Crowdfunding, he said, is an attractive and easy way of helping someone who needs that help. All donors need do is click a button – and give their credit care information.

“Perhaps donors also believe that these people would help them if they needed it,” Babula added. “Friend helping friend, neighbor helping neighbor – the 21st-century way.”

A TANGLED WEB

The web is full of stories on how personal crowdfunding is being used. Right now, in the Morris County area, there are campaigns for the family of a child with a rare bone disease, for a family trying to pay for a funeral for a young man who died suddenly, and for a school creating a scholarship fund in memory of a special education teacher. Others are seeking money for college tuition and even for pet care.

But while most stories presented seem to have built-in lie detectors – they involve numbers of people – there also are web campaigns that do not. A quick survey of the web shows campaigns that can be classified as the good, the bad and the very bold.

Among the good: A total of $810,00 was raised for Jeff Bauman who lost both legs in the Boston Marathon bombings. The money is being used for medical and rehab costs.

The bad: A campaign was opened for a Memphis infant with brain cancer on GoFundMe. Scammers took the photos, changed the child’s name and a few details and opened an account on another personal fundraising site.

The bold: Or perhaps the word is chutzpah. A woman in Tennessee cleaned out her family’s savings to buy tickets for the last Powerball, convinced she would win. She did not. So she opened a campaign to reimburse her for the unlucky tickets. The campaign was closed — quickly.

So how does a donor know (aside from the Powerball case) which stories are worthy ?

Donors can’t rely on the fundraising platform to tell them. GoFundMe admits that it cannot 100 percent guarantee that a user is providing accurate or truthful information.

Social media experts say donors should give only to people they know or to the causes they understand and trust. If in doubt, GoFundMe says, don’t donate.

And because these sites live, and prosper, by the confidence they inspire in users, people who suspect fraud are asked to contact the site for immediate investigation.

The Better Business Bureau offers additional advice: Do some research by looking at the projects and cases that provide updates. Or ask those who know the person, or the cause, if they can vouch for them.

GETTING THE MONEY

The good news for the recipients of crowdfunding is that unlike a lottery win, there are unlikely to be taxes. GoFundMe says donations usually are considered to be personal gifts and are not reported as earnings.

And while creating a campaign is free, the site takes a bite of the pie. GoFundMe deducts a 5 percent fee from each donation and a 2.9 percent + 30 cent fee for each payment requested. That means, if the campaign raises $10,000, GoFundMe keeps $500 in commission and $300 in processing fees.

And once the money is delivered, the recipients need to be aware of common pitfalls. For some, coming into a large sum of money, especially when it is not earmarked for a specific cause (like a medical or tuition bill) or is more than immediately required, can bring about missteps.

Financial experts advise recipients to take a deep breath and proceed with caution. If the money is to last, and ease the financial bind, some planning is essential. They recommend some cautionary steps.

  • Put the money somewhere temporarily – like savings or money market – until you’ve had time to think how to manage and use it.
  • Resist the temptation to go on a spending spree. That’s a good way to lose the money quickly.
  • Fend off the many people you left behind in elementary school who now claim you as friend.
  • Talk to people who know about money – a CPA or a financial adviser.
  • And don’t quit your day job. It may be the way people know you.

All of Morristown, it seems, knows the ticket-taker – and wants him to have a home.

“It has to be the help of God,” said Fluffy, during a lull at the cinema. “I really thank everyone for their generosity in my time of need.”

MORE ABOUT ERIC ‘FLUFFY’ GLOVER

1 COMMENT

  1. Wonderful and remarkable that so much money was raised for Fluffy. However, should it come with someone who can help him manage it?

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