Woman raises nearly $140,000 for elderly worker at Tennessee movie theater

MARYVILLE, Tenn. (CBS, KYMA) - A young woman has raised nearly $140,000 in less than two days after launching an online fundraiser to help an elderly woman working at her local movie theater to retire.

Brooklyn Green, 21, said she had just watched a movie with her grandparents at the AMC theater in Maryville, Tennessee Saturday night when she noticed the elderly employee walk by, pushing a cleaning cart.

Green then posted a video of the worker on TikTok, and started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help the woman "enjoy the retirement she deserves."

"I saw her and God led me to take a video of her and I wasn't sure why. I drove home and posted it, and it got over $100k in less than 24 hours of posting," Green told Storyful.

In a video update posted Sunday, Green said she stopped by the theater again to find the woman, who was unaware of Green's video and fundraising efforts, but found she wasn’t working.

However, a manager told Green that the employee's name was Mary and that she refused to stop working because she feared "things might go downhill for her" if she stopped.

They also said Mary did a lot of work to support her church and people experiencing homelessness, and that it was possible Mary would refuse to accept the donations, according to Green.

Green told followers she would encourage Mary to keep the money and could choose to donate it to charities or people in need.

The update prompted criticism from some commenters, who suggested that funds should be returned to donors if Mary didn't want to accept them.

In response, Green wrote, "Guys...I said SHE will decide regardless what to do with the donations. If SHE decides to give it to a charity or whatever then that is HER decision! She is getting every penny…deep breaths lol."

By Monday afternoon, more than $138,000 had been raised on the GoFundMe page.

Speaking to Storyful, Green said, "I've gotten a lot of support, but also a lot of backlash for assuming she wants to retire, as well as her not being aware that I was doing this."

Despite the criticism, Green said she was looking forward to presenting Mary with the donations during her next shift at the movie theater Tuesday, and posting another video update for donors and followers.

"I can't wait to share with over nine million people what an impact they have put on her behind the scenes," she said.