Ronald Moon, Jr. wanted to do something positive for his Cincinnati neighborhood by turning an old family home into a community center, but instead the house kept getting burglarized.
This week Moon happened upon the people responsible for breaking into the 1853 Kinney Avenue Community Center, three men and two women who beat him so badly he was left bloodied and bruised.
Frustrated, Moon decided to make a video to vent his frustrations and talk about his desire to simply do something positive for the neighborhood.
But Moon decided to do something else. He also started a GoFundMe page to help build the community center.
The internet has heard his cry and the uplifting story went viral. Within hours of being posted to YouTube the video went viral, racking up tens of thousands of views. It was also posted to Reddit, where thousands more upvoted and commented.
The GoFundMe campaign has also blown up. In just six hours, it has raised more than $15,000, with the total increasing by thousands of dollars each hour.
On the page, Ronald Moon, Jr. wrote about his dreams for the center, which is in an impoverished area of the city.
“The goal I have is to offer this place as a space where ideas, skills, and resources can be shared among this neighborhood and with surrounding neighborhoods in Cincinnati.
– regular open discussions – story telling – poetry and creative writing – yoga and meditation – dance – craft and jewelry making – carpentry – tailoring – gardening – plumbing – recording and music engineering – cultural education – computing *If someone can teach it and another can learn it, it is precisely what this place would be interested in housing.”
Moon went on to explain that he left his job two months ago to dedicate himself to the 1853 Kinney Avenue Community Center, but “foolishly struggled to seriously ask for help.”
But now that he has asked for help, Moon has found thousands of people willing to pitch in, including people across the globe.
Some even offered help beyond money, including one person who offered more than just cash.
“Hey there, I see you’d like to teach music engineering and computing. If you need some live one on one or group support, I’m available. I’ll gladly help by giving classes live or by recording videos. If you are interested in getting together feel free to reach out. This is important for everyone. I can’t wait to see how far you’ll go.”
Ronald Moon, Jr. said he would ultimately like to turn the 1853 Kinney Avenue Community Center into its own 501(c)3 non-profit organization. It seems he certainly has the funding for that now.
[Image via YouTube]
