Angela Nguyen didn’t know that she would save Lee Haase’s life when she started delivering pizzas to him every Saturday. But after noticing something devastating about his living situation, she knew he needed help. Thanks to her intervention, the 76-year-old man is alive today.
“He likes to order every Saturday. About 10:15 you are going to get an order from Lee” said Angela about her regular customer.
Lee’s house took on a lot of damage from a storm that left his roof barely hanging on. The house became uninhabitable because he was unable to afford the necessary repairs. If his current situation wasn’t bad enough, he also had to grapple with the recent loss of his son in a snowmobile accident. He was devastated and could not stay in his house, so he relocated into a 12-foot camper where he lived alone, without heat or plumbing.
Determined to help in any way she could, Angela decided to take matters into her own hands when her delivery person daughter, Sarah, told her about Lee’s living situation. As Angela explained: “I thought we got to do something. We got to do something. We can’t let a human being live like this.”
Angela said: “Lee has told me that he’s pretty much given up on life,” explaining, “When I first delivered to him, it was summertime, so I wasn’t quite as concerned.”
She continued: “Living in this trailer with no heat, no sanitation whatsoever — he has no toilet — no water, nothing, is not acceptable to me.”
She couldn’t have expected the immense generosity of others when she started a GoFundMe campaign to help Lee, her neighbor. In only two months, with the support of many kind-hearted people, she raised $32,000 which ultimately helped Lee buy a home.
Angela spoke of the community’s boundless generosity (and some donors from much farther away): “Every single one of us enjoyed doing this. This ain’t all for Lee. We all benefited.”
In the video, Angela’s daughter tells Lee: “You remember when this started and I promised you we were going to help you? Merry Christmas.” With a fully furnished trailer and clothes donated by the community, Lee was finally in a good place, as he explained, “It’s wonderful. I’m so grateful for the people doing this.”
Lee also said: “It’s hard to explain [how I feel]. Just pretty awesome.”
Comments were made on the video, including one individual who said: “This is absolutely amazing. It brought me to tears, what a wonderful community! God bless Lee and everyone who helped raise all that money!”
Another person said: “Look at her… now you know what the face of an angel looks like! (note: judging from her job, I think it is safe to say that she is not wealthy with money, but she chose to start a project to help another human being that she didn’t even know well.).”
