SAN ANTONIO — UPDATE: In a post on Twitter, Shea Serrano shared a picture of himself with Allison and her family. The author said he was able to meet the family whom he helped raise more than $9,000 for a quinceañera. The family, Serrano said, had planned a BBQ plate sale to raise money, but since Serrano's "FOH Army" had raised more than enough funds, the family donated the plates to the homeless.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Some look at social media and see a black hole for production. Others look at it and see the same thing…but decide to flip it on its head and use it for good.
Shea Serrano, a New York Times Bestselling writer hailing from San Antonio, belongs to the latter group. The owner of an online fanbase that’s nearly 300,000 Twitter followers strong – affectionately referred to as the FOH Army – Serrano often draws his followers to folks needing money for any variety of reasons, be it to pay a debt or get through some emergency. His followers typically respond en masse.
His latest good-guy-deed, though, might be his sweetest.
On Thursday afternoon, a Twitter user tagged Serrano in a post detailing how her friend, Allison, needed some help.
“My family friend Allison has been planning her quince for MONTHS!” the post read. “Her father recently passed away so her family is having a plate sale to raise money so she can still have the party of her dreams.”
True to form, it didn’t take long for Serrano to respond. He shared the tweet, pledged $90 and then told his followers that whatever money was sent to him via Venmo or PayPal would be sent on to Allison.
“Do something good today,” Serrano wrote in his post, explaining the quinceañera tradition in a subsequent tweet. “It’s this very beautiful very festive party and a cornerstone of the culture—we have to make sure she has hers.”
The FOH Army came through, reaching a goal of $6,000 in less than an hour and blasting through that goal.
“Tell Allison she can keep the extra $2K as a quince gift or she can put it in her college fund,” Serrano tweeted.
Julia, the person who initially reached out to Serrano, later sent along her gratitude to those who donated.
Here's hoping you have the quinceañera of your dreams, Allison! Serrano, meanwhile, continues to personify the nice side of online social media.
