Homeless man's generosity brings contributions to help children
“It touched my heart,” Joanne Minatre said.
Assuming the $56 monthly payment that Kevin Christopher Fitzgerald had made for the Senegalese children “just seemed like the right thing to,” said Minatre, a widow who belongs to a Christian church in Stockton.
Fitzgerald, 57, was killed Dec. 17 when he walked into the path of a pickup on Highway 101 near the downtown Santa Rosa exit.
Fitzgerald, who was mentally ill throughout his adult life, had lived on the streets of Santa Rosa for the past 25 years and was well-known by homeless shelter staffers.
His sister, Kathleen Fitzgerald—Orr of Santa Rosa, said her brother, who lived on $600 a month in disability payments, began sending the money — nearly 10 percent of his income — to ChildFund International in March 2009.
His willingness to give touched readers, including Ann Jordan of Santa Rosa who said the story in Sunday's Press Democrat brought tears to her eyes and moved her to contribute to a fund set up by his sisters to continue the monthly payments.