MANHATTAN — A homeless man who had no clue who he was helping when he pulled Kansas City Chiefs guard Jeff Allen’s vehicle from the snow Saturday has gained national attention.
Dave Cochran’s story gained traction after Allen reached out on Twitter to find the man who had helped him. For helping Allen make it to the playoff game, Allen returned the favor, awarding Cochran with tickets to this weekend’s AFC championship game at Arrowhead Stadium. But the story doesn’t end there. Within hours of the story going viral, a GoFundMe page was set up by Manhattan resident Justin Manford.
As of Tuesday afternoon, close to $15,000 had been raised to help Cochran get back on his feet. The account is now being overseen by a beneficiary, at the request of Manford who says he wanted to ensure the money went directly to support Cochran.
Update: Despite the recent influx in people changing their name to Dave in the KC area lol, I was actually able to track down the Dave that helped me thanks to the power of social media and #ChiefsKindgom. Thanks for your kindness https://t.co/e4OkEg6AAw
— Jeff Allen (@JeffAllen71) January 13, 2019
Cochran, a recovering, convicted felon has said publicly that he wants to use his good fortune to turn his life around. Manford says people shouldn’t let Cochran’s past deter them from helping him from right his wrongs.
Manford did have just one condition, when setting up the GoFundMe account.
Manford is hopeful that Dave’s story will inspire others to pay it forward to those in need.
