MILWAUKEE - — Thanks to complete strangers, a Milwaukee food truck owner will be able to rebuild his dream. A GoFundMe campaign to support him has now surpassed $35,000.
The Gumbo Valley food truck was hit by a driver and destroyed Monday night. You won't see the bright orange truck in its usual spot along Capitol Drive but Andre Richards is promising his customers — he'll be back.
TMJ4's Andrea Albers sat down with Andre to find out how he's doing.
Andre told her he's blessed to be alive. The first thing he posted online after the crash on Monday night was "God is good".
Andre spent some time in the hospital and hadn't had a chance to see how much the GoFundMe has grown. When he saw the numbers he was truly speechless.
"That makes me happy right there, you know," he said staring at the computer screen, with a stunned smile.
"When people type these types of things it helps you, emotionally," he added as he read messages of support. "Because at that moment you know that you're not alone."
In just 24 hours, thousands of dollars were donated to help Andre rebuild his dream. Including money from Heirloom MKE, a Bayview restaurant that bounced back from a similar struggle, when their food truck caught fire last year.
But it's not just homegrown support. The story of the Gumbo Valley food truck is traveling fast with positivity pouring in from New York, along with encouragement from California, and Michigan and love from Utah.
A donation that came with a message from Texas stood out. It reads — "Keep pushing, my 1st BBQ trailer burned down while building my restaurant. 2 restaurants and 3 food trucks later, God has the final say!"
That contribution was from Lamont Waits, who explained why he decided to send money to a stranger. "It kind of moved me because I had been in that similar situation several times with the restaurant business," he said while talking to TMJ4's Andrea Albers.
"So, you wanted to not only financially help him out, but also encourage him to keep going?" asked Albers.
"Absolutely," answered Waits. "The encouragement is probably what's going to stick with a person because the financials will always diminish at some point."
As Andre reads the words of encouragement shared online he is promising to keep chasing his dream. "These people don't even know me, you know, but they care. That's pretty much what you need in a time like this."
As for what's down the road, Andre says the goal is to return to Capitol Drive where his customers expect to see him parked.
"I figure you know everything happens for a reason and the bad that caused the situation, in my eyes, and as far as what I'm seeing and feeling, it's not outweighing the good that's coming."
You can support Andre Richards and Gumbo Valley with a GoFundMe campaign here.
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