Tonee "Valentine" Carter was performing his usual routine at a piano bar in Concourse A of the Atlanta International Airport when he crossed paths with Carlos Whittaker.
Carlos says he was on his way home to Nashville when he noticed Tonee playing his heart out at the piano bar. After striking up a conversation, Carlos decided to call on his 220,000 Instagram followers. In just 30 minutes, $10,000 poured in. Within hours, over $60,000 had been donated for Tonee, leaving him speechless.
"He asked me if I had any hope in humanity, and I said no, [but] I do now. When people do things like that, total strangers and they hear my story and they want to give me a gift like that. Thankful is inadequate. I want to give back and help people like he's doing."
Carlos explained why he did it.
“My speaking event in Memphis got canceled so I had to reroute back home, which is why I ended up being in Atlanta for like an hour-and-a-half," Whittaker explained to GMA. "I used to be a musician. I was the opening band for a bunch of bands and nobody ever paid attention to me. So when I saw that nobody was really listening to him, I just wanted to let him know that I was listening to him and that somebody sees him.”
(Image: Getty)