Michigan is one of the hardest-hit states in the coronavirus pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University, with 10,791 cases and 417 deaths.
A good Samaritan named Allen Marshall decided to use the $900 he’d been saving to do something nice for Detroit nurses on the front lines of the fight against the global coronavirus pandemic.
Marshall spent Wednesday and Thursday at an Exxon station near the Detroit Medical Center with a sign that said “FREE GAS FOR NURSES.”
“I just love them and I want them to know that,” he said.
Imran Al Samet works at the station and said that Marshall had bought gas for between 50 and 80 people on Wednesday and Thursday morning.
“There’s a lot coming through,” he said at about 11 a.m. on Thursday.
Most of the nurses are not coming inside the store, so he didn’t hear their reactions, but they were excited. “They’re happy with it,” he added.
Marshall told The Detroit Free Press that he’d been saving the money to buy a knife-sharpening tool. According to the paper, his wife is an essential worker at Blue Cross Blue Shield, so he did the giveaway after he dropped her off at work.
“Oh my goodness, that is so nice of him,” one nurse, who wasn’t identified said. “That’s so good. God bless him.”
When the money ran out, Marshall flipped his sign, which on the back read, “THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!!!” He waved to passing first responders and essential workers.
A woman identified only as Alana said that she heard about Marshall’s good deed and decided to come help. She said her nephew is a nurse.
“It just kills me every day to know that he’s going to work. I don’t know if he could get sick or what’s going to happen,” she said. “They’re heroes and we need to do what we can to support them.”