Detroit is Real 'City of Angels,' Man Who Walks to Work Says of Internet Drive to Buy Him a Car

James Robertson waits for the bus that will take him part of the way to his job in Rochester Hills. He will walk the rest of the way. (Screenshot via Detroit Free Press video)

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James Robertson met Evan Leedy, the 19-year-old college kid who changed his life, Monday.

Robertson is the Detroit man whose arduous 21-mile trek to a factory job in Rochester Hills was featured Sunday by the Detroit Free Press, then picked up by good-news-hungry websites and publications around the world.

Leedy, a Wayne State University student from Macomb Township, is the kid who read the story and didn’t just talk about it over lattes with his techie friends, but did something about it. Touched by Robertson’s unflinching resolve to get to his job every day no matter what it took, he started a crowd-funding campaign to buy the guy a car.

Something remarkable happened and is still happening. Within two days, thousands of strangers from around the globe donated – and are still donating – tens of thousands of dollars.

The total amount raised was closing in on $214,000 at midday Tuesday, but throwing out the figure as something etched in stone is risky, given the chord this story has struck with the public. And with a new wave of national publicity coming from interviews with “People” magazine and national news programs, the figure is increasing exponentially, the Detroit Free Press reports.

“I gotta say, this is Detroit, this is how people are in Detroit,” Robertson said in response to the generosity extended by people he doesn’t know. “They say Los Angeles is the city of angels. That’s wrong. Detroit is the real city of angels.”

The first angel in this story reaffirming the goodness of people is Blake Pollock.

Pollock is a UBS banker who developed an interest in Robertson and tipped the Free Press off to his daily trek through Troy and Rochester, where Detroit metro bus service left off.

For 10 years, Robertson walked the route – eight miles in the morning, 13 miles in the evening – every day, regardless of the weather. He couldn’t afford to buy a car, maintain and insure it on his $10.55 an hour job. So he walked, never missing a day.

The newspaper’s and other organizations’ viral coverage of the drive to buy Robertson a car captured the hearts – and, it turns out, generosity – of thousands of people around the world who have given to the $214 – make that $216,330 and counting – campaign.

Related:

• Internet Rallies to Buy Car for Man Who Walks 21 Miles to Work

The second and third angels were Leedy and another fellow, 31-year-old Chrysler-Fiat communications manager Jiyan Cadiz, whose campaign raised $6,000 before GoFundMe site administrators asked to merge the two efforts.

More than 8,120 subsequent angels have donated $216 – make that $218,020 and counting.

“I’m always going to be in your debt – I will never forget this,” Robertson said to Leedy after the two met Monday evening at Mr. B’s Food & Spirits in downtown Rochester.

Life-Changing Fund Drive

The meeting was arranged by Pollock, who decided “these guys should meet because this (fund-raising) is really going to change James’ life,” Pollock told the Free Press.

Their commutes overlap, and they’ve become friends as Pollock has given him rides this winter. Pollock, with Robertson’s blessing, is helping to put together a board of directors to help manage the $218 – make that $225,121 fortune being built on GoFundMe.

Robertson, who is single, has a girlfriend and sisters and other relatives living in Detroit. Some have been out of touch until the recent publicity, Robertson told the Free Press.

The response to the lengths he goes – er, walks – to keep his job is dizzying.

“I do what I have to do to get to work in the morning,” he told People. “It’s just a part of my life.

“My parents taught me hard work ethic growing up in Detroit,” he said. “It’s all about keeping your schedule on track and focusing your mind on what matters.”

Robertson told the Free Press he has been stunned by the generosity of strangers.

“Who would have thought that just a simple walk would have turned into this?” he said. “I would have told you that you were crazy a few days ago.”

Leedy’s head is swimming, too, with admiration for Robertson and inspiration from the generous response to his selfless crowd-funding campaign.

“I have to be careful how I act about this. The same God who brings you all these blessings can take them away.” – James Robertson

“I was blown away,” he told People. “He has been doing this for so long and doesn’t complain. I thought of myself and how most people could never do what he does every single day.

“I am really just so happy people trusted that the money was going to him so we can help turn his life around. He deserves it.”

The money – a few dollars shy of $227,000 at 4 p.m. Tuesday – will be a car and a house with an attached garage.

“We can get him a nice place to live,” Leedy says. “A place he deserves.”

The soft-spoken Robertson is gracious and humble.

“I have to be careful how I act about this. The same God who brings you all these blessings can take them away,” he said.

“Hopefully, I’m ready for what happens.”

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