Preston, England: A homeless man who offered a woman his last pennies to get home when she lost her purse is "overwhelmed" after she raised more than £29,000 ($56,000) to help him.
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Dominique Harrison-Bentzen, 22, slept rough on the streets to raise money for homeless man Robbie after he offered to give her his last £3 for a taxi home after she lost her bank card in Preston, Lancashire in England's north-west.
Her act of kindness has received support from people across the world after she put a post on Facebook and Twitter asking people to help raise money to give him a home.
The student has raised more than £29,000 for him after she slept rough on the streets of Preston, a city north of Manchester, on Tuesday night.
A friend of Robbie's said he was "overwhelmed" at the amount of money that has been raised.
"He's quite a vulnerable person," he said.
"He is shocked by the amount of support this has received. He doesn't want any publicity, he's just a nice bloke who would help anyone."
The art student met Robbie when he offered her money to help her get home safely.
She had hoped to raise £500 but the figure now stands at more than £29,000.
Dominique said she did not get any sleep when she slept rough.
"I didn't sleep at all but the reaction I have had has been incredible," she said.
"I spent part of the night with Robbie and I was joined by six of my friends.
"It was far harder than I expected and I was exhausted."
The University of Central Lancashire student did not take the money from him that he offered but was so touched by his kindness that she wanted to help him.
She spent four days searching the streets for him.
She added: "I ended up posting a status on Facebook to try and find him the next day and it turns out I'm not the only person he has helped."
He has previously returned wallets and given his scarf to people to keep them warm.
She was hoping to help raise funds for him to get a deposit on a flat but the fundraising website has been inundated with donations.
She added: "Over the night we raised more than £10,000 and it just keeps on coming in. The fundraising site keeps crashing because everybody is trying to get on to it.
"I can't believe that the amount overnight was so much."
A spokesman for the Central Methodist Church in Preston, which runs weekly soup kitchens for the homeless, said it was a big problem in the area.
"It is a big problem in Preston. There are a lot of people in the area trying to help."
Telegraph, London
