Air Force veteran Anthony Johnson has been selling newspapers at an old newsstand in Chicago for the last seven years and thanks to Chicago Police Lieutenant John Garrido, it got a much needed update. Garrido noticed how rundown the stand was, so he reached out through Facebook to the community to get help giving it a fresh look and they didn’t disappoint.
Anthony served in the Air Force from 1979 - 1982 and will be 60 years old on November 12th. Local businesses donated materials and manpower to renovate the space and an artist even painted murals on the outside walls. When the work was finished, they even had a ribbon-cutting ceremony. “In three and a half weeks this went from a falling down newsstand to now a solid fixture in the community,” said Lt. Garrido. “I’m really proud of the community that came together to get this to happen.”
But Garrido’s good deeds didn’t stop there. When he found out Johnson sleeps in the newsstand while saving up enough money to afford a hotel, he set up a GoFundMe campaign hoping to raise enough money to set up living arrangements for the homeless vet for a year.