Emmanuel Matadi, a St. Paul Johnson product and former Mankato State track star, ran in the 200-meter dash preliminaries Tuesday at the Rio Olympics with his mom Florence cheering him on in Olympic Stadium.
Florence, who resides in St. Paul and is homeless, was able to make the trip with the help of more than 100 donations through a GoFundMe campaign that started just four days ago. By Tuesday afternoon, $7,584 had been raised and more than enough rolled in within the first 24 hours to make the trip possible.
The donations ranged from $5 to $1,000.
Rev. Dana Nelson of Galilee Lutheran Church in Roseville, where Florence attends services, started the GoFundMe page under the title "This Mother Wishes for Wings." The story says "Raising funds for homeless St. Paul mother to go see her son run in the Olympics," with a link to a story that was published in the Pioneer Press Aug. 11 about Florence's recent hardships and her son's Olympic goals.
A GoFundMe press release said Florence lost her home in St. Paul in 2013 due to an electrical fire and has been homeless since.
"It was her dream to see her son's first Olympic race, but she didn't have the funds to make it a reality," the release said. "With only a day to spare, Florence's pastor started the campaign and donations started pouring in within hours. More than 100 people gave over $7,000 to the campaign in just three days, proving that 'Minnesota Nice' is still alive and well. Florence is currently in Rio."
Matadi, who is one of just two Olympians competing for Liberia at the Summer Games, also ran in the 100-meter dash, but did not advance beyond the preliminaries.
The GoFundMe campaign is still open with a goal of $10,000.
"Thank you community of amazing people for all of your support!," Nelson wrote as an update on the campaign page. "Florence's travel expenses should be covered now by what we have received so far. Thank you! We are keeping this going because the next step is to help her rebuild her home so that she, her son, and the rest of the family can live there when they get back. Please keep the momentum going. Let's help them rebuild what the fire took away. Thank you all so much much!"
