Well This Is Awkward: Bullied Bus Monitor Karen Klein Plans To Buy Cars For Grandkids With ‘Vacation Fund’ Money

Karen Klein has gone from obscurity to famous media personality in a few short days. That’s because the 68-year-old grandmother of eight was bullied big-time while working as a bus monitor in Greece, New York. In a disturbing video that went viral last week, a bunch of middle school boys are shown verbally abusing Klein in such cruel manner, it’s no wonder the incident made international headlines and landed Klein on pretty much every daytime talk show.

Today Klein appeared on the Today Show and, among other things, she discussed the online fundraiser that’s been set up in her name. It’s the brainchild of 25-year-old Torontonian Max Sidorov, who’s raising money on Indiegogo.com to help send Klein on a much-deserved vacation and perhaps even afford her an early retirement. (In the meantime, Southwest airlines has offered to fly Klein and nine other people to Disneyland for free.)

So far a whopping $648, 775 has been raised, and that number is growing by the minute. Klein told the Today Show‘s Ann Curry that she plans to donate some of the money to charity, though she didn’t elaborate. She plans to invest some, as well, in additional to sharing the goods with her children and grandchildren. “They need cars,” she said. “They need, they need, they need it never ends.”

Is it just me, or is it weird that people are donating money to Klein so that she can buy cars for her family members? Of course, Klein is free to do whatever she likes with the money and if she wants to spend it on her family, power to her. This woman has been through a lot, and it’s nice to know that she’ll have some extra money or, rather, a lot of extra money to spend however her heart desires. I also think the fact that so many people have donated truly shows the good side of humanity. It’s heartwarming to see how many people are eager to help and make a difference in Klein’s life after all that she’s endured.

That said, I do think a lot of people who donated money might not be so thrilled to know that Klein is spending it to buy her grandchildren cars. Of course, the money was raised to make Klein happy and if this is what makes her happy, then so be it. Also, it’s not like people were fooled into believing they were donating exclusively to Klein’s retirement fund. It’ll be interesting to see the response; no doubt, everyone will have an opinion on how she should be spending her newfound wealth. Let the debate begin…

(Photo: Shawn Hempel/Shutterstock)