77-Year-Old Substitute Teacher Living in His Car Gifted $27,000 From Former Student’s Campaign

Like so many, Jose Villarruel, a substitute teacher from Southern California, struggled financially once the coronavirus began to impact our world in 2020.

According to People, Villarruel had his work hours cut as schools around the country closed their doors to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus last year.

The elderly man had already been living out of his car for years so he could help provide for his family with the little income he made as a substitute teacher, so the pandemic only made his situation worse.

“I couldn’t possibly support my family and extended family in Mexico and rent an apartment here at the same time with the income that I can have,” Villarruel, who lives out of a 1997 Ford Thunderbird LX, told KCBS.

A former student remembered seeing the beloved teacher retrieving items from his car.

“Every day, I’d go out to work around 5 a.m. and see him going through his trunk,” Steven Nava told KCBS. “I just felt I need to do something about it.”

So Nava created a Go Fund Me page earlier this month to help Villarruel, and in less than a week, the campaign raised more than $27,000.

“Mr. V was a great funny and helpful educator and substitute teacher in the Fontana Unified School District,” Nava wrote on the Go Fund Me page. “He’s struggled with getting back on his feet after the pandemic hit and has been living in his car ever since despite the brutal weather and living conditions,” Nava explained.

Nava was able to present Villarruel with the $27,000 check from the donations on Thursday, which turned out also to be his 77th birthday.

“I’m still trying to digest the entire experience,” a shocked Villarruel told KCBS. “It’s extraordinary, totally unexpected.”