TikTok influencers raise funds to help family of 4 living in car: ‘It’s a blessing’

LOS ANGELES - Two social media influencers used their platforms for good to help a family facing an uncertain future.

Financial hardship left Hugh Murray and his three young sons on the streets. For eight months, the family had been living in their van, even in the middle of the summer heat wave.

"The only thing that holds me and my sanity is the knowledge that it’s going to be okay in the end," Murray said. 

As luck would have it, social media influencer Jackie Gansky, who has over 3.5 million followers, happened to walk by their van and asked if they wanted any food from the grocery store. 

"I brought them back a bunch of stuff. I got them juice and I think two weeks’ worth of food," Gansky said. 

From there, a friendship was born. Gansky knew she wanted to help this family and enlisted the help of her best friend, Anna Noel Olson, who also happens to be a social media influencer. 

"You know, they’ve been through a lot. They’ve been through much more than many kids have been through," Olson said. "When we’re seeing how great they are as people, we just want to help as much as we can."

"Them two ladies have been my angels," Murray said. 

Olson and Gansky started a GoFundMe for the family and with the donations, they brought food, clothing, gifts, and paid for the family to stay in hotels. And the surprise didn’t end there.

In just a week, the two helped raise over $70,000. With that money, they also helped secure a safe home for Hugh and his boys for a three-bedroom extended stay so the boys can enroll in school and Hugh can find a job. 

"It’s a blessing," Murray said.

"I think that they’re just so genuinely nice and kind and they just want to share love and they’re so fun. They feel like they’re my little cousins right now or something," Gansky said. 

"He literally told me word for word…’I can do anything. If I can’t do it, I’ll learn it in 15,’" Olson said. "He’s dedicated, he’s honest, he’s a hardworking man. He’s just been through some hard times." 

Murray said his goal is to live a normal life where he can pay his bills and his children can go to school.