Windsor boy gets surprise of a lifetime from local TikTok star
A 10-year-old Windsor boy who recently lost his father and grandmother got a surprise visit and special gift from Windsor’s most popular social media influencer, Zachery Dereniowski.
The interaction was filmed over a few days and posted to social media under Dereniowski’s online moniker, MD Motivator.
In one of the videos, he meets with Dougie Hannan, whose father passed away in August and then his grandmother in December.
“When my dad passed, we didn’t get that much money,” said Dougie.
“You lost your dad recently?” asked Dereniowski.
“Yea, and my grandma. It’s just a normal occasion, everybody dies sometimes.”
Dereniowski was touched by Dougie’s story and surprised him with a new basketball, a basketball net, tickets to a Detroit Pistons game and $500 cash.
“My dream is to be like a basketball player,” said Dougie before seeing the gifts.
Dougie told Dereniowski that he’s going to give the $500 to his mom so the family can buy groceries.
But the 10-year-old doesn’t have a passport and couldn’t accept the tickets for the Pistons game.
A week later Dereniowski showed up at Dougie’s school with an even bigger surprise.
“What would you do if i told you your mom doesn’t have to buy groceries for 3 years?” he said in the video, which has been viewed online more than 25 million times.
Dereniowski handed him a letter with $30,000 which he crowd-funded from strangers on Go-Fund-Me.
But it didn’t stop there.
“Open this, you ever been on a plane before?” Dereniowski asks Dougie, which which he responds no. “You’re flying tomorrow to Toronto!”
Dougie, along with his mom and Dereniowski, flew to Toronto shortly after, to watch the game, meet players beforehand and get a signed basketball.
Dougie soaked the moment in, quipping “This is the best day ever!”
After the video went viral, Dougie became an overnight celebrity at his grade school.
Despite his recent struggles, he’s grateful his story is helping others.
“It makes me happy because I'm putting smiles on people's faces,” Dougie said. “I'm making them feel like I'm there helping them through like if they have troubled times.”
And Derenioswki is just happy his videos promote kindness, get a conversation going between people about what hurts in life and inspire others to take action.
“To make it a better experience to share is beyond meaningful,” Dereniowski said. “It's more important than the money and just as important as the experience that he had going to Toronto that day.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
BREAKING McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.