(NewsNation) — Zachery Dereniowski, known as MD Motivator on social media, has 17 million TikTok followers and billions of views for good reason.
Dereniowski has given out more than $2.7 million to strangers he meets on the street in hopes of spreading kindness and helping those in need.
This holiday season, Dereniowski is urging people to be kind to one another.
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“Over the past year we’ve raised now, the totals around $2.7 million, and that’s not me. That’s good people online getting behind good people, people wanting to support people,” Dereniowski said Wednesday on “CUOMO.” “So, we’ve created multiple crowdfunds that are five and six figures for individuals, for families.”
His videos often feature Dereniowski asking strangers for help doing a task or asking for a dollar or two, rewarding the first person to help him with upward of $1,000 in cash. These videos have made Dereniowski a star on Instagram and Tik Tok, with nearly 10 billion views and a flood of donations to help his efforts.
One recent campaign went toward helping a 14-year-old with a goal of attending culinary school.
“His foster father was over the moon when he saw how much money that (he) had for when he’s done with high school, whether it’s culinary school or to pivot into something else, but to have that opportunity to chase his dreams and to know that people believe in him is everything,” Dereniowski said. “It was amazing to see what’s happening.”
Dereniowski launched a nonprofit two months ago called Kindness is Cool, and a clothing line is preparing to launch Dec. 1.
He wants to continue using his platform to spread positivity, love and kindness.
“I believe what you put out is what you receive, and you can’t allow an outlier to dictate and change the way you approach situations,” Dereniowski said. “The true way to help is to just be good, be kind. You never know what people are going through. Always lead with love, with kindness, and (know) your actions matter and you can make a difference.”
