While most people probably consult their friends or a magazine for the latest prom trends, one Reddit user turned to the "front page of the Internet" for some male fashion advice.
"Prom is coming up in about a month, and I've decided that I would like to buy a suit rather than rent a tuxedo," wrote user CheeseBurrito on Thursday. "I still have a few questions regarding buying, colors, shoes, and a few other things." After the teen's initial request, he then went into detail about the different colors he was interested in, what his date's dress looks like and his flexibility on "being a little fashion forward."
Most importantly, CheeseBurrito emphasized his need to stay within a tight budget because he did not have a steady job this year. Even though his parents are letting him borrow money for his suit, he still has to pay them back and split the cost of everything.
Not only did the kind people of Reddit decide to give CheeseBurrito some style tips on what he should wear ("Charcoal is a great choice, particularly if your date has a pink dress."), but they also took it upon themselves to eliminate his financial woes by making donations for his prom attire.
The outpouring of support -- there are over 800 comments posted -- seems to have surprised the student. CheeseBurrito has since written: "This blew up way more than I've ever expected. Thanks for all of the advice and donations to those of you who offered! I'll certainly make a follow up post on the suit when I recieve [sic] it, and I'll do another follow up after prom if anyone is interested!"
Fundraising on Reddit is not an uncommon phenomenon. Last January another student, Ben Hardwick, used Reddit as a fundraising tool when he was in Kenya for an internship. Hardwick collected more than $80,000 in donations for a Kenyan orphanage after posting a story about a man named Anthony Omari.
Jake Villanueva, a 23-year-old with kidney cancer, also posted his story on Reddit in June 2012 and received a total of $30,000 to take a trip around the world.
When Villanueva said he and his family had been meaning to go on vacation together, dozens of Reddit users from all across the world volunteered to pay for his flights and also invited him to stay in their homes.
"It said that I have cancer and I may not make it to my 24th birthday. I just wanted to talk to people," he said.