One tweet led to another and on Wednesday, British business magnate Sir Richard Branson agreed to donate $2,000 to Glendale's winter shelter, which has been hitting its 80-bed capacity nightly despite a bare-bones budget.
Branson on Tuesday tweeted that he would donate the money to Ascencia, Glendale’s largest homeless services provider and the shelter’s operator, if 2,000 people tweeted the word “shoeathon.”
They did. And so Branson — through his nonprofit Virgin Unite and phone company Virgin Mobile — made good on his pledge.
Virgin spokeswoman Felicia Hill said the money would likely be sent out to Ascencia in a couple weeks. The money will likely be used to supplement the regional winter shelter -- funded by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, a countywide agency -- which services Glendale and the surrounding areas.
The origin of the unlikely Twitter challenge stretches back to December, when Shannon Smith of Aliso Viejo wore Branson’s shoes to volunteer at the shelter on Christmas Eve.