Jermaine Bell had always wanted to go to Disney World. He had been saving up for more than a year.
On a recent trip to visit his grandmother in South Carolina, he realized people evacuating from Dorian needed help.
"We saw that Hurricane Dorian was coming to the United States," Jermaine Bell said. "We were, like, ‘Oh, people won't have this,' and, ‘Oh, people won't have that,' so I wanted to give them some food to eat -- basically, snacks."
Bell set up a stand with free hot dogs, chips and bottled water for anyone passing through.
"In that area, it's a major thoroughfare evacuation route," his mother, Lauren Creech, said. "So people have to come through that way, and it's a small town. There's really nothing as far as restaurants, so it was really a good idea to have it there."
People in Jacksonville heard about Bell's story and started a GoFundMe page to raise money to send Bell to Disney World. In a matter of days, people donated thousands of dollars.
But Disney decided to come to Bell. On his birthday on Sunday, Mickey Mouse and friends surprised Bell with a free VIP trip scheduled for later in the month.
"When I saw everything and Mickey Mouse and my presents, I was just so happy." Bell said, beaming.
Bell decided to take the money from the GoFundMe account and use half of it to help those in the Bahamas.
"I'm gonna get some care packages for the kids in the Bahamas, maybe just food and drinks and maybe electronic in there, too," he said.
His mother said the rest of the money will go toward Bell's education.
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