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In 2012, then 68-year-old Karen Klein sat down on a middle school bus to fulfill her duties as bus monitor. Instead of helping to prevent the type of bullying that has become so prevalent in adolescent society, she became the target of a 10-minute tirade of verbal abuse.
After video of the incident upset one sympathizing viewer on YouTube, he set up a crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo with a $5,000 goal to send her on a stress-free vacation. The video (and crowdfunding campaign) quickly went viral, and Klein soon received $703,168. A week later, she retired.