Sebastian Ibañez was born blind and partially deaf and works hard to provide for his wife, who is battling cancer, and his child. Since 2015, he has been selling brooms and mops by the side of the road in Mesa, Arizona, and is well-known by locals.
How One Man Remained Cheerful Despite Going Through Struggles
On February 15th, Ibañez was involved in a car crash that led to a chain of events that would change his life.
Because of his blindness, he does not have a driver’s license but does own a van that family members use to drive him to purchase the products that he will later sell on the street.
Sadly, a family member crashed the vehicle after the brakes failed, the accident being the latest problem that Ibañez and his family have experienced. At the beginning of 2023, the family was evicted from their home, and with business being very slow, they got far behind on their bills.
After the accident, a local Mesa news station highlighted Sebastian’s story and his fight to stay positive and move forward despite the seemingly endless hurdles being put in front of him.
Reporter Adriana Loya shared the story on TikTok and support for Sebastian quickly surged, even reaching social media influencer Jimmy Darts, who emphasizes changing strangers’ lives for the better with the help of his millions of supporters worldwide. Darts, whose real name is Jimmy Kellogg, is a 27-year-old American social media personality that posts videos of random acts of kindness.
“(The accident) was the best thing that could have happened,” Sebastian said excitedly. “It went from the dark tunnel into the sun, and everything looks beautiful.”
After hearing about Sebastian’s plight, Darts traveled from California to find Sebastian in Mesa and “change his life.”
And that is exactly what he did!
How a Stranger Changed a Blind Man’s Life
With the help of almost six thousand people from around the world, over $120,000 USD has already been raised in Darts’ GoFundMe campaign for Sebastian!
In his fundraiser, Darts’ highlighted that Sebastian “can't get a job doing anything else because no one will hire him! Because he is blind, he has been handed fake bills and his family was evicted at the beginning of the year! So sad!”
Darts explained, “(Sebastian’s) dream is to be the first blind car salesman in Arizona, but he has been going through crazy trials on top of the difficulty of his disabilities. He has been experiencing racial discrimination, his wife has cancer, he got hit by a car, and he got in a car accident causing damage to his van! Despite his trials, he remains joyful and has a positive attitude! He is AMAZING!”
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“I was able to bless him with $1000 but I think he deserves to have enough to give him more than enough to provide for his family and get his DREAM JOB! LET'S BLESS SEBASTIAN!” encouraged Darts to his followers.
Darts created a number of videos to introduce the world to Sebastian and among those watching was Tim Brown, a fourth-generation owner of Brown Brother’s Automotive in Mesa.
“I just saw an incredible human being who wanted to sell cars,” Brown told Mesa’s 12News. “I saw a beautiful guy and it didn’t make sense to me that his dream job was to sell cars, and nobody wanted to hire him. That really doesn’t make sense to me.”
How One Blind Man Proved the Importance of Positivity
Dreams do come true! Thanks to Brown, Sebastian is the newest salesman at Brown Brother’s Automotive in Mesa.
“It’s amazing, I’m speechless,” Sebastian said on his first day on the job on Monday, where he managed to sell his first used car.
Sebastian’s new colleagues spent time giving him a crash course in car sales, offering him an opportunity Sebastian never imagined in his wildest dreams.
“I’m just so grateful,” he said. “Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who supported me.”
Sebastian plans to put all the goodwill he has received toward providing for his family. He said he would like to go back to school and pay off his last semester of tuition at Arizona State University with some of the funds. His goal is to graduate in May.
“I don’t see anything on the horizon that could stop me,” he said.
Go and chase your dreams, Sebastian!
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