Online campaign nets nearly $3,000 for struggling 19-year Cinemark employee

After 19 years on the job at the Cinemark Cinedome 12 at 851 S. Boulder Highway, Gwen Pringle was suddenly sidetracked.

About 15 residents — one with balloons and another with an oversized check — approached Pringle as she started her shift as a door usher Nov. 20 to give her $2,740 so she can go on vacation.

"Now I'm supposed to work after this?" Pringle joked after becoming emotional while hugging lifelong Henderson resident Mike Thompson, who presented the money.

"Thank you for being here so long and helping everybody," Thompson said. "Your hard work is appreciated."

Thompson and his wife, Kelsey, started a GoFundMe campaign for Pringle on Nov. 7 after speaking with her Nov. 6 while at the theater and learning that she was having financial difficulties.

"She told me, 'I'm drawing from my savings just to survive,' " Mike Thompson said.

He said he started the conversation with her because he had seen her regularly over the course of the roughly 20 years he had been going to the theater.

The GoFundMe campaign ended Nov. 13 and gained momentum because word spread via social media. A total of 132 people donated — most of them neighborhood residents or other people who used to see movies at the Cinedome 12.

"People donated $3,040, which was more than double the $1,500 goal that I had set," Mike Thompson said.

The check sum was less than what was raised because GoFundMe takes 5 percent of each donation and also charges a 3 percent-per-donation processing fee.

Pringle, 68, said she planned to use the money to help needy families and was also considering the Grand Canyon as a vacation destination after theater crowds leveled off.

"I can't go on vacation now," she said. "It's a busy time of year."

In addition to the check, Mike Thompson also gave Pringle a printout of the comments made by donors on the funding drive's campaign page.

"There were some people that stated that they had went on their first date there," Thompson said before the presentation. "Another lady stated that Gwen had bought her Christmas dinner one year when she didn't have money. A lot of people commented about her friendly smile."

Mike Thompson's friend, Dain Szafranski, said Thompson did not mention the campaign to him because he wanted to be low-key about it. Instead, Szafranski found out through his Facebook page.

That's also how neighborhood resident Miranda Swartzlander heard about the effort.

"Somebody had posted about it on Facebook," said Swartzlander, who said she donated money toward the effort.

The campaign had 2,000 Facebook shares and three Twitter shares, according to its GoFundMe page.

"I thought it was kind of neat — and she's deserving," Swartzlander said.

Her sister Carson Halliday also attended the presentation. Both said they had been going to the theater for a long time, and Halliday remembered interacting with Pringle.

"One of the greatest movies I saw here was 'Finding Nemo,' and she (Pringle) just said something about how funny clownfish are," Halliday said.

Resident Mary Scialabba was videotaping the presentation on her cellphone so she could send it to her son in Alaska.

"My son used to work here," she said.

Elaine Tannehill also was among attendees. She said she and her husband, Tony, go to the theater about twice a week and have developed a relationship with Pringle.

"We've been exchanging Christmas gifts with her for years," Tannehill said.

— To reach Henderson View reporter Cassandra Keenan, email ckeenan@viewnews.com or call 702-383-0278. Find her on Twitter: @CassandraKNews.