A woman raised $8,000 so her Uber driver could see his son compete in Rio

GoFundMe

Liz Willock, left, set up a crowdfunding campaign so Ellis Hill, right, could travel to Rio.

A Pennsylvania Uber driver is about to fly to Rio to watch his son compete the Olympics - and it's all thanks to the kindness of strangers.

Ellis Hill is retired and disabled, but he drives for Uber to make a little extra money, NBC Philadelphia reports. One day, he mentioned to passenger Liz Willock that his son, Darrell Hill, would be competing in shot put at the Rio games this month. 

"When I told her about my son she was really amazed, but when she asked me if I was going over there to watch him, I said I really couldn't afford it," Ellis told People.

But Willock, who happens to work for a global concierge service with contacts in Brazil, wouldn't accept that as an answer. She was determined to get Ellis to Rio. 

The next day, she started a campaign on GoFundMe, asking for donations to fund Ellis' travel. Within two days, contributors had chipped in more than $7,000.

"I was ecstatic," Willock told People. "We had over 150 people contribute and I think Ellis knew maybe 10 of them. The rest were strangers."

Now, Ellis is working on getting a passport while Willock helps to make travel arrangements. He's officially going to Rio watch Darrell's Olympic debut.

"I haven't seen my son in a couple months because he's been training," Ellis told People. "I cant wait to see him and encourage him in person and let him know I'm 100 percent in his corner."