Story highlights New Jersey couple raises several hundred thousand dollars for homeless good Samaritan

The initial goal was to raise $10,000 to pay for rent, a reliable vehicle and a few months of expenses

(CNN) When Kate McClure first met Johnny Bobbitt Jr., he was homeless.

He spent this Thanksgiving resting in a hotel, his feet up on the bed, drawing up a grand plan for his new life -- thanks to several thousand dollars she raised to repay him for a good deed.

Bobbitt used to spend most of his time sitting with a sign on a roadside in Philadelphia.

In October, McClure was driving down Interstate 95 there when she ran out of gas. Scared and nervous, she got out of the car to head to the nearest gas station and met Bobbitt. He told her to get back in the vehicle and lock the door. Minutes later, he emerged with a red gas can.

He had used his last $20 to buy her gas.

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