Alva James-Johnson: GoFundMe campaign for 'Lefty' not adding up

Harold "Lefty" Encarnacion is known around town as a guy who cares about the community.

The question these days is how much does the community really care about him?

Lefty, along with his wife, Millie, ran a store and restaurant on South Lumpkin Road for more than two decades. He held block parties, managed the city's only Hispanic radio station and co-launched the first Tri-City Latino Festival three years ago.

Yet, the owner of Millie's International Market was visibly absent Thursday as community organizers promoted this year's festival, which will be held from noon to 11 p.m. Saturday at the Columbus Civic Center.

Lefty, you see, recently shut down his business due to declining sales and cirrhosis of the liver. His family launched an online GoFundMe campaign a month ago to raise money for a liver transplant.

I've been reporting on Lefty's misfortunes ever since last year's festival and have run into many people who talk about the positive impact he has had on the local Hispanic and Caribbean communities. I've also read such sentiments on his Facebook page.

But a visit to Lefty's GoFundMe page shows that the family has only raised $1,490 through the online campaign. And so far, only 27 people have donated.

I'm no mathematician, but $1,490 just doesn't sound like a lot of money for someone who's so beloved by the community.

Last week, I interviewed Columbus Councilor Evelyn "Mimi" Woodson, who launched the Tri-City Latino Festival with Lefty. I asked her why she thought the fundraising numbers were so low, and she said it might be because some people don't like donating online. She said the community will hold a fundraising event for Lefty after the festival and hopefully it will raise a lot more money.

At Thursday's news conference, Mayor Teresa Tomlinson said she had something for Lefty and asked members of the committee if he would be attending.

"He's not doing well," they said, "and won't be able to make it."

A little later, I asked Tomlinson for her thoughts on why the GoFundMe campaign is going so slow. She said she tried donating two weeks ago and the link to the website didn't work. That could be the reason why there have been so few donations.

"People love Lefty and I would think he would have had a lot more contributions if the link was working," she said. "He's done so much for this community and it's at times like these that it really pays off and people step in to lift you up."

Before ending the news conference, Woodson asked everyone to take a moment and remember Lefty in their prayers.

"This is his dream, too," she said of the festival. "And we are honoring him for it because we would not be here without his enthusiasm."

As she spoke, my mind went back to Lefty's GoFundMe Page and the $1,490. Donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/HelpLefty

Alva James-Johnson, 706-571-8521. Reach her on Facebook at AlvaJamesJohnsonLedger.

This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 12:04 AM with the headline "Alva James-Johnson: GoFundMe campaign for 'Lefty' not adding up ."