Heartbreaking story of frail woman, 92, who has to work in busy clothes shop to pay her bills

An elderly Florida woman has no choice but to keep working at a busy clothing store so she can pay her bills. 

Muriel Connick, 92, continues to clock into work every day at the Burlington department store in Pompano Beach, about 15 minutes from Fort Lauderdale, to make ends meet because her social security check only covers so much.

'It’s the rent, and it’s the car payment, and the car insurance, and the telephone, electricity, and cable,' Connick told WSVN. 

Her hard work quickly caught the attention of shopper April Steele, who couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Connick hanging clothing on racks at the store . 

'My heart sank. I thought, "Why is a 92-year-old woman working?" It just seemed unbelievable to me,' Steele told the outlet. 

Connick's determination inspired Steele to spread the word on a local Facebook group. 

Soon, she started a GoFundMe page to help raise money for Connick to hopefully have enough money to retire one day and fix her home. 

Steele soon realized she wasn't the only one who felt the need to help Connick, as complete strangers raised nearly $60,000 in just weeks to support her.

Muriel Connick, 92, works hard every day at a Burlington department store in Pompano Beach, Florida because her social security check doesn't cover all her bills 

Her hard work quickly caught the attention of shopper April Steele, who couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Connick hanging clothing on racks at the store. (Pictured: Connick and Steele together) 

Steele also started the donation page to help raise money to go toward Connick getting her floors fixed in her mobile home. 

Currently, the flooring is ripping apart and lifting, making for unsafe living conditions for the elderly woman. 

The gift from strangers completely shocked Connick, who just recently found out what was being done behind the scenes to help her. 

'I was really surprised, and I didn’t know she was going to do all this,' she recalled. 'I thought she was just going to give me a card and say, "This is to help you".' 

Connick added: 'I really thank them very much.'

She isn't just appreciated by strangers, but her co-workers as well. 

One of her fellow employees said Connick is 'nice and incredibly strong,' according to the GoFundMe. 

'I worked with Muriel for almost 2 years and I can not even begin to describe how nice and incredibly strong she is,' they said.

'She showed up for work every day and works harder than most people there.'

Her co-worker said that Connick doesn't just manage the dressing rooms, but is also in charge of putting clothes on the floor. 

They also revealed that Connick recently tried to get financial help from her job to fix the broken pipes under her trailer home, but was denied. 

'I helped her complete an application to the assistance fund through Burlington because her pipes are broken under her trailer and it's causing the the floors to break which is a major falling hazard for her,' they explained. 'She was unfortunately denied that help.'

It is unclear why exactly she was denied assistance. The Daily Mail contacted Burlington for comment.

Not only has money been raised to help support Connick, but a new friendship has blossomed between her and Steele. 

A GoFundMe fundraiser started by Steele has raised nearly $60,000 to help her new friend fix her home and hopefully retire soon 

The pair were seen hugging and celebrating with confetti after people donated to help her out. 

Steele hopes her new friend will not only be able to fix her home but also retire soon with the funds that have been raised. 

According to statistics from 2024 to 2025, more than 11 million Americans aged 65 and older continue to work. 

Some do so for financial reasons, while others feel the need to do so they stay active, according to Pew Research Center.