Wrong text message joins 24-year-old and 72-year-old in unlikely friendship
A 24-year-old film photographer is raising money and spreading the word about a 72-year-old photographer, whom she came to know after a wrong text message connected them.
It all started when Lauren Stevens, 24, received a new phone number that had, unbeknownst to her, once been used by Wernher Krutein, 72.
Shortly after Stevens started using her new number, she said she received a text message out of the blue.
"I got a text message one day, asking for 'Vern dawg,' and I'm immediately like, 'Who is Vern dawg?'" Stevens told ABC News’ Danny New.
Stevens tracked the "Vern dawg” nickname through a LinkedIn search and found out it was likely Krutein, who at the time, was a stranger to her.
The two Bay Area residents then connected and quickly became fast friends.
Krutein said he opened up to Stevens about the struggles of his online photography business. When Stevens learned that because of his limited income, Krutein was choosing not to use heat or hot water in his home anymore to save on costs, she decided to help.
"I came to Wernher and I was like, 'I feel like I need to do something,'" Stevens recalled.
Stevens launched "Verndawgtales" social media accounts, created an online fundraiser, and re-did Krutein’s photography website, all in a bid to help him preserve about 500,000 of his photos and his life’s work.
"The moment she stepped in, it was like a ray of sunshine," Krutein said of Stevens’ efforts to help.
The friendship between the two photographers has since blossomed and Stevens' fundraiser for Krutein has raised more than $60,000 so far.
"I feel, for the first time in a long time, that I'm not alone," Krutein said.
