Son Sells Thousands Of Cheesesteaks To Give Mom Last Dream Trip To See The Egyptian Pyramids

April 24, 2021

Ever since Gloria Walker was a little girl, she has wanted to go to Egypt. Her son is making that dream a reality.

son sells cheesesteaks for mom trip to Egypt
Dustin Vitale

Last year, after Walker was told that she had late-stage bladder cancer, her son Dustin Vitale asked her: "If there's one thing in the world you can do, what would it be?'"

"She said, 'I’d like to see the pyramids'," he said. "Ever since she was a little girl, she's wanted to see them."

But she did not want to travel alone or just go with her husband, Tone. She wanted to go with her whole family.

Vitale, who works as a middle school teacher in Philadelphia could never afford to pay the trip expenses for 14 family members. So, he decided he could raise the money by selling cheesesteaks.

Vitale said his campaign started on his Instagram story, which friends, family, and his students helped to spread.

Almost immediately cars started double-parking outside his house. Faces he didn't recognize started showing up at his front door.

"We ended up doing 94 in one day and we were like just blown away," Vitale said.

A food truck operator offered his services and in just six weeks Vitale raised all the money he needed and then some.

He had made $18,000.

Their trip is planned for later this year. His mother says Cleopatra never had it so good.

"The love, it's overwhelming, you know," she said.