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A Pittsburgh groom turned his cancelled wedding into a charity event, winning hearts and raising funds for the underprivileged.

Daily Mail reported the story of 32-year old Phil LaBoon who had paid for his wedding but had to call it off last minute. Not wanting to cancel the wedding, he decided to use the event to raise funds for Surgicorps, an organization that performs free surgeries on the poor in developing countries.

LaBoon said he hoped to raise $ 50,000 through invites to his event which he sold at $ 75 per entry, and through handsome donations. He said initially it was difficult to sell tickets but once word got out, donations came in tens of thousands of dollars, CBS Local reported. The city's mayor Bill Peduto had donated a luncheon that was raffled off at the event.

The announcement of the event came as a surprise to Surgicorps founder Jack Demus who said he first thought it was a joke.

"I thought, this is a joke. No one does this. Then I felt like a bride, thank you very much," he reportedly told the Daily Mail.

NY Daily News said LaBoon's romantic life may benefit too from his brainwave, as he received several hundred Facebook friend requests, mainly from women, including those who want to set him up with their daughters or granddaughters.

LaBoon said given the recent cancellation of his wedding, romance is not on his mind. The event and fundraise is his love for now but he would remember it all his life, he jokingly said.

"Bad things happen. But no matter the obstacles you face you have to keep working hard to turn the lemons in your life into lemonade," Daily Mail quoted LaBoon. Additionally, he also said that his troubles are not as big as those faced by underprivileged children in countries that Surgicorps operates.