Anyone who’s a fan of going to Goodwill knows there’s always a chance you’ll find a hidden gem that’s worth big bucks. After all, sometimes people donate things without even realizing that they’re sitting on a treasure.
But in the story below, a rare collectible made its way into the trash.
One day, an antique shop in Edmonton, Alberta called Curiosity Incorporated was visited by their regular walk-in client, a homeless man named Adam Gillian.
He found an old animation cel in a dumpster.
He thought it would be worth a couple of bucks that would help him get through the day. The antique store owner, Alexander Archbold, handed Gillian $20.00 for an old framed picture of the Disney character, Bambi.
For Adam, it was quite a good trade for something that he just found laying along with some trash so he didn’t bother negotiating with the price.
Little did he know, the “trash” was worth more than that.
In a documentary YouTube video, Alexander narrated that he didn’t quite notice the unique details of the piece. With further research and a thorough look at the item, it turned out it was worth was way more than just $20.
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He was able to sell the old Disney animation cel and the amount was definitely unexpected – something very far from what he gave to the homeless man.
Thankfully, Archbold was kind and generous enough to share the blessing.
He decided to divide the total amount of the item and give the other half to Adam. The only problem was that, since the guy was homeless, he didn’t know where to find him. So the antique store owner initially wandered the streets hoping to find him.
At the time, the holiday season was fast approaching, which meant the temperatures were dropping. Looking for him was pretty hard since homeless people usually look for places that give them warmth in the cold season.
It turned out Alexander and his family were once in the same situation as Adam.
In the same video, he confessed to having a tough life before he even entered the world of buy & sell.
He explained:
“My mom worked three jobs for a while, and we didn’t have a home. We struggled with poverty and homelessness ourselves when I was a kid. And for much of junior high, we lived in motels.”
He also said he doesn’t want to milk profit from less fortunate people as he can completely relate to their tough life. That’s the reason why he really pursued looking for Adam and giving him what he deserved.
He searched and searched. Archbold looked for Adam for two weeks.
Finally, one lucky day the man came walking right back into his shop.
To his surprise, the man he was looking for walked into his store again. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the money handy at that time so they just agreed to meet the next day.
They once again met at the antique shop and Adam thought he was just going to be interviewed. He was completely clueless about what was about to happen that day.
They sat and went on having a ‘Q&A’.
It was also Archbold’s way of getting to know Adam a little better. They talked like it was just really for YouTube content, nothing very fancy and unusual. He even told Adam how he tried to find him, which surely surprised the unsuspecting homeless guy.
Then he tried to remind him of the item he’d sold. After handing Adam over an envelope with cash, the store owner told him the item ended up being sold on eBay for $3,700!
He also asked his permission to put up a GoFundMe for him.
To which he immediately agreed. It’s obvious, the store owner didn’t just want to give him half of the profit but to somehow make his life a little better. What a guy!
He ended up getting to know Adam, who turned out to be a father of three kids, all under the age of 10. He was a drywall laborer but luck turned its back on him which led him to be homeless.
In the video’s comment section, Archbold shared updates about the GoFundMe account, and what he ended up doing for Adam with the other half of the earnings from the rare animation cel.
“We didn’t mention it in this video but Adam did get the entire value of the piece. We used the other half for food clothes and a ticket home. Additionally we were able to raise $18k through gofundme. There is an update linked to the end of this video :) thanks for watching! And all the best to you Adam and your new future!”
Based on another video from Curiosity Incorporated, the two were able to meet again a year after. Things were going great for Adam, as he’s again back to work and back on his feet.
Sadly, there are a lot of people who would have just kept the money and never considered sharing it. Thank goodness though there are also kind and honest individuals who believe in doing the right thing.
Be sure to check out the video below to see the whole inspiring story for yourself!
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