What would you do if you found a hundred-dollar bill on the street? That’s an old question on many personality tests or one that people just like to ask themselves for fun. But then that question came to life in one Goodwill store, and an employee rose to the moral test.
A relatively new employee was sorting through some donated sweaters.
Andrea Lessing had been working the job for about a month and a half and was already not surprised by some of the stuff she found.
People donate all kinds of things to Goodwill, and sometimes don’t always remember to empty out their pockets or purses before handing them over.
As she soon found out, this included cash.
However, in one of the sweaters, she felt something extra heavy.
At first, she thought that it was a stack of books, but then realized it was something way bigger.
Inside the sweater, she found stacks of envelopes filled with $100 bills.
All counted up, the money was worth $42,000. And no, the money wasn’t fake either. It was completely real.
Thanks to identifying documents also left in the sweater, the employees were able to trace the money back to its owner.
Normally, most people donate to Goodwill anonymously. Or they at least try to keep their personal identifying information away from the clothing they donate. But in this instance, along with the forgotten money, the person who donated the sweater also forgot some documents that included their name.
For Lessing, returning the money was a no-brainer.
She believes in karma, and wants to try her best to put out positive energy. She also says that she was motivated by doing right for her daughter and being the best mom she can be. She explained to KFOR:
“I have a daughter. I love her very much, and you can’t put a price on my daughter, and I know what could be risked, stealing that money. And, I do believe in karma, I do believe that if you do something good will come back to you.”
But she was still rewarded for doing the right thing.
After returning the money, the owner gave Lessing $1,000 for her kindness and for tracking them down. They were really thankful for her kindness, and it seems pretty clear that Lessing did get her karma!
As she was given that reward money, her boss, the V.P. of Donated Goods said to her:
“Thank you for what you’re doing and you’re integrity and you’re really living our values. Thank you.”
Lessing told KFOR that she would use the money to help give her daughter an amazing birthday party.
Let this be a lesson to all of us.
No matter if you are donating something or if you happen to be the person to find something, we all could learn something from this story. And don’t forget, if you are going to donate any items, please make sure that you get rid of any identifying details, and definitely make sure that you don’t accidentally get rid of your money.
See the video below to learn more about this inspiring story!
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