Can you imagine how surprised this Goodwill employee was when she discovered more than $42K hidden in old, donated sweaters?
This is the largest cash found in the history of Oklahoma Goodwill; however, there was something that surprised the woman even more.
She showed exceptional integrity which paid off well. A lot of money has been found in donated things to Goodwill; however, this is the first big sum they’ve discovered.
Woman Finds $42K, Gets Rewarded for Her Integrity
Andrea Lessing explained that although she worked here for only one month and a half, she realized that there are a lot of things which have been donated besides the clothes.
So, she explains it’s important to ensure the product is good, without stains, holes, rips, and tears.
During her inspections of the donated clothes, she was checking out two sweaters that were wrapped together and holding what she first thought were books.
But, when she looked closer, she realized this wasn’t books. There were stacks of envelopes and $100 bills. At first, she thought they weren’t real; however, they were actual money.
The stack totaled to $42K.
There were also documents with info that helped them locate the owner, something quite unusual.
Namely, usually, they have no way of knowing who’s the owner of the money, explained the VP of Donated Goods at Goodwill, Frank Holland.
Even if they wanted to be kind and return the money back to its owner, they had no way of finding them.
And, since we’re all human, the thought of keeping the money for themselves or hiding this find may’ve crossed their minds. But, Andrea managed to rise above her instincts.
She said how she has a daughter who she loves so much and she can’t put a price on her daughter. So, she realized it was risky taking the money and she explained she believes in karma.
She believes that when we do good, it will come back to us. But, little did she know that she was only minutes away from karma coming back to her.
The Owner of the Money Expresses His Gratitude & Rewards Andrea
Despite wanting to stay anonymous, the owner still wanted to thank Andrea for his exceptional integrity.
Holland explains how the owner asked if they would give Andrea $1000 from this money to thank her for her integrity. Andrea’s first thought after receiving the money was her 6-year-old daughter.
Since her birthday was approaching, she decided to use them to throw her an awesome party.
Indeed, in this case, karma definitely came right back. But, this isn’t the sole largest find of money in Oklahoma, but also among the top finds of Goodwill internationally.
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