The impact of inspiration in our lives is boundless. When we are inspired, it lights up a fire within ourselves that drives us closer towards our dreams. When we are inspired, it can be developed from anything that reignites our hope and faith in humanity. When we are inspired, it encourages us to unite for the greater good.
The source of inspiration for this story is a homeless man who has seen it all, and has suffered the worst of the unwavering economy. Even after this suffering, this man committed one of the most selfless acts in history that inspired people in every corner of the world…
Dawn For Summer
The quiet, calm city of Sumner, Washington watched as the golden sun rose above the horizon, ready for a new day. A homeless man named Kevin also admired the sunrise as he stood by his local food bank, patiently waiting for his next meal. He expected yet another day of hunger, thirst, and misery.
Hope For A Better Life
Since the day he was born, Kevin had never been shown the affection and love every child needs. He had spent his entire life fighting for his survival in a world that treated him like he never existed. Even after all the hardships he had confronted, Kevin still had hope for a better life. One organization proved to him that there was light at the end of the tunnel.
Generous Nonprofit
The Sumner Community Food Bank was known for being charitable and being so generous that they give hundreds of backpacks to young students who head home from school for the weekend. However, that is only half of their selflessness.
Help For Homeless
The nonprofit volunteers at Sumner Community Food Bank also donated food without any cost to “about 1,000 people [one-tenths of the city’s population] a month,” according to The Independent. The homeless population living in the streets struggled to find shelter and food to help them survive another day. Kevin was among these 1000 people; little did he know, his life was about to turn around…
Curious Onlooker
Overwhelmingly hungry, Kevin was looking around for the bread that the volunteers usually left the night before for people to take. As he spotted a loaf of bread, something else caught his eye. Kevin found a strange brown paper bag next to the building. He wondered if it had any more food inside, unaware of the surprise that would change his life forever.
Mysterious Bag
As he approached the bag, he couldn’t smell anything that he thought was food, so he wondered what was inside of the bag, and why it was left next to the food bank. After making his final guesses at what could be inside, Kevin slowly opened the bag…
Stash Of Cash
It was completely stuffed with cash. Kevin was overwhelmed by the multitude of $20 and $100 bills. He added all of them up to see how much money he had discovered lying in that bag, and it amounted to $17,000.
Unbelievable Value
Kevin couldn’t believe his eyes and thought that he must have miscounted. His entire life he has been confronted with stints of bad luck. So, he counted again multiple times. The second time, it amounted to $17,000. Third time, $17,000. Fourth, $17,000. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Real Or Fake?
However, Kevin decided not to get excited yet. After all, someone could have deliberately tried to fool him by filling the bag with fake money. He couldn’t believe that he was holding $17,000 in his hands just yet…
Surprise Fortune
When being interviewed by the News Tribune, Kevin exclaimed “Of course, I sniffed it to see if it was real.” He found that all of the money was real. “Then I was like, do I take off or do I stay?” Kevin recalled. He wasn’t sure of what he should do with the load of money.
Direct Confrontation
After waiting at the food bank for 20 minutes, Kevin found one of the volunteers unlocking the front door. He confronted the woman named Anita Miller, who is the director of the food bank, and showed the treasured bag to her. His next action was the most radical action that one could do in this situation.
Charity For Charity
Kevin made the bold decision of giving the massive fortune to the Sumner Community Food Bank, putting his own immense stress and fear of continued poverty aside. Anita remembers him saying: “This is for you, somebody left it on your doorstep.” She also remembered the shock she felt at that moment.
Bag Confiscated
When Anita weighed the bag, she realized it was surprisingly light, since she was thinking the bag contained a food donation. That fact combined with the low quality of the bag were enough suspicious traits for her to call the police and have them investigate the bag.
Unknown Source
The investigators were dumbfounded to find the $17,000 inside the bag and knew that something was off. Hoping to see the mysterious person who placed the bag there, they tried viewing footage from the food bank’s security camera. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working correctly at the time the bag was dropped off, so there’s no telling who the person could be.
No Other Evidence
The investigators thought that there may have been a robbery in the area and an accomplice left the bag there. However, other police departments said that there were no recent robberies anywhere around the area. They also decided to check if a suicidal person withdrew a substantial amount, but that came up empty too.
Empty Case
One of the investigators, Marcus McDonald, told The Washington Post, “It’s strange for someone to leave a bunch of money like that outside a food bank.” The police had no explanation for the massive fortune, so they returned the $17,000 to the Sumner Community Food Bank. However, they planned to give something back to Kevin as well…
Gratitude For Kevin
The Sumner Police Department awarded Kevin with a Citizen Certificate for him being honest, even when he couldn’t afford to be. However, they weren’t the only ones who recognized this rare quality in Kevin. The Sumner Community Food Bank itself awarded Kevin many gift cards, and an extra reward that wasn’t specified.
Anita’s Promise
Anita Miller said, “It was a big decision for him because he could use it, but you do not take from somebody else. It would be stealing, and he doesn’t steal.” She respected Kevin for his honesty and decided that the food bank will look out for him more. “It makes you feel good to be able to help him. He helped us in a roundabout way. It’s a wonderful feeling. Trust me, it opened up all of our eyes.”
Worldwide Inspiration
Kevin’s unprecedented act of kindness has inspired other people around the world to spread the trait of generosity. Not only has he touched the lives of those around him, but he has also shown, in the cruelness of the world, that humanity still exists at large. It has also shown homeless people in a different light, where most people disregard their existence, this situation has inspired us to look at them as equals.
Why Was The Bag There?
It could have been that a person on the brink of death decided to donate all of their savings for a good cause. It could have been that a rich person wanted to make a difference in their city. It even could have been that the bag was accidentally dropped. Nobody knows except for the anonymous deliverer…
