A story in the news this week is enough to warm anyone up in this cold weather.
Homeless man Billy Ray Harris now has $185,000 after a good deed led to another good deed, which led to a fund being set up in his name and thousands more good deeds as people donated to it.
The story began on the streets of Kansas City six weeks ago when a woman accidentally dropped her engagement ring into Billy’s begging cup when kindly making a donation.
Billy took the ring to a jewellery store, but when they valued it at $4,000, he realised it had probably been given to him by mistake and decided to hold onto it in case the person came back.
Ring owner Sarah Darling turned up two days later and said she had dropped something valuable into his cup and Billy returned her ring.
Sarah and her now husband were so grateful they set up a online fund, hoping to raise the $4,000 for Billy that he could have made if he had sold the ring.
The Independent reported this week that not only has the fund now reached a staggering $185,000, but also the publicity has resulted in Billy being reunited with his sister after losing touch 16 years ago.
He said on NBC this week: “I’m in shock. This is a big payoff. Got it all right here now. It’s like living like a king compared to where I was.”
We hear a lot of depressing and distressing things in the news these days, so isn’t it uplifting to hear a tale of such kindness – from Billy, Sarah and all the people who donated.
I for one am determined to remember this little story next time I am having a particularly selfish moment.