Doing Good - Even When It's Hard

Dianne with her grandchildren, photo courtesy of Dianne Gordon and The Washington Post.

It’s the thing you really only see in movies … someone walking down the road investigates a random plastic bag and finds that it’s full of cash. Then a decision has to be made – keep the money or turn it in? The Hollywood version might involve the finder being chased by the bad guys who lost the loot that someone decided to keep, but things have had a MUCH happier ending for Dianne Gordon.

First a little backstory, Dianne lives in Michigan (which for the record is a state with some downright frigid winter temperatures) and her car broke down last year. She wasn’t able to repair it or replace it, so Dianne walks to work and home again – a chilly two and a half miles each way.

On January 21st when she was walking home, she took a little detour into a convenience store and then noticed a bag on the ground – when she looked in the bag she discovered a large stack of cash (nearly $15,000!) as well as a pile of well wishes and congratulations on greeting cards. Apparently all the money and cards came from a wedding that happened earlier that day.

Dianne knew exactly what she needed to do! She called the police and told them what she’d found. The officers were able to use the information on the wedding cards to track down the couple who had lost the bag and return it to them.

When one of the officers went home and told his wife the story of what happened, she decided Dianne should be rewarded for her kindness because, “the world needs more Diannes.” This was a woman who clearly could have used the money – but didn’t hesitate to do the right thing. So the officer’s wife started a GoFundMe, trying to raise $25,000 to buy a reliable vehicle for Dianne … and it took off. The last time I checked, over $71,000 has been raised!

Dianne never in a million years expected to compensated for her good deed, but she’s totally thrilled. Not only will she be able to drive to work, but now she won’t have to miss any more of her grandchildren's sporting events – something she loves to attend.