A California man had just pulled up to the ATM outside his bank, when he noticed a pile of bills left behind in the slot. He glanced around and didn’t see anyone, so he grabbed the cash and went to investigate, leading him to a realization that didn’t sit well with him.
In a Facebook post on the incident, Stockton resident Bobby Puryear said that he went to withdraw money last month, when he found $500 left in the dispenser. Not seeing anybody around who had been at the machine before him, Bobby wanted to do the honest thing and report it to the teller, in hopes that surveillance footage would show the rightful owner.
Bobby went inside the lobby of the bank with the cash in hand, but he didn’t get the kind of help he expected for his good deed. Instead, the teller refused to take the money and called a manager over. Seemingly annoyed to have to deal with this issue, the male supervisor looked at Bobby and said, “What do you expect me to do with it?”
Shocked by the guy’s smug response, Bobby explained that he was hoping surveillance video would show who it belonged to. Having not made much headway in returning the money, Bobby left the funds and the bank and went about his day, thinking that would be the end of it. But it was far from over.
Bobby got a 3-way call the next day from the bank and another woman named Edith on the line. The found $500 belonged to 92-year-old Edith, who had accidentally left it in the machine, after pulling it out to pay her $480 rent. But as the woman continued to speak, Bobby’s heart sank.
Edith told the good Samaritan that she wanted to reward him for his honesty by giving him the remaining $20 left over after the rent. But when he learned that $20 was all she had left to her name to live on for the remainder of the month, he couldn’t accept her gift, and instead, he did something else.
When the woman hung up the phone after Bobby turned down her sweet offer, he called the bank back and asked the teller to transfer $200 from his account into hers, since living off $20 for a month is nearly impossible. His kind deed inspired the teller to do the same, which ignited a whole giving trend among other tellers there that afternoon. After everyone contributed what they could, Edith’s account was funded $500 for her to live on, and maybe treat herself to.
Bobby’s good deed from start to finish, in being honest to begin with and generous to the end, began an incredible trend that blessed this woman beyond what we may even know. Chances are, she lives alone and often feels forgotten, especially in her financial struggle. Now, thanks to the kindness of complete strangers, she’s been given the best gift of all — compassion.
