If you were financially blessed, how would you strive to help others with your affluence? One anonymous citizen decided the best – or the most creative – way to give back would be to hide $100 bills around the city of Salem, Oregon.
The Washington Post reports that since 2013, a mysterious philanthropist has left over $55,000 in $100 bills in random locations to help citizens. The U.S. Benjamins have been found in a variety of locations, including in pockets of clothing, a pink piggy bank purchased for a chile, and pots sold at an art show.
Since the anonymous giver hasn’t yet been identified, people have begun referring to the Samaritan as “Benny,” after Benjamin Franklin who appears on the one hundred bill. And, now that the individual’s kindness has been noticed, the philanthropist has begun signing the bills with ‘Benny’.
And, thanks to Benny, an incomprehensible amount of people have been helped. One lucky recipient told the Statesman Journal that she found a $100 bill in a package of cereal she purchased for baking treats in 2013. Apparently, the money was considered to be a huge blessing as her husband was sick and medical bills were piling up.
“It just made my day. I cried happy tears for about an hour and a half,” she said.
Newspaper columnist Capi Lynn is to thank for spending her time tracking the donor’s gifts. She says that half of the people who find his money pay it forward, donating the cash to food banks, animal rescue groups, and schools.
Regarding the anonymous individual’s activism, she said:
“As of today, he has given away more than $55,000, and that’s only what has been reported to me. I have a feeling Benny will be at it until his identity is revealed, or he can no longer do it for some reason.”
In the video below, USA Today presents a few more ways people have been using the ‘Benny Bills’ to help others. One man donated the cash he found to the Orlando shooting victims, two boys used the bill to buy toys for others, and another selfless recipient gifted two homeless individuals a few warm nights in a motel.
It can probably be agreed that whoever ‘Benny’ is, their actions are admirable and their kindness worthy of ‘thanks’. What a wonderful way to bring people together and inspire hope in the world!
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