Good karma has finally been returned to a generous homeless man, who is known in his community for good deeds. Earlier this month, University of Central Lancashire student Dominique Harrison-Bentzen was about to get a cab home when she realized that she didn’t have any money and she didn’t have her bank card on her either.
Robbie, a nearby homeless man observed what was going on, so he approached Dominique and offered to give her the last £3 that he had on him, so she could get a safe ride home. Dominique gratefully declined the offer, but was so moved the man’s act of kindness, that she decided that she wanted to find a way to repay him for his generosity
Robbie was not difficult to track down, because when Dominique made a post on Facebook telling people about her story, a number of other people in her community commented and sent her messages saying that Robbie had either helped them out in the past or had offered to help them. Some people even said that they had lost money or dropped their wallet, only to have it picked up and returned by a homeless man.
Once Dominique was able to track him down, she started a charity donation drive and told others about Robbie’s story, in hopes of raising a few hundred dollars so he could begin to rent an apartment.
Right away she started a fund raising page, and stood out on the street in the cold for an entire day to raise awareness about her donation campaign.
The fundraising page told the story of the encounter in Dominique’s own words:
On Wednesday 4th December an incredible thing happened…After losing my bank card and having no money in the early hours, a homeless man approached me with his only change of £3 and insisted I took it to pay for a taxi to make sure I got home safe. I didn’t take the money but I was touched by such a kind gesture from a man who faces ignorance every day. So I set on a mission to find this man, the more I spoke about him the more kind gestures I learnt about such as him returning wallets untouched to pedestrians and offering his scarf to keep people warm. I was lucky enough to find him again and his name is Robbie, he has been homeless for 7 months through no fault of his own and needs to get back on his feet but cannot get work due to having no address.
So that’s when I decided to change Robbie’s life and help him, as he has helped many others.On Tuesday 16th December I will be spending 24 hours through the day and night as a homeless person to understand the difficulties they face each day. And this is where I need everyone’s help, please sponsor me £3 – as Robbie attempted to give me his only £3 – in the hope of collecting enough to get Robbie a flat deposit.Together our small act of kindness can change someone’s life this Christmas and finally get him off the streets safe and warm. Please share with your friends and family. Thank you.
In just a few days Dominique was able to raise over £32,000. With that money she intends to get an apartment for Robbie, and use the additional funds to do the same for other homeless people in the area.
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John Vibes writes for True Activist and is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war.
