Worker Finds $39,000 At A Goodwill Store, Then She Does What Most People Would Never Do

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Worker Finds $39,000 At A Goodwill Store, Then She Does What Most People Would Never Do

One Goodwill worker got the surprise of her life when she was at work, and how she handled it will warm your heart. Kindell Keyes is an assistant manager at the Goodwill in New York. While she was going through the donations, she came across a purse that felt like it had something in it.

New York Times/Nicole Craine

As Keyes opened the purse, she saw an envelop that looked like it was full. When she opened it, she thought someone was playing a joke on her. "I started looking around like, who's setting me up? There's no way." Inside the purse was $39,000 cash.

What would you do with that much money? Probably not what Keyes did...

Keyes immediately brought the envelope to her manager at the front desk. Together, Keyes and her manager were able to track down the people who donated the purse. They had found a piece of mail that was in the bag that they were able to use to find the people who brought it in.

Maria Torres, a retail director of Goodwill, visited the address that the mail listed but there was no one there. She spoke with the neighbors and learned that the woman had recently passed away, but were able to give her some contact information for her grandsons.

Torres was able to get in touch with the two brothers, who had unknowingly donated their 101-year-old grandmother's life savings.  

The men didn't even know that the money was in the purse, but after they got the call, one of the brothers flew to New York to collect the money. He said "I was shocked," and explained that his grandmother grew up during the Great Depression so she must have thought that hiding money at home was the best plan. "It's just so good to know that there's people like Kindell in the world. It's remarkable."

DNAinfo/Jeanmarie Evelly

As for Keyes, the company decided to reward her honesty. Goodwill CEO, Katy Gaul-Stigge, said that "Good behavior is recognized," and awarded Keyes with a $3,900 bonus. She remained humble and said she never even thought about keeping the money for herself.

"The money didn't belong to me," she said. "I believe in karma. You do good, good things happen to you, so I'm not going to keep something that don't belong to me."