Homeless man returns a lost wallet to a family who, in turn, raise hundreds of dollars for him
Sean Currey of San Rafael, California, regularly forages for discarded goods and food in the dumpsters of his neighborhood. One day, Currey – who has struggled with homelessness off and on for five years and has been especially hard hit during the pandemic – came across a fabric pouch during his search. The pouch turned out to be a wallet and was filled with credit cards, debit cards, an insurance card, and a driver’s license. The wallet, he learned, belonged to Evelyn Topper. “I knew this woman was probably beside herself not knowing where all her stuff was,” Currey said, so he decided to call her. Topper realized that she had dropped her wallet in the parking lot of the coffee shop where Currey was later foraging, but by the time she called the coffee shop, the wallet was gone. When she got Currey’s call, she was ecstatic. “I started screaming. I couldn’t believe it,” Topper said. The two met up and Topper passed Currey some money as a token of her gratitude. That day happened to be the first day of Hanukkah and Topper, who is Jewish, explained to Currey that his mitsvah – the Hebrew word for a good deed – was especially significant to her that day. It turns out that Topper’s granddaughter Mikayla was also struck by the mitsvah. At the time, her 12th birthday was approaching and she had been trying to decide on a charity for whom she could request donations in lieu of birthday gifts. Currey’s kindness inspired her to return the favor, so she asked family and friends for donations to support him. Mikayla and her mother called Currey to make sure he would be comfortable with their raising money for him at Mikayla’s drive-by birthday party. He was. “I choked up and got a tear, he said. “I felt very humbled and special that they would go out of their way to do that for me.” The family ended up raising $475 for Currey, which they delivered to him the day after Mikayla’s party. “I was just so touched,” Currey said. “It was refreshing knowing that people her ae want to help… Maybe if I keep doing the right thing, more people will do and it wil change the world, in a small way, for the better.”
Source: The Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/01/06/homeless-wallet-return-dumpster-fundraiser/
UK Plumber and his team have been providing free services during the pandemic
Several years ago, James Anderson, a plumber in the UK, responded to a request for a second opinion and realized that another plumber was attempting to con the homeowner, an elderly and disabled man, out of £5,500. Disheartened, Anderson decided to found a nonprofit intended to help disabled and elderly homeowners with their plumbing and heating. His efforts have kicked into overdrive since the pandemic began. In addition to helping with heating and plumbing, Anderson has been providing food, PPE, and paying people’s bills. During the pandemic alone he has spent £57,000. “We’ve all got a social responsibility to each other – we need to be there for each other,” Anderson said. The tradesman has set up a GoFundMe to accept donations to offset operating costs. Between Christmas and New Years Day, he and his team of three volunteers, three apprentices, and four engineers completed 93 jobs for free. “I work seven days a week, 70 hours a week. I haven’t taken a single day off. I’ll have enough rest when I’m dead,” Anderson said.
Source: The Washington Post - https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/hero-plumber-helps-10000-families-for-free-during-pandemic/
Arkansas oncologist forgives $650,000 of medical debt owed to his clinic
When Dr. Omar Atiq, an oncologist in Arkansas, closed his clinic in February 2020 due to staffing shortages, the clinic had $650,000 in outstanding patient debt. The large sum was due to Dr. Atiq’s commitment to provide treatment to any patient who needed it, irrespective of their ability to pay. Patients who did not have the means to pay their copays or who had no insurance at all were accepted and treated in his clinic. Initially, Dr. Atiq attempted to settle the outstanding debts. He quickly realized that many of the people he treated still lacked the means to pay their debt to the clinic. Atiq believes the coronavirus pandemic had a major role in his patients’ financial hardship. So after speaking to his wife and the rest of his family, he decided to forgive the entire $650,000 debt. The generous physician sent Christmas cards to all his former patients with the following message: “The Arkansas Cancer clinic was proud to have you as a patient. Although various health insurances pay most of the bills for the majority of patients, even the deductibles and co-pays can be burdensome. The clinic has decided to forego all balances owed to the clinic by its patients.” “I just hope that it gave them a little sigh of relief and made it easier for them [to] face other challenges they may be facing in their lives,” Dr. Atiq said.
Source: The Arkansas Democrat Gazette - https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/dec/25/shut-this-year-cancer-clinic-forgives-debts/
Note. The Ball State University Center for Peace & Conflict Studies will host the Benjamin V. Cohen Peace Conference: Building a Beloved Community. This virtual conference will be held on April 9 and 10!