Many are wowed by a Michigan woman for her honesty after she turned in nearly $15,000 in cash that she found at a gas station, which turned out to be contributions from guests for a newlywed couple who were overwhelmed by her integrity. Sixty-five-year-old Dianne Gordon has been walking 2.7 miles to and from her job behind a deli counter every day since her Jeep broke down and she couldn’t afford to fix it. On this day, while stopping at a gas station for a snack, she noticed a plastic bag on the ground; inside was a significant amount of cash along with greeting cards. Without hesitation, Gordon called the police to report her find, stating, “If it doesn’t belong to you, you don’t keep it,” and emphasizing that she did not consider keeping the money because it was not hers.
Just doing what she “was taught to do” the grandmother of two called the police, who sent an officer to take custody of the sum.
Gordon could have walked into any dealership in the state and driven something off the lot that day, but she knew that would be wrong in all shades because the money wasn’t hers, it wasn’t correct to take it.
“If it doesn’t belong to you, you don’t keep it,” she told the Washington Post. “I didn’t do anything special. All I did was return something that didn’t belong to me.”
Police Chief Dan Keller of the White Lake Township Police Department telephoned Gordon later that day to tell her they had used the information on the cards inside the bag to track down the owners. The happy couple was “overwhelmed” by Gordon’s honesty, as was Keller’s wife Stacy Connell.
“As a police officer’s wife, I typically hear the bad things, so this was obviously heartwarming,” said Connell. “I was hoping we could help her get a car, since she could have walked into any dealership and used that money.”
Connell set up a GoFundMe, and in just 6 days it raised four times as much money from people wanting to reward Gordon’s act of selflessness as she had found in the sealed bag that morning.
Grateful for the money and the words of encouragement from all the contributors, which at the time of publishing, raised $82,000 and then closed.
On February 8th, Friends of Dianne wrote: “Dianne officially signed for her new Jeep Compass yesterday at Szott M-59 in White Lake Township. Along with the new car, she also got an extended warranty, maintenance, insurance, and plates/tabs.”
There was also an inspection done at her home to evaluate some much-needed repairs that will be done very soon.
Kind people are mostly honest hearts, because they do to others as they themselves would want to be treated and this is about the highest point of kindness. It’s a beautiful story that shows more often than not, honesty pays.