Dianne Gordon, White Lake Township, Michigan woman forced to walk 3 miles to and fro work returns $15K she found only to be gifted $77K and counting by donors.
A Michigan woman who was forced to walk 3 miles to and fro work after her car broke down last year has amassed a small bounty after she returned more than $15K she came across while making her five times a week trek.
After her car broke down last February, Dianne Gordon, 65, of White Lake Township, was forced to walk nearly three miles to and from work five days a week.
On one of her wintery treks home from her job at VC Fresh Marketplace, the 65 year old woman stumbled upon nearly $15,000 in a plastic bag outside a BP gas station.
While Gordon could’ve used the cash for, perhaps, a new car, she told WXYZ, ‘I was taught if it doesn’t belong to you, you don’t keep it.’
So she didn’t hesitate to alert the authorities about her found cache of cash.
‘She didn’t hesitate; she didn’t question it,’
‘It never really crossed her mind to do anything other than turn it over,’ White Lake Police Lt. Matthew Ivory, told WJBK.
The bag was full of wedding cards that belonged to a newlywed couple, who local police were able to track down according to Police Chief Dan Keller of the White Lake Township Police Department.
‘She didn’t hesitate; she didn’t question it,’ Keller said of Gordon. ‘This doesn’t happen very often, that someone finds a large sum of money and turns it in.’
But then Gordon quickly became the recipient of the decency she showed — when the wife of the police officer who took her call about the money started a fundraising page on her behalf.
‘As a police officer’s wife, I typically hear the bad things, so this was obviously heartwarming,’ Stacy Connell told the Washington Post. ‘I was hoping we could help her get a car since she could have walked into any dealership and used that money.’
More than $77,269 was raised so far, with the generous funds from many strangers going toward a new vehicle — a green Jeep Compass that arrived on Feb. 3, the Washington Post reported. The leftover funds will reportedly go toward car insurance and any maintenance the car needs.
‘I never expected anything like this,’ she told the Washington Post. ‘I am overwhelmed. I was just doing what I was taught to do.’
Dianne Gordon said more than the overwhelming GoFundMe response, she is most thankful that the newlywed couple that dropped the bag, got it returned to them by the police. https://t.co/9xUCjiKwVg
— FOX 2 Detroit (@FOX2News) February 8, 2023
Paying it forward
Now she can drive to see her two grandkids when they compete in sporting events and avoid having to walk in the cold Michigan temperatures.
‘My grandson is 13 and he plays hockey. And my granddaughter is 11 and she does gymnastics, and I haven’t seen her play or do gymnastics yet. So that’s going to be very important that I get to see her do that,’ Gordon told WXYZ.
‘It means the world to me. I miss them so much.’
Gordon said she plans to offer rides to her co-workers who need them.
‘I’ll give them a ride home and pay it forward,’ she said.
Shouldn’t you also return money you come across during your own daily travails?
