Chain of Giving Started To Help Elderly Woman on Last $20 After Man Says He Found $500 Left at ATM
A California man went above and beyond to help an elderly woman who left $500 at an ATM, reportedly starting a chain reaction of giving in response to her predicament.
It was November 2015 when Modesto, California resident Bobby Puryear went to a local drive-thru ATM. He said he found $500 dollars that had been left behind, and made an immediate decision.
Rather than seize the money and dash, Puryear said he went inside the bank to try and find the rightful owner of the money.
“I drove around to the bank and took it in, I told the teller what happened and handed her the money, she wouldn’t take it and she called the manager over he said what do you expect me to do with it, I told him well maybe you could check and see who was the one right before me,” Puryear wrote on Facebook.
The following day, Puryear said he received a phone call from the bank manager who said he had found the owner of the money, a 92-year-old woman named Edith.
Puryear said he participated in a three-way call between himself, the manager and Edith to get things sorted out. Edith explained she intended to spend $480 on that month’s rent and offered to give Puryear the remaining $20 as a reward for his honesty, he said.
“Her rent was $480.00 and she wanted to give me the twenty dollars that was left for a reward, it was all the money she had for the rest of the month, I told her absoulty not and to have a great day,” Puryear wrote.
“After I got off the phone I got to thinking about it.”
It bothered Puryear that the 92-year-old only had $20 to last the remainder of the month, so he said he decided to help Edith a second time.
“I called the bank manager and told him to transfer $200.00 from my acct to hers a co worker heard what I was doing and said he would chip in $100.00, about a hour later the bank manager called me and told me that he told all the tellers what I did and they came up with another 300.00 to go with the other money for Edith so today was a good day, Merry Christmas a little early Edith,” Puryear wrote.
As Puryear’s story began to spread, people responded with praise, writing that Puryear’s actions had brought them hope and restored faith in humanity.
Puryear said it all boils down to helping one another.
“I think we all just need to help each other, if everybody would help each other we we wouldn’t have all the hate and problems we have now, just be kind and help one another, it’s not hard and its very rewarding and it just makes you feel good,” Puryear wrote on Facebook in response to the slew of comments he received.
Puryear said he hoped more people would offer kindness to those in need, thus making the world a better place.
“It just seems like everybody is just out for their self anymore, people are just so mean,” he wrote. “I mean this is just something small but just think if everybody would just do something kind for someone everyday imagine what this world would be like.”
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