Homeless man hands over $40k found in bag – and the public fundraises $60k for him

This is easily the most heart-warming story of the week.

Glen James, a homeless man in Boston, found a backpack in a shopping mall that contained a lot of money, by anyone’s standards – $2,400 in cash and almost $40,000 in traveller’s cheques, as well as passports.

So he handed it directly and immediately to police on patrol. The story was widely reported as a nice human interest piece, as James himself owns next to nothing and lives in a homeless shelter. He even received a special citation (or endorsement) from the police commissioner, where he said he would not have kept “even a penny” of money that wasn’t his.

Homeless man Glen James (right) is being recognized for his honesty. He turned in a bag with cash to police. pic.twitter.com/ugEqSOgkrv

— Bernice Freedman (@BerniceNews) September 16, 2013

But the story doesn’t end there.

On Monday night, a man named Ethan Whittington created an online fundraiser for James. It was an unassuming page, set up with the simple message: “Let’s all chip in and help this man change his life. Every little donation helps.”

Today, a little over a day later, there is more than $66,000 in the fund.

The fundraising effort got started with a bit of PR from Boston Magazine, and then the cash really started rolling in – so much so that Whittington, as organiser, suddenly had to worry about the logistics of dealing with such large amounts of money. Earlier today, he finally managed to get in touch with James where they hashed out the details.

They’re considering buying a house if things keep going this well, and an unidentified company has also been in touch to offer a donation- and a job for Mr James.

“He said he would like a week to think about it, and in the meantime, I will speak with a few financial folks to see how we can help him in a way that will positively influence the rest of his life. He loved the idea of a place to stay, some clothes, food, etc. we will continue to stay in touch as much as possible,” Whittington wrote in an update.

Whittington isn’t even from Boston, and started this amazing fundraising from Alabama. But if ever there’s a case of someone getting what they deserve, it’s this story. People were so touched to find a man who had the strength of character to do the right thing. And here’s the thing: if he hadn’t had such strength of character, it’s likely the traveller’s cheques would have been cancelled, and he’d have made off with $2,400 in cash. Now, he stands to net more than 25 times that amount.

Good man, James.

Want to chip in yourself? Or check the current fundraising level? You can find the page here.