Store Finds Fortune In Donated Purse
Published: March 17, 2005
Some real treasures can be found at secondhand stores, but when workers in a River Falls, Wis. opened a donated purse, they found an unexpected treasure.
“A lot of times we’ll find a dollar or two or three dollars,” said one worker at Treasures From the Heart.
Inside one purse was a lot more than the average couple of bucks.
“She said, oh, look there’s money in this envelope and she pulled out a bunch of money,” said Carol Haughton with Treasures From the Heart. “She kept pulling out envelopes, oh here’s more! Here’s more!”
As the volunteer searched the purse, she pulled out envelope after envelope, stuffed full of cash, mostly $10 and $20 bills.
In all, there was $4,800 in cash in the purse. The money would have made a nice donation for a good cause, but that’s not the way things are done at that small-town store.
“We take integrity and ethics very seriously,” said Kathy Helgeson with Treasures From the Heart.
The employees decided to find the man who donated the purse with only one clue: The woman’s name on an envelope.
They searched and searched and finally got a break.
“It was the husband of a niece in Texas and they gave them the number of an uncle here in Hudson (Wis.),” said Helgeson.
The employees found the stranger who was surprised to find his mother had tucked away the cash. The man donated the purse and other items after his mother died.
The envelopes had the names of her grandchildren on them, a final gift from her to the children.
“It was satisfying to see that money returned to him, because it wasn’t ours,” said Helgeson. “It never was ours.”
The store wanted to protect the man’s identity, but did say he gave the store a small donation to show his appreciation.
All the money raised at Treasures From the Heart goes to Heartland Home Care Network’s hospice and home health programs.
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