On December 28, an 18-year-old Goodwill sales associate found and returned four bank envelopes containing $8,000 found while sorting donations at a Chattanooga Goodwill Industries (TN) store.
Whitney Jones, who works at the Lafayette, GA, Goodwill store, said she was sorting recently donated items when the envelopes fell from the pile. Following Goodwill policy, she immediately notified the store’s lead sales associate and the manager on duty. Then she, along with her coworkers, set about finding Richard and Betty White, the names listed on their donation receipt.
Before returning the envelopes, the store employees counted the cash twice. They were able to track down the couple and notify them of what had transpired and they were both reportedly thrilled to hear of the discovery. The Whites knew the money was missing but had no idea where it was. Apparently Betty’s mother— the owner of the box of donated goods who had recently passed away — had developed a habit of hiding things in her belongings.
Lafayette Goodwill Store Manager Kelly Campbell was on vacation at the time, but was delighted to learn the employees handled the situation so admirably in her absence. “They went out of their way to find the donors,” she said. “It’s amazing, and without even thinking about, they turned the money in.”
Jones, who usually works on the retail floor, had only had a couple days’ worth of processing training when she found the envelopes but she didn’t think twice about reporting the find.
