Homeless man finds wallet with credit card while searching dumpster for food — what he did next changed his life
Our actions can often determine our future or at least some consequences. We often encounter situations where we can respond astutely and honestly, and doing so can yield good returns. A homeless man named Sean Currey happened to chance upon a lost wallet in San Rafael, California, PEOPLE reported. There was a lot that the man could have used for himself and like any helpless person might think, he could have just picked it up and walked. Instead, he chose differently and this decision caused him to meet 80-year-old Evelyn Topper and her granddaughter, Mikayla Gounard, The Washington Post noted. This meeting changed his life.
The man was hunting through the trash when he came across the wallet. He had been homeless for nearly five years, resorting to searching for food in the most undignified spaces. The wallet in question could have easily been a temporary escape. Given his state, he did consider using the credit cards inside. "Anybody in the position of being homeless, cold, tired and hungry, if they found a credit card, they’re going to think about it,” the 57-year-old confessed. However, he added that pondering the idea and acting on it are two different scenarios with a lot of reflection and character separating the two.
The wallet belonged to Topper, who had unknowingly left it at a coffee shop, according to NBC Los Angeles. "I called the coffee shop immediately. I tore apart my car and my house. I knew it must have dropped somewhere in the parking lot,” she recalled. The woman had everything from credit cards to her Medicare information in that wallet. "Everything I own. I was distraught,” she added. That’s when hope took a turn for the better. Currey called her and informed her that he had found her wallet and the duo set up to meet to return it. "I would rather be cold and hungry and know that I did the right thing," Currey said of his decision.
“I did it because I got a heart, that’s the way I was brought up,” he noted. The duo met and the man handed over the wallet. The 80-year-old couldn’t help but boast of this stranger’s goodness to her daughter and 12-year-old granddaughter. When Gounard heard of his plight and persistence to do good regardless, she was touched. She decided to help him by raising money for her birthday. Raising nearly $500, the girl and her mom met with Currey to hand him the cash. "I got to see him smile, and it made me really happy," Mikayla recalled.
From this little act stemmed something even more wonderful. Gounard and her family set up a GoFundMe to raise larger funds and help get Currey off the streets. They also plan to partner with him in the future and create sustainable homes for the homeless in San Rafael. So far, $55,000 has been raised. "This isn't about charity. It's about compassion, the highest form of love,” the GoFundMe read. A simple decision in kindness turned Currey’s life upside down and it's an inspiration to many. "Who knew that returning a wallet to someone I didn't know would turn into something that is gonna spark good?" he said. He shared his earnest hope — "Maybe, if I keep doing the right thing, more people will too, and it will change the world, in a small way, for the better.”