A young mom finds $42,000 in some used clothes and returns it to the owner

by Alison Forde

April 05, 2021

A young mom finds $42,000 in some used clothes and returns it to the owner
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Ever found money on the street or hidden in old clothes? Few people are so fortunate. In real life, unfortunately, money doesn't grow on trees and must be earned through hard work. Andrea Lessing had just found a job in a thrift store, the proceeds of which, in part, were donated to support the poor of the community. One fine day, Andrea was rearranging the merchandise in the back of the store when she found a couple of $100 bills in two old used sweaters. Initially she thought they were fake banknotes, but then she found the rest of the "treasure": $42,000 in cash!

via Youtube / KFOR Oklahoma's News 4

Youtube / KFOR Oklahoma's News 4

Youtube / KFOR Oklahoma's News 4

Andrea Lessing was rearranging the used clothes to be put out for sale in the back of the shop, looking for possible stains or tears to be repaired, when she noticed the bills. Two $100 notes that she initially thought were fake. Soon afterwards, the young mom found the rest of the loot. At the sight of the 42,000 dollars, Andrea's thoughts immediately went to her daughter: she would soon be turning 6 and she, with that money, she could have afforded to give her a beautiful birthday party! 

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Youtube / KFOR Oklahoma's News 4

Youtube / KFOR Oklahoma's News 4

But after daydreaming for a few minutes, Andrea decided to make a different of choice, the one she thought was the ethical one: to track down the owner of that money, and return it to him.

The young mother then reported to her boss the amount of money she had found and, shortly afterwards, the shop was able to track down the owner who had brought in those clothes. The identification of the owner was also possible thanks to some documents that were rolled up together with the banknotes.

Youtube / KFOR Oklahoma's News 4

Youtube / KFOR Oklahoma's News 4

"I did the right thing" said Andrea, following up her thinking with her actions: if you do good, sooner or later it will come back to you. A simple and practical way of seeing life, which allows you to make the kind and disinterested gestures which make the world a better place. And indeed, Andrea's gesture certainly did not go unnoticed, especially for the owner of all that money, who wanted to give her a sum of $1,000 as a "reward". Andrea burst into tears when the manager handed her the money, telling her that the owner of the money, who had donated the clothes, wanted her to have it.

Perhaps this is a gesture that not everyone would have had the honesty to carry out: what would you have done? Tell us in the comments!

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