Homeless Man's Honesty Pays Back In Spades

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On February 9th, 2013, Kansas City resident Sarah Darling was walking along the street when she encountered a homeless man by the name of Billy Ray Harris. Instinctively, she reached into her change purse and emptied out all the coins she had into his collection can. Little did either realize that this small act of generosity, would change their lives forever.

It was not until the following morning that Sarah realized that not only had she given Billy all her change, but also, her platinum and diamond engagement ring that she had placed in her change purse earlier, because it had been bothering her finger. She and her husband Bill Krejci, rushed to the see if they could locate Billy, hoping against hope, that he would confirm her suspicion about where she had misplaced her precious jewelry. Not only was the homeless man in the same spot, he also, immediately returned the ring. The grateful couple paid him back for his honesty by emptying out their pockets of all the cash they had - about $60USD.

However, Bill Krejci, a web designer felt as though he needed to do something more for this amazingly honest man especially, after the story went viral and hundreds of people reached out to see how they could help Billy. So on February 18th, he set up a special page for him on fundraising site Give Forward with a goal of raising $1,000USD in 90 days. In just four days, the donations have ballooned to over $85,000USD and there seems to be no end in sight yet.

If that is not enough, Billy is off the streets and currently living with an unnamed samaritan. And that's not all - Thanks to all the media coverage, he was reunited with his older brother, Edwin Harris who he has been unable to locate for 27 years. Not only did the two talk for 45 minutes on the phone, but Edwin is also planning to come get Billy in mid-March and take him to his home in Lubbock,Texas.

All this good fortune just because Billy did the right thing - Return something that did not rightfully belong to him. Honesty is definitely the best policy! If you want to donate some of your allowance to better the life of Billy Ray Harris or just keep up to date with how this heartwarming story ends, check out giveforward.com/billyray.

Resources: newsyahoo.com, nydaily, huffingtonpost.com

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578 Comments
  • cooler than uover 11 years
    so nice
    • gkam13
      gkam13over 11 years
      @Caroline ya he is really generous some people would have pawned it
    • C@R0LINEover 11 years
      He is so generous
      • dani19over 11 years
        what a poor man
        • <3 me!!!!!!!!!!over 11 years
          I would give that guy 100,000 dollar ring too
          • awesomeperson24
            awesomeperson24over 11 years
            That guy deserves what he got for being honest. I would definatly give him like 1000 dollars for being honest
            • reeseover 11 years
              i agree it was generous because he gave back her ring.
              • Aja Lopezover 11 years
                they are because they help people that are homeless!!!!!!!!!because some people want everybody in our commutity !!!!!!!!!! and i never knew somebody would empty all her change.THEY are thoughtful!!!!! by Aja Lopez and Lydia Specker
                • twix02
                  twix02over 11 years
                  I thought both were heros but the billy was mostly the hero because he could've bought a really nice house with the dimond ring but rather buying a house he returned it ....
                  • twix02
                    twix02over 11 years
                    both people are very honest, i think that they are both a hero,,, honest is always the best policy... ---jackson