I write a lot about celebrities who give back, but sometimes it is nice to read about a real person doing the right thing.
Billy Ray Harris is a homeless man who was panhandling on the streets of Kansas City. Last week, Sarah Darling decided to do the right thing and help out her fellow man, in this case, Harris. She unzipped her wallet and dumped her change in this cup.
But, Darling dumped more than her change. She had forgotten that she had taken off her diamond engagement ring earlier in the day and put it in her wallet.
Panicked, she went the next day to find Harris. She knelt down beside him and told him she may have given him something valuable the day before. He said, “Was it a ring?” When she replied yes, Harris told her he had kept it for her.
Now I don’t know what the ring was worth, but in the pictures, it looks like a pretty big diamond, so surely a homeless guy like Harris could have used the money. But, he gave it back to Darling. He later told reporters that he was brought up by his grandfather, who was a reverend, and knew it was the right thing to do.
Darling was so thankful that she gave Harris all the money she had in her wallet at the time. But, she felt that that wasn’t enough, so Darling and her husband Bill Krejci set up a fundraising site for Harris.
Maybe it’s because the story helps restore our faith in humanity, but donations have poured in for Harris. Right now, the account sets at a little over $154,000. The site says that after 90 days, the money will be given to Harris and there are still 79 days left to give.
I worried about a homeless man getting that much money and perhaps not being able to manage it well, but Krejci said that Harris has a solid plan for his money, perhaps even moving to Texas to be with family. Harris has told reporters that it all seems a bit out of place for him, saying, “I don’t deserve it. What I actually feel is, ‘What is the world coming to when a person returns something that doesn’t belong to him and all this happens?”