Billy Ray, a former homeless man who lived in Kansas City and begged on passers-by, drastically improved his quality of life as a result of one act of kindness.
Sarah Darling, a woman passing by at the time, put some money in a cup held by a 55—year-old man, but she managed to lose her wedding ring along with the money when she tripped and dropped it.
A few days later, Harris decided to return the ring to the woman, even though he was thinking of selling it to earn extra income. The valuation he received for the ring was $4,000.
The man said of this act of kindness: “I’m not trying to claim to be a saint, but I’m not the devil either.
Darling and her husband, Bill Krejci, organised a fundraiser for Harris with the intention of helping him regain his financial footing to show their gratitude for his help.
As Darling explained, “Our aim was to raise one thousand dollars, and we organised the evening after hearing from several people whose hearts were touched by the story and expressed a desire to help Billy Ray.”
The fundraising event received huge support and eventually raised more than $190,000 in just under three months.
When Harris first received the money, he immediately sought advice from a lawyer who helped him invest the money in a trust.
Since then, our hero has been able to buy a car and even make money for the down payment on the house.
And that’s not all: his family, who couldn’t find him for 16 years and thought he was dead, were able to find him after he appeared on television.
They happily reunited and now Harris is building a relationship with them; this includes his relationship with his nieces and nephews, whose existence he was completely unaware of.
He said: “When I think about the past, I’m just grateful it’s gone. I mean, I finally feel like a human being.”
