Good NewsAnonymous donor gives $25,000 to Durham Region Humane Society
Last Tuesday, a "mystery man" dropped off a $25,000 donation at the Humane Society of Durham Region in Oshawa, Ontario.
"I was dumbfounded, just looking at it. My mouth fell open and I let out this scream and instantly burst into tears," animal health co-ordinator Ruby Richards, who received the bank draft from the young man, told the Toronto Star.
"Today a wonderful young man came into our shelter to make a donation," the shelter posted on Facebook last Tuesday. "He wanted no tax receipt and didn't want to leave his name. He just handed us an envelope and left. Inside this envelope was a note that said 'Life is a lot more valuable than anything money can buy! All I ask is that you help a stranger one day, with no expectation of gain.' In the envelope was a bank draft for $25,000."
The generous gift was a timely one, the Humane Society wrote:
"At this time the shelter is struggling with finding funds for many surgeries. There are so many animals and people in need. That someone who thought nothing of gain for himself would do this purely out of the kindness of his heart is a wonderful gesture that has touched everyone here at our shelter. We want whoever you are, to know that your kindness will help numerous animals and people. We cannot thank you enough for this very generous gift."
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"If animals could talk, they'd be meowing and barking, 'thanks for helping us!'" Richards said.
She told the Star that she and other volunteers tried to chase the man down before he left the parking lot. The man, however, refused to give his name, nor did he want a tax receipt.
"I don't want anybody to know who I am, I don't want anything for this, I just want to help," Richards said the man told her as he drove away.
She told the newspaper that large donations like the mystery man's are never anonymous. The donor usually wants a tax receipt or an acknowledgement on the website.
"Nothing has ever happened like this, where someone wants absolutely nothing for such a large donation, it was completely shocking to everyone here," she said.
The man's donation made an immediate impact at the shelter.
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"We've been postponing a number of animal surgeries because there just isn’t the funds there to do it," she told 680 News.
Two days later, the volunteer Board of Directors posted an open letter of gratitude to their "hero":
Thank you so much for your generous, unexpected, and truly inspiring gift to the Humane Society of Durham Region. It is important to tell you that your gift WILL make a difference in the lives of the animals that the Humane Society looks after but it is equally important to tell you that your gift HAS ALREADY made a huge difference. From the shelter staff who cried when they opened your envelope to the 3,000+ people who have liked the story to the almost 1,700 people who have shared the story, your generosity and humbling approach to making a difference is a demonstration of the good that exists in our society today. For the animals, who do not have a voice and rely on the generous donations of the community, the volunteers and staff that look after them every day, your gift will benefit them directly as much as it has warmed the hearts of thousands of people that you have indirectly touched and inspired.
They concluded, "Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your amazing gift, your unselfish gesture, and for making an incredible difference in the lives of hundreds of animals."
While the mystery stranger has yet to be identified, a friend of his did provide some insight into the gift:
"I know the person who did this personally and he does have a heart of gold and treats his friends that way. He was fortunate that something good happened in his life which brought him into money and he swore it wouldn't change him and it hasn't. He also believes in karma and it works for him," Dave Doiron wrote on Facebook.
