Germany’s Robin Hood? Anonymous donor gives to the needy in Braunschweig

He's the talk of the town in Braunschweig, Germany.

An anonymous donor — affectionately called Germany's Robin Hood by the media — is leaving envelopes filled with euro notes to local good causes.

Envelopes have been discovered behind hymn books in a church, under a doormat on a well-lit porch and at the reception desk of the local newspaper.

The money is often accompanied with a newspaper clipping. In one case, an article about a boy paralyzed in a swimming accident was paired with the cash, the boy's name underlined.

"I was driving when I heard the news. I had to park on the side of the road. I was speechless. For someone to act so selflessly…was astonishing," said the injured boy's mother.

The donor has yet to be spotted.

"All the people of the town know is that he or she (or perhaps even they) are very generous, having left 190,000 euros (£158,480) so far. The mystery donor may have given even more — they leave the bundles of money (20 x 500 euro notes each time) where they are not certain of being found," the BBC reports.

The Canadian-dollar equivalent of the donations thus far is almost $250,000.

While everyone has their theories as to who he/she may be, the newspaper refuses to put reporters on the case:

"He or she wishes to remain anonymous and we have to respect it. So it's anonymous, anonymous, anonymous as far as we are concerned," Henning Noske, editor of Braunschweiger Zeitung, explained. Nor will he give charities newspaper coverage merely as an attempt to gain the good Samaritan's attention.