ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / ECONOMY & WORK

Honest Goodwill worker returns $42,000 she found in a sweater — Then, she got a surprise of her own

"Don't get me wrong, I'm human. Naturally, the thought crosses your mind," she said.
UPDATED JAN 13, 2025
Representational images showing a Goodwill store and a worker (Cover image sources: Getty Images | Spencer Platt and Stephen Ehlers / Contributor)
Representational images showing a Goodwill store and a worker (Cover image sources: Getty Images | Spencer Platt and Stephen Ehlers / Contributor)

An employee at a Goodwill store in Norman, Oklahoma, set an example when she came across a shocking find. Back in 2021, Adrea Lessing, who just started her role as a store associate found stacks of cash worth $42,000 while sorting through a box of donations. The employee overcame her human instincts and decided to report the find and return the money to the rightful owner. The heroic act grabbed widespread attention and earned the worker a well-deserved reward.

Screenshot from the Facebook Post | Facebook | Goodwill Central Oklahoma
Screenshot from the Facebook Post (Image source: Goodwill Central Oklahoma)

Lessing was sorting through a pile of donations at her Goodwill location to check for the quality of the items. She told KFOR that she had just worked for a month and a half but she had realized that a lot gets donated at the store. She said she was looking through the items to make sure the products were good, and there were no holes, tears, or rips.

Screenshot from the Facebook Post | Facebook | Goodwill Central Oklahoma
Screenshot from the Facebook Post of the store (Image source: Facebook | Goodwill Central Oklahoma)

While checking the items, she came across two sweaters wrapped together. At first, she thought there were books inside the sweaters but on looking closely, she realized it was something else.

“There was just stacks of just envelopes and it just contained $100 bills,” Lessing told the news outlet. She further explained that initially, she thought the bills were fake but later realized that they were real and amounted to a total of $42,000. "It was definitely shocking," she said while speaking to Good Morning America.

Screenshot from the Facebook post | Facebook | Goodwill Central Oklahoma
Screenshot of cash from the Facebook post (Image source: Facebook | Goodwill Central Oklahoma)

Finding money wasn't unusual for Lessing but this time the amount was just too big. She immediately alerted her supervisor and the staff used the documentation of the donation to track down the rightful owner of the money.

While Lessing made the decision to report the money and return it, she told GMA that she did get the human temptation to keep the money. "Don't get me wrong, I'm human. Naturally, the thought crosses your mind like 'I just found $42,000, I could get this, this, and this,'" she said.

A Goodwill representative told CNN that it was the largest amount of money found in any donation at the Oklahoma Goodwill, in its 85-year-long history. It was also one of the largest finds at any Goodwill location internationally.

However, being a good role model and setting an example for her 6-year-old daughter was more important for Lessing. She shared that she wanted to instill honesty and compassion for others in her daughter and she could only do so by doing the right things herself.

Goodwill commended Lessing for holding up the values of the company. Furthermore, the owner of the lost cash told Goodwill staff to give her $1,000 of the money to reward her actions.

Jim Priest, the CEO of Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma at the time, met with Lessing to present her the reward. "The actions of Andrea and our Goodwill organization are real-life examples of one of our core values: integrity," Priest said in a statement shared with Fox News.



 

Meanwhile, Lessing told GMA that she was surprised by the generosity of the owner. She said she only wanted to do the right thing and wasn't expecting a reward or to be on the news across the nation.

This article originally appeared 2 months ago.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The sharks had an incredible time during the pitch, especially Mark Cuban who later offered a deal.
19 hours ago
He was diagnosed with a rare condition and has remained positive about being part of a community.
20 hours ago
There was a lot of anxiety in the air at one point, but things worked out.
1 day ago
The host of the show expected a fantastic voice but was left utterly disappointed.
1 day ago
Viewers argued that the game show was turning into a teenage "K-Pop community." 
1 day ago
The entrepreneur impressed the sharks with her immaculate pitch and outstanding numbers.
2 days ago
Fans were frustrated at the hopeless results in consecutive episodes of the show.
2 days ago
Greiner's hate for bugs and the numbers of The Bug Bite Thing compelled her to make an offer.
2 days ago
Some fans were not too let down as the player didn't figure out the puzzle anyway.
2 days ago
Corey Harrison was scared to death of how his father would react if he found out what went down.
2 days ago
Fans were not happy with the result as there had not been a Bonus Round winner in ages.
3 days ago
Contestants' reactions are often charming for viewers who are already impressed by their performance.
3 days ago
The guest was emotional as he spoke about his grandparents, who owned the items before him.
3 days ago
Groans of disappointment echoed throughout the studio as the game came to its end.
3 days ago
The guest high hopes of earning a five-figure sum but his lack of proof cost him dearly.
4 days ago
The cleaners must have had the best time after this entrepreneur left the stage.
4 days ago
The shark did his best not to shed a few tears as he shared a beautiful moment with his wife and kid.
4 days ago
The host started pointing fingers at the astrophysicist and promised retribution when the time came.
5 days ago
Harrison wasn't too impressed with the piece of rusted metal right from the start.
5 days ago