Elderly Man Accidentally Donates Jacket Containing $13,000 Cash

By Jeremy Suede on November 30th, 2011

Some lucky second-hand shopper is going to get quit a surprise when they purchase a new jacket from their local Goodwill store in Illinois. That’s where an 80-year-old resident says he accidentally donated a jacket that contained $13,000 in cash and now the jacket can’t be located.

The 80-year-old Illinois man notified Goodwill of the Heartland last week of his mistake, said Dana Engelbert, vice president of marketing for the charity. Engelbert said the man’s wife has cancer and they had been using the money to offset her medical expenses.

“It’s his life savings and he’s in a difficult situation right now,” Engelbert told The Associated Press Wednesday.

She said the gray suit was donated to a store in Moline, Ill. It may have been sold at the store, or could have been sent with other clothing to a regional Goodwill warehouse in Iowa City, where non-seasonal items are sent for storage, she said.

As word of the man’s plight spread, Goodwill has been inundated with calls and emails from people offering assistance.

“It’s been extremely heartwarming, the number of people reaching out to help,” Engelbert said. “The phone at the Moline store rang almost nonstop with people calling about it, and I’ve received emails from as far away as Germany.”

But the man and his family are declining all offers of financial assistance and have asked that they not be identified, Engelbert said.

“Our family would like to thank each and every one of you that have come forward wanting to make a donation to my father for the money he has lost,” the man’s daughter said in a statement provided to WQAD-TV in Moline.

“We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity from around the world. My father’s wishes are to respectfully decline any donations of any kind. He only wanted someone to come forward with the money he gave away by mistake,” she said.

They have also offered a $1,000 reward for the return of the jacket. I would hope that who ever finds the missing jacket has the decency to return it and the money to its rightful owner. ‘Tis the season after all.