The spirit of the holiday season compelled one Minnesota couple to donate a $500,000 check to a Salvation Army kettle on Saturday. The large donation was made all the more special after it was revealed the couple had once lived off of discarded food.
Now recorded as the largest gift to the Salvation Army nationally, the check was dropped into a kettle at a Rosemount grocery store. Salvation Army spokeswoman Julie Borgen said the couple wished to remain anonymous and didn't give any details about them, besides saying they weren't from Rosemount according to the Guardian.
"The check did clear and was deposited in the bank," said Borgen.
The anonymous couple reportedly told the Salvation Army this was their way of giving back to others in need like they once were as a young couple, eating a grocery store's discarded food. "You get to a point in life where it’s time to take care of others, the way you were taken care of," the donors said. The Salvation Army also said the donation was also a way of honoring one of the couple's fathers who as a soldier in World War I once received coffee and doughnuts the Salvation Army had given soldiers.
Heartwarming stories like this one are the real gifts of this holiday season, especially if it can inspire others to be charitable.
