Honesty still alive and well

You’ve probably heard about the American guy who picked up what he thought was rubbish on a footpath because he wanted to jot down a phone number. On closer inspection, Reggie Damone found it was an envelope containing a cheque worth $US185,000 ($A212,000).

Reggie works at a McDonald’s and receives government help due to his low wage but he says he didn’t think twice about trying to cash the cheque. Instead, the 47 year old took a bus to the bank and returned the it to the niece of the person whose name was on the cheque.

She thanked him with a $50 reward. I reckon a little more than $50 would have been nice for returning such a large amount but I’m sure that Reggie appreciated it. He said that although he knew the money could pay his rent and other bills for a long time, he was never tempted to try to cash it and splurge. Reggie said he remembered his mother’s words: If you take something, you lose three times that amount – and if you do something good, something good comes back to you.

Nice to know there are still honest people in out communities.

What would you have done with the cheque? If it was your cheque would you have slipped Reggie a little more than a fifty?

I wonder if he ever did get to write down that telephone number.



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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He has worked in radio at Perth's media ministry Sonshine for over 25 years and has previously worked at ministries such as Compassion Australia and Bible Society.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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6 Comments

  • First I have to say: Nice banner! 🙂

    Yep I read that story… I couldn´t believe it. Certainly I thought at first, well done. But when I came to the 50$-passage… If I was in Reggies´ place (working at McD, needing governments help), I would not only be very, very disappointed but also very angry.

    I hope the receiver thinks about it again and gives a bit more to his honest helper!

    Sometimes I think the richer people get the more grasping they become.

    I did forgot all about the phone number due to being annoyed when I read that article first – I need to learn!… Thanks for pointing in the right direction!

  • We are trying to raise money in support of what Reggie did with that check. Wondering if there are people willing to give to him, and his integrity. Read more at http://www.reggiedamone.moonfruit.com – just some young souls who care for this man, and wanting him to receive the good that he deserves. Could we find 185,000 people to give $1 to this man? Pass it on!

  • Hey Xan … so good to hear that people are helping Reggie. I’m just wondering if there’s any way that we can know that the money is being given to Reggie and that this isn’t a scam.

  • Yeah. In this day of scammers, its always a possibility. I wrote a bit on the website if you wanted to check it out more. I am a director of a non-profit, and a web designer, which allowed me to do this so quick. I am required to be accountable to my donors in what we do. I guess, in some ways, like Reggie, we are allowed to give not knowing the outcome. Trust is not easy to come by. for those who feel led, I hope they consider.

  • I love those words of wisdom from his mother. It’s a principal I try to live by although I’ve never heard it put quite like that. I do believe that the kind of people we are makes a difference! 🙂 Good for him.

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