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Homeless Man Who Returned Ring Gets Over $130,000 in Donations Billy Ray Harris
- Published_at:2013-02-25
- Category:News & Politics
- Channel:Newsforthenation1
- tags:
- description: Homeless Man Ring Who Returned Ring Gets Donations Over $130,000 is collected for Billy Ray Harris, who gave back an engagement ring inadvertently dropped in his cup days earlier. Homeless man returns diamond ring accidentally dropped into his change cup Donations are pouring in for a homeless man in Kansas City who made headlines after he returned a diamond ring that had been accidentally dropped in his cup. Over $130,000 (£85,000) has been collected so far for Billy Ray Harris, who panhandles near the Missourian city's upscale shopping district Country Club Plaza. Mr Harris kept the ring and gave it back to its owner, Sarah Darling. The woman has told US media she had put her engagement ring in her coin purse. As she gave Mr Harris her spare change, she forgot the ring was in her purse and dropped it in the cup. Two days later, she found Mr Harris - and got her ring back. The story was reported by local news station KCTV and then picked up across the US. Ms Darling and her husband Bill Krejci set up a fund for Mr Harris on the giveforward.com website, and thousands of people have chipped in. "I'd like to continue using the word 'unreal' to describe this experience and spare you a million words of thanks and awe for another time," Mr Krejci wrote on the website. "All donations will be given directly to Billy Ray at the end of the 90 day GiveForeward Campaign," he said. The campaign runs through May 15. A homeless man who hit the jackpot in his change cup—a diamond ring—showed he had a heart of gold by returning it. The woman who accidentally dumped her engagement ring along with all the spare change in her wallet into the cup noticed the mistake long after she had given the pricey item to the Kansas City man, Billy Ray Harris. Sarah Darling, who hadn't meant to be quite that generous to the man on the street, explained to Kansas City, Mo.'s KCTV that "my rings were bothering me, so I put them in my coin purse." Darling said she didn't realize what she'd done until the next day. "I was so incredibly upset because, more than just the value of the ring, it had sentimental value," she said. Needless to say, Darling returned to the scene the next day. Harris told the station, "The ring was so big that I knew if it was real, it was expensive." He recalled, "She squatted down like you did like right there and says, 'Do you remember me?' And I was like, 'I don't know. I see a lot of faces.' She says, 'I might have gave you something very valuable.' I said, 'Was it a ring?' And she says, 'Yeah.' And I said, 'Well, I have it.'" Harris added that he wasn't the type to cash in on someone's misfortune. "My grandfather was a reverend. He raised me from the time I was 6 months old and thank the good Lord, it's a blessing, but I do still have some character," he said. Darling gratefully told the TV station, "It seemed like a miracle. I thought for sure there was no way I would get it back." Harris did not go empty-handed: He again received money from Darling—this time all the bills she had in her wallet.
| ranked in date | views | likes | Comments | ranked in country (#position) |
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| 2013-02-28 | 1,932 | 7 | 0 |
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| 2013-03-01 | 2,794 | 10 | 0 |
(,#71)
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