A Vancouver Island Homeless Man Pays it Forward to Local Charity

Talk about some excellent karma.

A Langford homeless man was incredibly grateful for the generosity of strangers, after community members raised money on his behalf; however, instead of keeping the money, he graciously donated the funds to a local Vancouver Island charity, adding that he would much rather have a job.

Last week, the homeless man found $2,000 lying on the street and turned the large sum of cash into the West Shore RCMP.

In a show of community support, a GoFundMe page was set up to help the man out. The fundraiser has far surpassed its goal of $2,400, reaching a staggering $5,111.

Funds ready to be distributed, the man was located on June 22nd, but Constable Alex Bérubé was surprised to hear that he would not like to keep the cheque.

Photo Credit: contributed.

“After hearing this story and seeing how this case touched so many people, I took a personal interest in finding this man, looking for him everywhere while on and off shift. It's not easy tracking down a person of no fixed address and no phone, but I kept trying because I needed to tell him about how the community had rallied together to help him,” said Bérubé, of the West Shore RCMP. “I finally caught up to him on Monday and told him about the fundraising organized by Mike Kelly of Victoria Buzz, and that he had thousands of dollars waiting for him. His response surprised me yet again, when instead of asking how to collect it, he asked me how to donate it to Our Place and other food service providers for people in need.”

West Shore RCMP asked the man to think about his decision overnight, but the next day, he informed officers that he would be sticking to his original decision and asked the funds to be donated in his name.

Kelly will continue to manage the funds and is now working to help the generous homeless man find a job.

“When I first heard about this man and what he had done, I started thinking of how we could help him”, said Kelly. “Here is a man who is facing many challenges, yet despite that, he chose to do the right thing and see that another person wasn't left short thousands of dollars and facing the challenges that would bring them. Now I'm going to do everything I can to help find him a job that fits his personal situation, and will hopefully move him closer to overcoming his current challenges.”