The power of generosity can make a world of difference. For the case of Mitchell St. Marie, generosity really changed his future.
St. Marie is a homeless veteran in Oregon City, and he found himself in a tough situation. He had recently lost his job and home, so he was keeping everything he had in a storage unit. However, he came up short when trying to pay rent.
In that moment, a delivery truck driver came to his rescue. Josh Dale had stopped to make a delivery of packing supplies. That is when he overheard St. Marie talking to a police officer.
The next thing that happened took everyone by surprise.
Amidst St. Marie’s contemplation of options, Dale simply asked how much St. Marie owed. He then proceeded to pay not only the veteran’s rent for one month, but for two.
Michelle Gardiner, the manager of the storage facility, said, “It breaks my heart, because I don’t get to pick and choose who I can help. I have to stay in a neutral position and sometimes that’s really hard.”
Even Oregon city police officer Mike Day stopped by and tried to fix the situation. He stated, “We checked Mitchell’s balance and he only had about $68.00 left in his account.”
If not for Dale, there wouldn’t be much else for St. Marie to do.
To Dale, he said that it just felt good to give back. “I got to help somebody out and bonus, it was a vet,” he said.
Gardiner recalled that when they told St. Marie the news, he teared up a little. “He just couldn’t believe that somebody was willing to do something like that for him.”
To Officer Day, this was a really special moment to witness. “I still have faith in humanity, but for those who are maybe lacking a little bit of faith in humanity, it’s acts like that that restore faith,” he said.
It’s amazing what an act of kindness can really do.
A very humble Dale said, “I’m nobody special. I’m just a guy who happened to be in a certain place at a certain time. I saw an opportunity to help somebody so I did.”
His spontaneous act of compassion is an inspiration to all. No matter how big or small, acts like Dale’s can make an enormous impact on somebody’s life.
A delivery truck driver helps a homeless vet in Oregon City, just in time. “This restored my faith in humanity.” pic.twitter.com/SUOLVw0S52
— Katherine Cook (@KCookKGW) July 7, 2017
Featured Image by sydney Rae on Unsplash
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Janice Henshaw
August 21, 2017 at 5:04 am
Enjoyed reading this story of compassion to remind us all we too can help someone
in need. What a nice thing to do for (esp) a Veteran! Hooray for Dale!! May we all
be inspires by his actions.
Thank you,
J.H.