One simple act of kindness on the part of homeless man Billy Ray Harris completely turned his life around when he returned a diamond engagement ring he was accidentally given while panhandling back in February, TODAY reports.
A woman had, by mistake, dropped a diamond engagement ring into his cup by his usual panhandling spot. Instead of selling the ring, 55-year old Harris decided to hold onto it in case the woman returned to retrieve it. Three days later, Sarah Darling indeed came back for the ring, and Harris was able to put it back on her finger.
"It just makes you realize there are good people out there," Darling said to local news channel KCTV in February. She and her husband, Bill Krejci, then launched a fundraiser for their hero in hopes that they would raise a $1,000 reward, but the amount they did raise in kind donations was likely a shock to them all.
"We set it up because a lot of people who had been touched by the story expressed interest in helping Billy Ray," Darling told TODAY.
In their GiveForward campaign online for Billy Ray Harris, which ended in April, a whopping $191,745 was raised for the formerly homeless Missouri man. Harris now owns a car and has put a down payment on a new house for himself. Harris consulted with a lawyer, who helped him put his new finances in a trust.
After he made an appearance on television, Harris was even reunited with family members he had not been able to track down for 16 years, as they had thought he might be dead. Harris is now working on rebuilding relationships with his family, including nieces and nephews "he hadn't even known existed," according to TODAY.
"When I think of the past, I think, thank God that it's over," he told TODAY. "I mean, I feel human now. I still see some of the same people [in Kansas City] but only now, instead of coming up and giving me change, they're coming up shaking my hand and, you know, saying 'hey, good job'."
