When three college roommates were looking for furniture, they were thrilled to find a couch that didn’t look too gross. They brought it home but noticed something a little strange about their new home item. Read on to find out how this seat changed their lives forever…
New Digs
Three roommates were ecstatic to finally be out of their dorm rooms and living in a real apartment. Reese Werkhoven, Cally Guasti, and Lara Russo were in the market for new furniture. They decided that their first move was to get a new couch, so they wanted one cheap. Luckily, there was an option…
Thrift Shopping
Their first stop was their local Salvation Army thrift store. After a little searching, they found a couch that looked like a perfect fit, both for the size of their home and for their budget. It didn’t take long to load it up and ship it out, but the journey was just beginning…
Movie Night
After moving the couch inside their house, the trio decided that the best way to get used to the new furniture was by having a movie night together. They settled in, put Legally Blonde on the television, and got settled in. Then, something weird happened…
Crinkle Couch
The trio was settled in and deep into their movie when one of them noticed something strange on the corner of the sofa. It was a crinkle in the pillow that came with the couch. It was making a strange noise. What could that be?
Cut Open
They made the decision to cut open the pillow. At first, it looked like the pillow had some normal white paper inside. A little unsettling, but just a cheap alternative to filling. But, when they looked closer, they realized it wasn’t computer paper, there were envelopes! What could be inside…
Money Moves
After uncovering the envelopes, they had to look inside. The roommates were ecstatic to open the first one up and find a one hundred dollar bill staring back at them. The roommates couldn’t believe their luck…
Cash Couch
“We ripped them out and were just like, freaking out,†said Werkhoven, “Like, an inch and a half of hundred dollar bills.†The money wasn’t only in the throw pillows though, it was everywhere, covered in bubble wrap envelopes…
Ripping It Up
They ripped and ripped. Their new sofa looked like a disaster, but that was the last thing I remember. All in all, the couch added up to about $41,000. The group was ecstatic, but that was only the beginning…
Addressed
One of the envelopes, they realized, was addressed. There was a woman’s name on the front of the wrapped money. The friends were conflicted. This was no longer anonymous money, this cash flow had a history to it. What would they do?
Unentitled
The friends were conflicted about what to do, but realized quickly there was only one appropriate option. “The entitlement very quickly went away with finding that notice with her name on it,” said Guasti, “Because we didn’t earn that money.”
Werkhoven Works
Werkhoven’s mother offered to help them track down the mystery owner. This money didn’t belong to them, and they wanted to return it to its rightful earner. Thankfully, the group was able to reach out to her…
Calling Up
Werkhoven was the one who called the woman. “I found something I think is yours,” she said over the phone. The woman was understandably confused. “What?” said the woman. She seemingly had no idea what the student was talking about. She didn’t even know what she had lost…
Couch Crash
“I found a couch,” clarified Werkhoven. The woman perked up at this. “Oh my God!” she said, “I left a lot of money in that couch!” those were the magic words that Werkhoven needed to hear. They set up a time to meet for the exchange…
Family Secret
The woman, who’s identity is known to the group, asked to be kept anonymous. Apparently, the mystery woman had hidden the money in the sofa years ago, and no one in her family knew about it. So how did it get to them?
Redecorating
The woman was older, so her family offered to help her redecorate her home after her husband passed away. She let them but didn’t think to warn them about the couch. They had tossed the destroyed old sofa and she learned of its fate too late. She thought her life was over…
Life Saved
The woman had stored her entire life inside of that couch, literally. All the money she had saved up independently of her husband was stored in the linings. The woman thought that the good deed was telling her something bigger…
Looking Down
“This was her life savings,” said Guasti, “And she actually said something really beautiful like ‘this is my husband looking down on me and this was supposed to happen.” The mystery woman felt that this was her husband’s goodwill shining down on her…
Payback
The woman wasn’t going to let the do-gooders go without a reward. She gave each of the roommates a thousand dollars from her life savings. It was the least she could do, she thought, but the students disagreed…
Doing Good
The roommates were eager to help in any way they could and claimed to not expect a reward at all. “I think it’s just that anyone can do good if they will themselves to it,” said Werkhoven about the kind act. For them, it was an obvious solution…
Dinnertime
The group says that the woman was very grateful for their help. They hope to get dinner together soon, this time joined by the entire family. So much friendliness can come from the strangest places. Just ask Jill and Rick in Austin, who turned a strange circumstance into a life-changing opportunity…
Jill and Rick
Rick Austin owned a grocery store, appropriately named Austin’s in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Jill Prosser was his trusted manager. And when you work in a place as frequented as a grocery store, you find some interesting things…
Adds Up
Rick and Jill had both picked up tons of dropped cash with no known owner. Over time, this lost money added up to a large amount. The unclaimed money would have to go somewhere, and Rick didn’t feel right keeping it for himself…
A Large Amount
Three times during the summer, the store found unreal amounts of money. They thought maybe it was a prank or a local rich person’s act of kindness. Either way, no one ever came forward to claim the cash. They needed to do something with their new riches…
A Good Idea
With all this extra money, Rick and Jill wanted to do some good deeds for the Green Bay community. They decided to take to their facebook page and see if there was any cause that needed their help. Luckily, they found one…
Coats for Kids
They came across an advertisement for Coats for Kids, a nonprofit that works to provide winter wear for kids who might have trouble purchasing expensive, warm clothing. It seemed like a perfect fit for the upcoming Wisconsin weather…
Encouraging Others
The store donated 13 coats to the cause but knew that there was more to be done. Rick and Jill asked store goers to consider donating gloves to go with the coats. They never expected the reaction that came next…
Donation Nation
Everyone came out in droves to donate to Coats for Kids, both the requested gloves and other winter wear items. Rick and Jill were overwhelmed by the positive response. They couldn’t believe their luck…
Forever Unknown
Despite the frequent news coverage, the owners of the money were never identified. Either they really didn’t know, or they were happy that their money went to a good cause. The real heroes were the ones who brought the money to the store…
Honesty Matters
They were most proud of the crew and customers who found large sums of money on the store floor and took it to authorities. Without them, the original 13 coats would never have been purchased, and the donations that followed would not have either. It all came full circle…
Happy to Help
Though they were happy with the good press, mostly Rick and jill just hope that this inspires other businesses to take a similar approach to finding money in the stores. As long as someone benefitted from a stroke of luck, they’re happy.