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$43,170 in a thrift store couch goes back home
Money is tight in Howard Kirby's house, so he shops at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Owosso, Michigan. A $35 couch for his man cave was a good find. more
After a few weeks, Kirby noticed the ottoman cushion was uncomfortable. His daughter decided to open it up and see why.
She started pulling out wads of cash. The total came to $43,170.
He didn't feel right keeping it. An attorney told him he had no legal duty to give the money back, but he felt he had to, morally. So he asked the ReStore who had donated the couch.
It turned out the couch came from a woman whose grandfather had owned it before he died. The ReStore held a big surprise for her and gave back every dollar from the cushion. "Why he's got money in cushions, I don't know," she says.
SaveThe store manager calls it just doing the right thing. To him, this is "someone who, in spite of what they're going through, in spite of their own needs, has said I'm just gonna do the right thing."
Kirby says he could have used the money, but he feels better knowing it is with its rightful owner. Plenty of people thought he deserved a reward. His community started a fundraiser to give the Kirbys some help.
He had always wondered what he would do if it ever happened to him. "Now I know," he says, "and it makes me feel good."
