Senior Donates Suit to Goodwill, Loses Life Savings

His $13K was in a pocket
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 1, 2011 4:21 PM CST
Senior Donates Suit to Goodwill, Loses Life Savings
A man says he accidentally left $13,000 in a suit he gave to Goodwill.   (Shutterstock)

Before donating clothing, it’s best to check the pockets. An 80-year-old man has paid a hefty price—quite literally—for forgetting: He had hidden his life savings in a suit he donated to Goodwill, he says. Now employees of the store in Moline, Illinois, are sifting through a warehouse full of donations trying to find the $13,000, reports the Chicago Tribune. The money was supposed to pay the medical bills for his wife, who is fighting cancer.

Now, people all over the world are offering to help the man out financially. But he won’t take the money. “We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity,” his daughter said in a statement. But “my father's wishes are to respectfully decline any donations of any kind. He only wanted someone to come forward with the money he gave away by mistake.” It could be a long shot: “It's safe to say we've searched thousands of pounds,” says a rep for the charity. (More Goodwill stories.)

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