Donations Pour in for Good Samaritan Who Returned Lost Money

She did the right thing because it was the right thing to do.

But as luck (and some internet savvy relatives) may have it, Chanti Carter-Rene stands to benefit from her kindness financially as well. 

The 29-year-old East Orange woman didn't think twice about returning the $3,500 in cash Chris Gagnon, 50, dropped on the sidewalk outside a Citibank in downtown Morristown just two days before Christmas.

Carter-Rene told NJ.com she could have used the wad of $100 bills for a security deposit on an apartment for her and her 2-year-old daughter, but "the guilt would kill me."

Carter-Rene returned the money to Citibank where Gagnon picked it up. Many expressed interest in paying it forward and helping out Carter-Rene with donations of their own. In response, her family started a gofundme site to collect donations with the goal of raising $2,000. 

But according to Carter-Rene, returning the money was simply the right thing to do. 

I never in a million years expected this as a result of doing the right thing by instinct, not for personal gain," Carter-Rene said on the fundraising website. "The fact that people wanted to help me as a result has been extremely moving and I couldn't be more thankful that one act of kindness has duplicated to multiple acts of kindness."

According to NJ.com, Gagnon, who gave her $250, said he hoped the money would help Carter-Rene move into a place of their own.

"That would be a wonderful holiday story," he said in an e-maii to NJ.com.

With total funds already exceeding $2,000 there is a good chance Carter-Rene ends up with more money than she returned to Gagnon. 

"Hopefully a day will come where acts such as these are ordinary rather than extraordinary. I hope this story resonates as an inspiration at this poignant time of year with all the resolutions and self-reflection," Carter-Rene said. "Be good to each other, even someone you don't know. It means a lot, even the smallest measures, and as you can see, kindness has the tendency to snowball."