Mystery Donations

[oldr_n_wsr]

Unsolved mystery: Anonymous $10,000 donation at World Trade Center site
Thu Oct 21, 3:56 pm ET
By Mike Krumboltz

Charities are receiving fewer donations, thanks to the lingering effects of the recession. Happily, there are exceptions. One of the more intriguing ones occurred recently in New York City, when an anonymous person placed $10,000 in cash into a 9/11 donation box at the World Trade Center site.

An article from the Associated Press explains that officials found the cash (99 $100 bills and five $20 bills) on Tuesday night. Because the bills were all "crisp and unfolded," officials think they came from the same person between the hours of 5 p.m. (when the box was last checked) and 7 p.m. (when the site closed). The memorial, when finished, will consist of two sunken pools where the Twin Towers once stood. Experts believe it will be completed by next year.

While this is the latest mystery donation to intrigue the Web, history is full of generous (and anonymous) people giving to charities. In 2007, a nameless donor gave a whopping $100 million to the town of Erie, Pennsylvania. The donor, who obviously didn't want to be identified, is known only as "Anonymous Friend."

Of course, not all donations are that large, but the more modest ones can be just as mysterious. For several years in a row, a single gold coin worth $1,000 was unceremoniously dropped into a Salvation Army kettle in Florida. The donor was never identified, but attached to each coin was a note saying, "In memory of Mimi."

Sometimes the donations are just as unique as they are generous. Earlier this year, an anonymous man left $8 million to an Australian nonprofit organization that specializes "in large-scale rescue and rehabilitation of the Southern Hairy Nosed Wombat." After that incredibly thoughtful gift hit the news, Web searches on "what's a wombat" surged from nil into the thousands.

Not all the mysterious donations are in the form of currency. In Washington, D.C., an unidentified donor gave 362 pounds of food to an area food bank. The benefactor had gone to the trouble of separating the food into 266 decorated bags that were then given to needy children.

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There's some hope for the human race yet?