Diamond dropped in local Salvation Army kettle

A warm and lovely example of the generosity of Kansas City. This was on the Kansas side, just across the state line from where Jackson Co Missouri recently slashed budgets for social services.

www.kansascity.com...

On Nov. 30, someone dropped a 3/4-carat diamond, wrapped in paper, into a Salvation Army kettle outside a Walmart at Shawnee Mission Parkway and Lackman Road in Shawnee, the charity said.

“The first thought was it was just a piece of paper,” said Maj. Michele Heaver of the Salvation Army’s office in Kansas City, Kan.

It was actually much more valuable than a scrap of paper. On Thursday, an appraiser estimated the stone’s worth at $2,000 retail.

What a generous and kind thing to do. I have to wonder where the donor got the stone -- hopefully it was from a sincere concerned citizen who had it in their possession but felt it was put to better use there.
Read more: www.kansascity.com...

In the midst of pepper-spraying shoppers for an Xbox and stealing from improvised children in the "Shop with a cop" program, this is a fine sight to see. Perhaps America isn't wholly dead inside, and we can learn form this quiet example of human generosity that not everything is about yourself.

Namaste

Every year something like this happens in Kansas City. Secret Santa started in the Kansas City area and he lived there as well. Now since he has passed others carry on the tradition.

Originally posted by CrimsonNova
In the midst of pepper-spraying shoppers for an Xbox and stealing from improvised children in the "Shop with a cop" program, this is a fine sight to see. Perhaps America isn't wholly dead inside, and we can learn form this quiet example of human generosity that not everything is about yourself.

Namaste

Beautifully put. I, for one, am very glad that the paper posted this article. Kansas City is a big place, with the entire socio-economic spectrum of the nation at large. There are stories every day that do not make the news -- local fundraisers for families and individuals in various needy circumstances; donation jars placed on countertops in small businesses, Poker Runs in which the local motorcycle enthusiasts participate; some enormous, others smaller.

I want ATS to be aware that KC is a Midwestern community. People are in general friendly, unassuming, helpful, and kind. The negative elements keep pretty much to their shadows. Yes, they are there, but nevertheless, Midwesterners in my personal experience (having been born and raised in the Midwest) are by and large a much friendlier, more generous, and compassionate population than on either coast, or abroad.