When Vince Hietpas found a lost wallet, the honest 11-year-old knew just what to do. And his determination to do the right thing is what makes this inspirational short story so great!
It's always encouraging to see a young person with good morals. And 11-year-old Vince Hietpas certainly has good morals!
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He and his dad, Lorenzo, were taking a walk one day when Vince noticed something out of place. On the ground, he found a lost wallet.
Vince's family had recently fallen on hard times. Lorenzo was working at a meatpacking plant, but then he contracted COVID-19.
The illness caused him to miss time from work as he recovered. And it was taking even longer for his breathing to get strong enough for him to wear the PPE required to return to the plant. While Lorenzo tried to pick up odd jobs here and there, the lack of a steady income had the family struggling to make ends meet.
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So, 11-year-old Vince Hietpas could have been tempted to keep the wallet for himself. Or, when he found the lost wallet, he could have decided it was too much trouble to return it.
But the sweet boy did neither of those things. Instead, he immediately searched the lost wallet for a driver's license in order to find the address where it could be returned!
As it turns out, the lost wallet Vince found belonged to 17-year-old Chase Dahlke. The high school student dropped it while fishing and had given up on ever seeing it again. But then Vince showed up on his doorstep!
Vince explained how he'd found the lost walled, leaving Chase's dad “kind of in shock that somebody could do a nice gesture like this.” And after hearing about it, Chase's stepmom, Michelle, wanted to do something to reward the honest young man. So, she turned to the power of social for help in tracking him down!
“Who knows this kid? We want to reward him!" she wrote on Facebook. "So thankful for him and his dad. There is so much hate in this world and so much negativity. It’s time to focus on the positive.”
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Before long, Michelle's post connected her with Vince and Lorenzo Hietpas. And after hearing about Lorenzo's health battle and financial struggles, she decided she wanted to do even more to thank this family.
Michelle updated her post to include more information about Vince's kind deed in spite of his family's struggles. She asked anyone interested to consider giving a donation.
"This family still gave the wallet back even though they have nothing!" Michelle said on Facebook. "This family could use some love and support from us."
Plenty of people felt the same as Michelle and donations poured into the GoFundMe page she set up. People who didn't know this family at all have raised just over $10,000 to date. And all to thank this 11-year-old Good Samaritan for doing the right thing.
Vince was rather surprised by all the attention he received over the lost wallet he found. He didn't return it for any kind of reward. The incredible young man simply did what was in his heart.
“Doing the right thing is good,” he said.
I don't know about you, but this honest young man gives me so much hope for the younger generation!
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"Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don't give up." Galatians 6:9
h/t: Good Morning America
Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Michelle Dahlke
Mel is the senior writer for GodUpdates, finding, writing and sharing Christian, uplifting, and health-related stories from around the world. Mel has a passion for writing and graduated with a degree in English from Randolph-Macon College in Virginia. When she’s not researching and writing stories, Mel is very active in her church. You can usually find Mel playing board games with her husband and two young girls, giving someone a hug, or hunting down a good cup of coffee!