'You Don't Know Me, But I Know You:' Stranger Surprises With $210K in Gifts
One generous donor is taking the idea of Secret Santa very seriously this Christmas.
Five nonprofit organizations in Colorado Springs, Colo., received a total of $210,000 in donations from an anonymous giver on Friday, along with a note that said: “You don’t know me, but I know you. I see the good work you do. You make our community brighter, oh boy! Please accept this gift and spread joy.”
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The package with the check and note also included $50 gift cards for every employee at each organization. The donor gave $50,000 donations each to Cheyenne Village, an organization that serves adults with developmental disabilities; Silver Key, which serves senior citizens; Care and Share, a Southern Colorado food bank, and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. The Rocky Mountain Field Institute, a land conservation organization, got a donation of $10,000.
Jeannie Porter, development director of Cheyenne Village, told WATE that she was in shock when she saw the check. “At first, we thought it was a hoax, we really did,” she said. “And then we thought ‘wait a minute. No. Maybe this is really real.’”
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Employees at Silver Key had similar reactions. “When we realized that this was authentic we were all moved to tears,” Silver Key Chief Development Officer Lorri Orwig told WATE.
Especially touching was the anonymous nature of the donations, a practice that is virtually unheard of these days, Orwig said. “They’re really giving from their heart,” she said. “They’re not giving with the intent of any attention, or notoriety. They just wanted to give it because they knew how much we would appreciate it and how much our staff would appreciate it.”
The gifts for individual employees were a welcome addition for staffers who often go unrecognized. “To have a donor be so generous to every single employee is just so overwhelming,” Ann Turner, executive director of Cheyenne Village, said.
While the Secret Santa will remain just that, the organizations are hoping the donor will know how grateful they are. “We’re saying thanks and we hope he or she is out there watching,” Porter said. “Because we’re so grateful, whoever you are.”
(Photo: Stocksy)
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