A Priceless Gift

The man in the red coat was given $100.00. He had no idea who gave it to him, why, and what it meant, but he was grateful. However, for the man in the red coat, $100 would not be enough for the food he needed and the amount of time he’d need it for. He walked to the nearest gas station and purchased a water bottle for $2. Then, he purchased some granola bars for $3. Then, things took a turn for the worse. As the man in the red coat was purchasing something, a man with a gun burst into the store. The man in the red coat quickly wrote something on the back of the object he was purchasing. The gunman robbed the store. The man in the red coat and the cashier were both shot dead. The robber took the remaining $90 and left. The man in the red coat had bought something. Something the robber hadn’t seen. Something that was more valuable than all of the robber’s stolen possessions combined.
Police later found the body of the man in the red coat. Because he had no immediate family, he could only be identified by a nickname given to him by the officers: Red. The officers found a piece of paper in Red’s pocket. A note. It read, “If I win, please donate all of this money to ordinary people on the street.” The officers turned over the note. It was a lottery ticket. Immediately, one of the officers ran into the store. His face was as white as a ghost when he came out.
“He won,” the officer said. “He won.”
The other officers crowded around, all wanting to look at the winning ticket. The officers looked at the body of Red, alone and poor. They understood that the money would not be for them. The money would be donated the way Red wanted it to be.
Red had won $10,000,000 dollars. The police force received the money and distributed it among the officers. They each carried multiple stacks of $100 in cash. The officers carried the money in their pockets, giving $100 to anyone that looked like they needed it. There was always a note attached to each bill, too. The note read, “From Red.”
From then on, Red was a name known by all of the impoverished people in the area. He became an icon of perseverance in the area, and many people could survive just a day longer when he was around. Red was the savior of the city. Although people did not understand where this new money was coming from, they were grateful. His influence stretched far and wide. He was a philanthropist fighting against poverty from the grave.
The story of Red and his winning lottery ticket shows that sacrifice can benefit many people, and that one person can make a difference. No matter how small, actions matter.