An act of kindness at Trader Joe's led hundreds of people to donate $93 each to hunger-related charities, raising over $100,000.
It all started with a trip to Trader Joe’s. Jenni Ware had just rung up her groceries, which came to a total of $207. But as she reached into her purse, she discovered that she’d left her wallet at home.
Ware was about to go home grocery-less when she received a kind offer from the stranger in line behind her, a woman named Carolee Hazard. Hazard offered to pay Ware’s entire bill, simply asking her to send her a check to cover the cost.
The next day, Hazard received a check for $300—$93 more than she’d lent to Ware.
“I didn’t know what to do with the money,” Hazard told USA Today. “I’d thought to mail a check back to Jenni, but in the day and age of Facebook, I turned to my friends to decide what to do with the money instead,”
A friend suggested donating the cash to charity. Hazard thought that was a great idea, and selected the Second Harvest Food Bank, matching the $93 with an additional $93 of her own.
Several of Hazard’s friends were so inspired by her actions that they decided to make their own $93 donations. Soon, their friends were following suit. The group of philanthropists created “the 93 Dollar Club,” and a Facebook page to go along with it. A year since that fateful day at Trader Joe’s, the club has raised more than $100,000 to fight hunger in America.
Now that their story is getting so much attention, Hazard has a bold new goal: doubling donations to $200,000. Want to help? Check out the Facebook page for more info.