White Lake Twp. woman's good deed spawns more generosity

On a brisk Saturday last month, Dianne Gordon was on her nearly 3-mile walk to reach home to White Lake Township after her grocery store shift when she spotted a Ziploc bag on the ground.

The plastic bundle held almost $15,000. She scooped it up and promptly reported her find to police.

That sum made its way back to relatives of a couple who had apparently lost it.

And from that good deed, a life-changing one developed for Gordon.

A GoFundMe campaign was set up for the grandmother, who had long been without a car. So far, it has netted more than $50,000 in donations, more than doubling a $25,000 goal.

“It's just sort of the community coming together, doing something right for someone that did something right,” White Lake Police Lt. Matthew Ivory told The Detroit News.

Attempts to reach Gordon were unsuccessful.

The story with a heartwarming twist might not have happened had Gordon, who works at VC Fresh Marketplace in Waterford Township, decided against stopping at the BP gas station on Highland Road while returning from a shift on Jan. 21.

“It was a was a pretty cold day that day,” Ivory said. “She decided she's going to pop into the gas station for a few minutes just to kind of warm up for the remainder of her walk home … that gas station probably just a little under halfway to her house.

"And she's walking up to the gas station and she's about to walk out of the sidewalk. And she looked down and she saw a Ziploc bag on the ground and she could tell it had something in it.”

Someone must have dropped that wad of cash and would be frantically searching for it, Gordon figured, so she reported it to a worker at the gas station, who called Ivory’s colleagues.

“She self admittedly ‘needed the money’ and ‘it would be life-changing’ for her, but (said) that she didn’t think twice about not turning it in,” organizers for the GoFundMe said on the website for the donation appeal.

An officer responded, drove Gordon back home, then counted the money, about $14,780, with others at the Police Department, Ivory said. “There (were) some papers in there. The papers were in a foreign language. They couldn't read them, but then they realized that there was also what appeared to be wedding cards.”

Realizing this might be a wedding gift, police embarked on an extensive search that led to the bride's sister in Waterford Township, where the ceremony had taken place, Ivory said.

Police eventually reached the newlyweds, who had departed to the other side of the state and relayed their wishes to have the sister receive the money.

The couple, Ivory said, was "pretty fortunate that they found a very altruistic person that was willing to do the right thing as opposed to just walking away with it and pocketing the cash."

Meanwhile, the wife of a township officer created the GoFundMe to help Gordon for her selflessness, Ivory said.

“We will be working with Szott Automotive to get Dianne a vehicle with the funds raised,” according to the page.

The White Lake Police Foundation has spread the word about the campaign, and as Gordon’s deed garnered media coverage, the campaign has taken off.

“We need more people in the world like Dianne!” one donor wrote.

Another added: “You have a beautiful soul! I hope your story inspires others to do the right thing. Enjoy extra money for gas and time off to see your family! They will love to spend time with you!”