28-year-old Gerrell McAllister is going through a tough stretch in life.
Times are tough, and McAllister is trying his best to make ends meet.
By day, McAllister works as a cashier at a natural pet foods store in Tacoma, Washington. At night, he’s the father of a beautiful 5-year-old daughter. Last December, McAllister lost his beloved mother. The news struck him really hard, and he struggles to cope with the grief and despair from the loss.
This past week, McAllister was involved in an accidental encounter that ultimately proved to be life-changing.
A 30-year-old sales executive from Seattle named Melissa Trusler received money from her father, Alan, as a thirtieth birthday present. She had just purchased a new couch, and her father decided to help her buy it.
On Thursday, May 25, 2017, Alan sent his daughter $1,200 via PayPal to her phone number, only it was her old phone number. She had recently changed numbers, and the old number now belonged to McAllister in Tacoma.
McAllister was shocked when he woke up the next day. He had suddenly ‘earned’ $1,200 out of nowhere.
McAllister tells BuzzFeed News, “It said ‘You’ve got money!’ so I’m thinking ‘You’ve got jokes!” Once he logged into his PayPal account, he completely lost it. The $1,200 was sitting in his account, ready to be withdrawn.
“I immediately woke up. I didn’t know where it was from,” he continued.
Despite receiving such a large sum of money, McAllister immediately knew what he had to do. His mother raised him with proper morals and ethics, and McAllister could not accept the money in good faith, especially when the note in the payment read “Happy Birthday.”
McAllister says, “Returning the money was instinctive because of the values my mom instilled in me. I’m trying to be the best person and provide the best example for my daughter.”
Alan was surprised to see the money returned to him. As a result, he asked his daughter to write McAllister a proper thank you note. She sent McAllister a note, and he quickly responded with a message.
He wanted Trusler to let her friends and family know that “a low income black man from Tacoma with a 5-year-old daughter” returned the money without hesitation.
McAllister hoped this gesture would help ease racial stereotypes regarding black men in the Tacoma area.
“Tacoma has a reputation of being lower class and untrustworthy,” McAllister explained to BuzzFeed. “We call it the ‘Tacoma grit,’ but we’re not bad people. It was important to me to use this as an example to reverse some of those stereotypes, whether racial stereotypes or about young people. Hopefully, people can learn from it.”
Trusler did exactly what was asked of her. She took to Facebook and posted about McAllister’s gesture and her story.
Soon, friends and family members commented and asked for her old phone number.
They wanted to donate money to McAllister and reward him for his kindness.
Pretty soon, numerous people in Trusler’s social network commented on her post with screenshots of their contributions to McAllister.
Most sent $20 or $30, but there were some who even sent $100.
People sent heartwarming messages along with their payments to McAllister. Each message touched him deeply.
After seeing what these strangers were doing for McAllister, his brother, Mario Small, personally thanks Trusler for bringing his brother’s act of kindness to light.
While the money has poured into his PayPal account, McAllister doesn’t know how much people have donated in total. “To be honest I haven’t checked my PayPal since that day.” Despite this, he plans on messaging back each and every person with a personal, heartfelt message that will hopefully convey his gratitude and appreciation.
These strangers’ act of kindness has been “therapeutic” for McAllister.
With the loss of his mother, he felt like he was stuck in a rut. But thanks to these strangers, he feels much, much better. He says that this experience has been “a major part of the healing process” for him.
