Catherine Rusoff
Baton Rouge, Louisiana — Matt Busbice and his partners have built and sold several outdoor businesses worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But Busbice, 42, owner of BuckFeather sporting goods store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, says he never felt richer than the day he received a single dollar.
“I haven’t had this much faith in humanity in a long time,” Busbice said.
He says it all started about a month ago. It was early in the morning and the fire alarm was going off inside his condo. Then, Busbice jumped out of bed and ran downstairs, only to discover there was no fire. But he was awake now, so even though he was wearing different clothes and disheveled, he decided to go out for a cup of coffee.
When he was about to enter the cafeteria, he remembered that he hadn’t said his morning prayer. As the security camera shows, Busbice went to the corner of the courtyard to pray.
“And I started to slowly open my eyes and there was a kid coming toward me, about my height,” Busbice said.
The boy had his fist clenched, so Busbice prepared for the confrontation. But instead, the boy opened his fist and revealed a $1 bill.
“And I’m like, ‘What?'” Busbice said.
“’If you’re homeless, here’s a dollar,’” 9-year-old Kelvin Ellis Jr. remembers telling Busbice. “…I always wanted to help a homeless person and I finally had the opportunity.”
Ellis says he just got money for good grades. It was the only money he had to his name. Busbice was so moved that he invited Ellis for lunch and later connected with Ellis’ father, who was a neighbor, and promised to stay in touch.
As a reward for his kindness, Busbice gave Ellis a shopping spree – 40 seconds to pick out whatever he wanted at BuckFeather, including a new bike. Ellis says it was great, but definitely not what he wanted with his money.
“Joy, because I helped someone,” Ellis said. “Give something and you will feel like you have gained a lot from it.”
“If you give, you’ll actually get more out of it,” Busbice said. “I couldn’t understand that as a kid. And if we can spread that, everything changes.”
Steve Hartmann
