What would you do if you were to see someone take a fall on some icy stairs and gash their head? For Bill Kocke, the answer was so obvious he didn’t even have to think about it. After seeing a stranger take a fall and cut his head open, Kocke instinctively waited with him until the paramedics arrived. While Kocke’s main idea behind this was to make sure the man didn’t go into shock and die, the unintended consequences of his actions were larger than he ever could’ve expected.

The man who he stayed with eventually tracked Kocke down to thank him for his help. During one of many casual conversations with the man, he mentioned how he worked to help low-income families pay for heating during the winter and how charities are always in need of funds. He also specifically mentioned how the Salvation Army HeatShare program was always in need of funds and how he respected them for their work.

Unbeknown to Kocke, the man who had been speaking to was an executive at multi-billion dollar investment firm and was paying more attention to his words than he thought. The man told him of his position and then said that he wanted to donate $10,000 dollars to the HeatShare program in Kocke’s name. As if that weren’t generous enough, a couple of days later Kocke got a phone call from the man saying the many of his colleagues wanted to donate as well and that the donation was now for $16,000. All because Kocke had been thoughtful enough to take time out of his busy day to help a man in need.

A lot of people say that the idea of being a good samaritan is dead and that people are too focused on themselves and their needs. I think that this story proves that the legend of the good samaritan is still alive and out there, you just need to be willing to look for it.

 

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http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/248297751.html