The Simple Dollar: How One Man Wiped Out His Debts and Achieved the Life of His Dreams

Chapter 16. The Power of Giving

It was late on a Saturday afternoon, and I was walking near the edge of a rough part of Des Moines, Iowa. I saw a young boy, about six years old, climbing out of a dumpster behind an apartment building. He was dressed in a dirty tank top and shorts and was barefooted. In his hand he held a wadded-up fast food bag. When the boy’s feet hit the ground, he ran around to the far side of the dumpster, opened up the bag, and pulled out a handful of fries, which he stuffed in his mouth as though he were starving. I have never in my life felt so compelled to help someone out, but I didn’t know what to do. I looked around and spied a McDonald’s about a block away, and so I walked over near the child and said hello to ...