Jennifer, a single mom of four, was struggling to support her family after her husband left when she became pregnant with their fourth child. Rejected by local employers and running out of money, she finally landed a hotel housekeeping job in a nearby city but the commute was too expensive.

She knew she needed a car, but could only afford a used one. She found a seller named Jeff willing to lower the price to $5000. Desperate, Jennifer sold her late mother’s gold heirloom necklace to buy the car. When she handed Jeff the envelope of cash, he smiled and simply said, “Check the trunk when you get home.”

Busy with work and kids, Jennifer forgot until days later, she found a note in the glovebox reminding her to look. In the trunk was the same envelope she’d handed over, the $5000 untouched.

Overwhelmed with emotion, she returned to thank Jeff, who told her: “You need it more than I do. Just promise to pay it forward.”