Eight-Year-Old Audrey Returns Lost Money to Woman in Need

In which I revisit some favorite news pieces from 2024.

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on December 3, 2024. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications - committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

On their way, walking through the parking lot towards Riverbank Target, Eden and her daughter Audrey spotted something on the ground. Audrey picked it up and discovered it was a “wad of cash,” nearly $100 in bills lying on the parking lot blacktop.

Without hesitation, Audrey said to her mother, “We should go over there and give the money to the police. We have to do the right thing instead steal.”

The two turned around and took it to the deputies, who thanked Audrey for her good deed. Deputy John Buck snapped a photo of Eden’s license plate, and the event seemed to end there. Eden and her daughter went to Target to finish their shopping.

When asked what she was thinking about when she said she wanted to turn it into the police, Audrey said, “You always want to be a kind person. And stealing money that is not kind. That money- she probably needed that money for something, for groceries and shopping. You always want to do the right thing.”

On November 22, a deputy arrived at Eden’s house and asked to see Audrey. Eden felt alarmed at first, but when he spoke to Audrey, he told her how thankful they were for what she did and that they were proud of her. “I was kind of blushing,” Audrey said.

The money belonged to a woman who was “just so grateful you guys would give her her money back,” he told them. And while details could not be disclosed about who the woman was, the message communicated to Eden was that it was money she needed, and she was deeply grateful to get it back. The family later learned the woman was a mother whose son was very sick. She was going to Target to buy medicine for him. The loss would have been devastating—the joy of having it returned immense.

And that joy is felt by Audrey, as well, for doing the good deed. “It feels amazing when you do the right thing. Everyone should do the right thing. That’s how God created us,” Audrey said. “I feel good, and I feel really kind right now. I feel like honey, basically.”

“They were so impressed by Audrey,” Eden said, ‘Not a lot of kids, especially today, would do that.’”

The deputy invited them to the Riverbank Sheriff’s Department on November 27 at 9:30 a.m. There, Chief Ed Ridenour gave Audrey a certificate recognizing her for “the honesty demonstration and Good Samaritan actions.”

They commended her, “It is community members such as Audrey that make Riverbank and Stanislaus County a safe and great place to live.”

Audrey and her family are multigenerational Hughson residents. Eden described her daughter, “She’s always had such a huge heart even since she was a little. She’s so smart. Gets good grades at school.” Eden added, “She has a very strong personality, a strong little woman.”

Audrey has one younger sibling, Joshua, who is a year and a half old, but Eden believes Audrey’s years as an only child have made her into the mature, articulate child she is today.

When asked how she learned this was the right thing to do, Audrey shared about an App at JW.org where a person can ask questions about right and wrong and faith and receive a response. “If you go on it, it talks about Jehovah. That really helped me. I thought of him when I was doing that.”

JW.org is the official website of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In addition to the certificate, the Sheriff’s Department gifted Audrey with movie tickets and a basket of gifts from Target. The basket included something Audrey’s family did not expect: $19.

The woman who Audrey helped wanted to give her a gift in return.

When her grandfather, Andrew, saw the generosity of the woman Audrey helped, he felt inspired. “She needed her money really bad,” he said. “If someone is in that need and they’re still giving—”

Inspired by his faith and belief in what Christ would do in this situation and the charitable work of the Odd Fellows, of which Andrew is a member, he immediately began reaching out to the group.

“It’s the holidays. The Sausage Fest we just had generates money for Odd Fellows to give back. We want to give back.”

And so, one day before Thanksgiving, Andrew got to work connecting with other members to find out what else they can do. He called Deputy Buck. Now, with $500 laid aside, the Odd Fellows will wait to hear from the Sheriff’s Department how they can help her with her holidays.

It is a simple thing, turning in lost money or a lost wallet, Andrew said as he discussed this with stepfather, and concluded, “The simple things like this can bring out the better in all of us.”

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