During the Dramagirls‘ Spring Spectacle last May, I found myself hanging out by the Donations bucket one evening – and over the course of just half an hour, I had not one, not two, but three awesome donor experiences:

1. A little boy, probably 7 or 8 years old, sidled up to the bucket and dropped in a quarter. “Thank you,” I said, “that will help us a lot.” He raised his eyebrows and asked, “More?” drawing out the O as his eyebrows reached for the sky. “Well,” I said, “we can always use the help, so if you have more you’d like to give, it would certainly mean a lot to us.” A second quarter… and then a third… and then his hand opened and the last of the change he was clutching tumbled in. He beamed at me and took off to continue exploring the spectacle.

2. “Thank you,” I said again as one man dropped a $10 bill into the bucket. He scoffed at me (I’m not kidding!). I was a little taken aback until he accompanied the scoff with, “Please, don’t thank me. It should be so much more.”

3. At the end of the night, Beth and I tallied the total, and after doing my count, I confirmed, “OK, Beth, I’ve got $93 here,” just as another gentleman walked up and handed me a $5 bill. “Thank you so much! Strike that, Beth, $98.” 10 feet away by now, the man stopped, looked back, and said, “$98? Man, I can’t leave it like that.” Walking back, he pulled out two singles and handed them over – “We have to make it an even hundred.”

Always nice to have experiences that remind you how great and generous people can be….