Dave Tally of Arizona was seriously in need in 2010 and he needed a moment of good luck.

Then he got it.

Tally was homeless, his bike had broken and he couldn’t afford to fix it, and then he found a backpack full of cash and a laptop.

It must have seemed like a miracle at first.

Do the right thing

In that situation, it’s hard to know what we would do.

“It’s not something I wish anybody would have to go through because that’s rough choices,” he said, according to Huffington Post.

The cash – $3,300. It was enough to make life easier for quite a while.

According to The New York Times, Tally has been on the streets for more than a decade. His troubles began around 1999 when he was arrested on a drunken-driving charge and his license was suspended.

When he could no longer get to work, he lost his job as a supervisor at a landscaping firm. With no income coming in, he then lost his house.

“I never gave much thought to homeless people,” Mr. Tally said. “I never imagined myself that way. I worked every day. I had a place to live. But all that changed fast.”

As someone who struggled with alcoholism and other addictions, he also realized the big chunk of money could be detrimental to his recovery. That and, well…the money belonged to someone else. Who wouldn’t want their cash back?

“There’s a lot of things I could have taken care of but the fact of the matter was it was not my money. I didn’t earn it,” Tally said.

A big step – and a new pal

It didn’t take long to make his decision. Tally took the funds to the Tempe Community Action Agency, a social service organization where he volunteers.

The organization was able to track down Brace Belanger, a student at Arizona State University who lost the money while he was on his way to buy a used car (hence the cash).

The bag had been missing for over 5 days and Belanger assumed his laptop and cash were gone for good.

“This is the greatest thing I’ve ever experienced, I think. It is really is a lesson to keep your faith in people. Character exists no matter what your circumstances are,” Belanger said.

He was shocked that Tally returned the bag, and to express his gratitude, he gave Tally some money.

Karma comes

Not only did he now have some spare cash, but the story hit the news. And of course, as soon as that happened, he was inundated with offers to help.

For example, a lawyer offered their services pro bono to help Tally with an old court case.

Plenty of people admitted they would have kept the bag. And they were so by Tally’s gesture that they raised some more cash for him – at one point it totaled over $8,000.

Luckily, he had counselors he could work with to spend that money wisely.

A new path

The whole story set Tally on a new path.

He also got job offers and some free dental work. Even the mayor read a proclamation declaring it “Dave Tally Day”!

“I never imagined all this,” Tally, 49, said. “I just thought we’d turn the backpack over and it would be over with.”

The last anyone heard, he was an intern, and then a Garden Coordinator, with the Tempe Community Action Agency.

Be sure to scroll down to learn more about his story.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: YouTube – ABC News, The New York Times, Huffington Post, Facebook – Tempe Community Action Agency