Poor Mom of 3 Shelters Homeless Man, Helps Him Finish $1M Scientific Research Project — Story of the Day

Jennifer decided to help a homeless man after finding out he was a struggling scientist like her father. Thanks to her help, he finishes a million-dollar scientific research project that changes not just his life, but her life for good.

Jennifer was a single mother who struggled to raise three kids after her husband, David, died in an accident. David worked as a construction worker who lost his life because of a freak accident at the site he worked on when Jennifer was eight months pregnant with their third child.

The company that David worked for paid for his funeral arrangements and for Jennifer's hospital bill upon giving birth, but they stopped at that. They refused to provide any other financial support aside from David's final paycheck, which led to Jennifer having to work while caring for three children.

One day, Jennifer stood in line at the grocery store with her children. In front of her was a homeless man in shabby clothes who lacked 20 cents to pay for the bread he wanted to buy. "Please," he begged the cashier. "If you could just give it to me at 20 cents off, I would really appreciate it. I haven't eaten proper food in days," he cried.

"If I do that for every single homeless man in town, I'm going to go broke. Please pick out something else that you can actually afford," the cashier responded.

Jennifer felt bad for the man and decided to check her wallet for some spare change. She saw that she had 20 cents, so she tapped the man on the shoulder. "Here," she said, handing him the coins. "Go ahead and pay for the bread."

The homeless man flashed a big smile on his face. "Thank you so much," he told Jennifer. "You are an angel."

When Jennifer left the store with her kids, she loaded the trunk with her groceries. She saw the homeless man she helped sitting on one of the street benches, devouring a piece of bread. Then, she noticed him pinching from his bread to feed to the doves who stood on the bench beside him.

Seeing how the man still gave to the animals despite not having much left to eat, Jennifer decided to approach him. "I hope you don't mind me asking," she said as she approached. "What led you to the street?"

The man looked up at her and began to share his story. He introduced himself as David and asked Jennifer and her children to sit beside him on the bench.

"I was a scientist for a local university," David revealed. "The research I was doing was so close to being completed, but my wife grew impatient with the small amount of money I was taking home every month," he shared.

"She kicked me out of our house and filed for divorce. Before I could fight for our relationship, I found out that she had brought another man home. I ended up on the streets, getting sick from the cold," David recalled painfully.

"I was fired from my research position at the university because I had too many absences. The truth was, I couldn't go to work because I didn't have my equipment anymore, nor did I have any decent clothes to wear. I was too ashamed!" he admitted.

While David was sharing his story, Jennifer's past flashed before her eyes. Her late dad was also a scientist and struggled greatly before getting his big break. Jennifer decided to help David out by giving him a place to stay.

"We have a small cottage in our backyard. It used to be my husband's workstation, but now that he's gone, it's just sitting there, empty. You could stay there if you'd like?" she asked him.

David refused quickly, shaking his head. "Thank you for that gracious offer, but I can't possibly accept it. You have three children to care for. I don't want to be an added burden," he told her.

Jennifer insisted and shared the story of her dad being a scientist, too. She said she wanted to help him, the same way her father's friend once helped them when her father was still struggling.

David reluctantly agreed to head home with Jennifer. He promised her that once he is able to get back up on his feet, he'd repay her kindness one way or another.

When they got home, David took a shower, and Jennifer gave him some of the clothes of her late husband. "I couldn't throw them away," she admitted. "I'm glad now they have some purpose," she smiled.

Jennifer gladly lent David her computer every night after work so that he could complete his research. In the mornings, he would help take care of Jennifer's kids while she was working.

People in Jennifer's neighborhood found out that she had taken a loan on her house. They judged her for sheltering a homeless man, which made her poorer than she already was.

One day, as she opened her laptop for work, she saw that David had forgotten to close his tabs from the night before. In one particular tab was an email from a research institute.

In the email, it said that for David to actualize his renewable energy research, he would need at least $470,000 to pay for the equipment and additional costs that the study would incur.

That morning, Jennifer decided to ask David what his research was all about. When he said that he was studying renewable energy sources in nature, Jennifer knew right away that the study had a lot of potential.

"I'd like to be your first investor," she said, without telling David outright that she had seen the email from the research institute.

"Really?" David asked. "You believe in my work that much?"

"I do," Jennifer assured him. She then wrote him a check for $470,000 without telling him that she was about to cash out 80% of her home's value to fund the check from lenders.

People in Jennifer's neighborhood found out that she had taken a loan on her house. They judged her for sheltering a homeless man, which made her poorer than she already was.

"You shelter a beggar without him giving you anything in return, and now, you're taking out a loan. You'll never learn," one of them mocked.

Jennifer didn't hesitate to shoot back, saying she did not become poorer just because she sheltered a poor man. She patiently waited for a couple of months while David worked on his study.

While Jennifer and the kids were preparing breakfast one day, David came back from a research trip that lasted an entire month. He had a big smile on his face, and he handed her a check worth $500,000, which was more than what she had given him.

"What's this?" she asked.

"The research institute patented my study, and I got a million dollars because of it. This is for you, for believing in me and for helping me when nobody else did," he told her. "I can't thank you enough, Jennifer."

Jennifer was relieved that she could pay off her loan on her house. She had taken a big risk, but she believed in David and his study. He proved her right.

"What's next?" she asked David.

"Next, I would like to take you on a date," he smiled. Jennifer smiled back, her cheeks turning red in the process.

Since that day, Jennifer and David started dating. They worked hand-in-hand to build David's ecological start-up, which raked in so much money in the span of a year.

Because of how in-demand David's products were, Jennifer quit her job to help him. They began earning more than they needed, so they started to live comfortably and give back to charity whenever possible.

What can we learn from this story?

• The kindness you put out into the world will one day find its way back to you. Jennifer didn't expect anything in return for helping David, but her kindness eventually returned to her in the form of not just money but love.
• Your hard work will eventually pay off. It took years before David's study brought in money, but in the end, all those years of hardship and sacrifices paid off when his study was patented, and his company took off.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a poor woman who worked at a rich man's house for ten years, only to find out that she was the owner of the house.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com