Stranger hands out $100 bills to cash-strapped Portland residents waiting in line at credit union
A Portland man surprised a crowd waiting in line for a state economic relief payment by handing out wads of $100 bills.
[Aug. 21, 2020: Joshua Shavit]
A Portland man surprised a crowd waiting in line for a state economic relief payment by handing out wads of $100 bills.
A line of people were outside a credit union when a man driving a Jaguar pulled up and wondered why people were blocking the ATM.
Kathryn Davidson was one of the hundreds of people lined up outside the credit union to apply for the $500 relief check - part of a new financial assistance package announced by the Oregon state government earlier this week.
After Davidson explained that him that all of the people were waiting to apply for the emergency check, the man pushed through to the ATM and returned carrying a wad of cash.
The man - who has not been identified - reportedly withdrew up to $10,000 from an ATM outside the OnPoint credit union in Hillsboro on Thursday, before distributing $100 bills to each of the people waiting in line for economic help.
“He actually broke the band off of it, so that means it was $10,000. At least $3,000 — maybe the whole $10,000 — was just distributed to everyone in line,” Davidson said.
'He didn't ask for any thanks. He just drove off.'
“All of us in line, we wanted to say thank you so much, whoever you are. You’re a saint,” Davidson said. “There were Black people, white people, men, women, Catholics and people with a Jewish star necklace — handed out to all of us, didn’t matter who we were — women in burkas and every manner and walk of life are here, and he helped all of us.”
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Oregon developed a $35 million coronavirus relief fund to give residents having financial difficulties a one-time payment of $500.
33,000 Oregonians had applied for the $500 emergency relief check on Thursday morning. More than 70,000 people across the state are expected to apply for the additional assistance.
Oregon has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 24,000 residents testing positive to COVID-19. 412 have died.
The financial fallout has also been devastating. According to local reports, 243,500 Oregonians have lost their jobs jobs since the start of the crisis.
