A humble carpenter has changed the lives of 33 people forever after his secret wealth was used to send them to college.
Dale Schroeder, a thrifty woodworker who hailed from Iowa, passed away back in 2005. A blue-collar man with a strong work ethic, few people in his community ever suspected that he had almost $3 million worth of savings tucked away.
However, Dale died without leaving behind a family, and so his will stipulated that his vast estate should be bequeathed to poorer strangers to send them to college since he never had the opportunity himself.
The 33 people who received the funds now refer to themselves as "Dale's Kids", and some have gone on to be doctors, therapists and teachers as a result of Dale's incredible generosity.
Kira Conrad, who received college funding from Dale, stated in an interview with CBS that: "I grew up in a single-parent household and I had three older sisters, so paying for all four of us was never an option. [It] almost made me feel powerless. Like, I want to do this. I have this goal, but I can’t get there just because of the financial part."
Meanwhile, Dale's friend Steven Nielsen recalled: "He went to work every day. Worked really hard. Was frugal. Like a lot of Iowans. He had church jeans and work jeans ... He said, 'I never got the opportunity to go to college. So, I’d like to help kids go to college.'"
He continued: "Finally, I was curious and I said, ‘How much are we talking about, Dale?’ And he said, ‘Oh, just shy of $3 million.’ I nearly fell out of my chair ... All [Dale asked] is that you pay it forward. You can’t pay it back, because Dale is gone, but you can remember him and you can emulate him."
People like Dale really do restore your faith in humanity, right? I wish some good Samaritan out there would pay off my student debt. (Hint hint.)