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31 Days of Happiness Countdown: Paying it forward pays off. (Day 9)

Welcome to Day 9 of Upworthy's 31 Days of Happiness Countdown! If this is your first visit, here's the gist: Each day between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31, we're sharing stories specifically designed to bring joy, smiles, and laughter into our lives and yours. It's been a challenging year, so why not end it on a high note with a bit of laughter? Check back tomorrow (or click the links at the bottom) for another installment!

We're about a third of the way through the 31 Days of Happiness Countdown, and I honestly can't believe we've only featured one "paying it forward" story. Here's another — this time with a twist at the end sure to bring a smile to your face.


Kate McClure was driving down I-95 outside of Philadelphia when she ran out of gas. Stuck on the side of the road, a homeless man named Johnny Bobbitt approached McClure to offer her his last $20 and help her get back on the road. He didn't ask for anything in return, and while he certainly needed the money, he knew that in that specific moment, she did too.

Sweet "pay it forward" story, right? WELL, IT GETS EVEN BETTER.

Image from ABC News/YouTube.

Looking for a way to pay the man back, McClure started a GoFundMe page, hoping to shine a light on Bobbitt's good deed and raise a few thousand dollars to gift him in return.

She set a goal of raising $10,000. She ended up raising nearly $400,000. Holy cow! In interviews, Bobbitt has been all smiles. He plans to buy a new truck and find a place to stay. It's pretty freakin' remarkable to watch how one man's totally altruistic gesture to someone else resulted in that sort of kindness being returned thousands of times over.

For all the bad stories out there in the world, sometimes the good ones are hard to find. With the year coming to an end, we've all earned letting ourselves indulge in some of the happy-feely-goodness that is this one.

More days of happiness here:DAY 1 / DAY 2 / DAY 3 / DAY 4 / DAY 5 / DAY 6 / DAY 7 / DAY 8 / [DAY 9] / DAY 10 / DAY 11 / DAY 12 / DAY 13 / DAY 14 / DAY 15 / DAY 16 / DAY 17 / DAY 18 / DAY 19 / DAY 20 / DAY 21 / DAY 22 / DAY 23 / DAY 24 / DAY 25 / DAY 26 / DAY 27 / DAY 28 / DAY 29 / DAY 30 / DAY 31
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@hearthrobert/TikTok

These plots makes zero sense.

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