- [Narrator] It's always
satisfying to see an awful person get punished by karma, but a rare source of satisfaction is seeing chance occurrences reward amazingly, generous,
kind people for their efforts, from heroic race car drivers
to life-changing chihuahuas. Let's get right down to times good karma came for good people. (gentle music) Uber kind. In January 2020, a chance
meeting in Atlanta, Georgia changed the life of single
mother Latonya Young forever. Latonya had her first child aged only 16, but that didn't stop her ambition to pursue a career in criminal justice. Unfortunately, when she'd
very nearly completed her associate's degree at
Georgia State University, the realities of single parenthood forced her to put her education on hold. Despite working as a hairdresser by day and an Uber driver by
night to make ends meet, Latonya simply couldn't afford
to pay to finish her degree unless her monetary situation changed, her dream would have to be forgotten. That is until Latonya provided an Uber for a man named Kevin Esch. While driving Esch to his location, the two chatted and
Latonya recounted the story of her difficult life. When the trip was over
the two parted ways, and Latonya never expected to see her friendly passenger again. But a few days later, she received a call from
Georgia State informing her she could register for classes. Confused, Latonya asked
how this was possible when she hadn't paid. It turned out her recent passenger had been so touched by her story, he'd paid for her to complete her degree. When graduation came around,
he even attended the ceremony. Kevin Esch's generous act
changed Latonya's life forever and brought her one massive
step closer to her dreams. (air whooshing)
Return of the ring. For university students in the USA. the tradition of having
a personalized ring made to celebrate graduating
allows for a constant reminder of their achievements and
experiences in college, losing a class ring though
would be pretty devastating. Unfortunately, that's
exactly what happened to Catherine Kenyon in 2017. After searching high and low for her treasured ring to no avail, she was forced to give up the search. While studying for a PhD at
the same college in 2020, however, Catherine made a discovery in the college parking lot,
she found a class ring. Sadly, not her own, and after some investigation returned it to the overjoyed owner, who'd
lost it four years prior. A mere two weeks later, a truly bizarre coincidence occurred, Catherine was contacted by someone who had, by chance, found her old ring and tracked her down in the same way she'd done a fortnight before. This kind college karma
really has out of ring to it. (air whooshing)
Pennies to the pad. When you're a kid,
acquiring money can be hard, but that in stop seven-year-old
Jack Swanson saving up $20, mostly in pennies to put towards an iPad. It took him ages to save, but when Jack heard about
vandals defacing a mosque in his town of Pflugerville, Texas, his savings found a different use. Without hesitation, Jack
offered his full $20 to help restore the mosque. Word of the gesture spread quickly throughout the American Islamic community, eventually reaching Arsalan Ifitikhar, a Muslim lawyer and author, brought to tears by Jack
selfless generosity, Ifitikhar sent the boy the iPad he'd originally saved for as
a gesture of appreciation. It's a valuable lesson that
we'd all be wise to remember, kindness breeds kindness. (air whooshing)
You only live twice. After narrowly escaping an awful crash in 2009 with his life, NASCAR driver, Ryan Newman, relentlessly campaigned
for the organization to update its safety standards. This came to fruition in
the years that followed with the implementation of new rules requiring NASCAR vehicles to
include sturdy reinforced bars above their windows. This would reduce the risk
of drivers being crushed in the instance that another
car lands on top of theirs, or if the car is flipped upside down. Newman was of course
pleased with the outcome, but he never anticipated how
important it would prove to be. In 2013, the sturdy
upgrade came into play, when a car flipped during a race and landed directly on top of Newman's. The added protection may
well have been the difference between life and death that day, but it came into play again during another race in February 2020. This time Newman's car flipped upside down and was dragged along the track. Had the roof not been reinforced, it could have easily collapsed,
crushing Newman to death. Thanks to his efforts to improve safety for his fellow drivers and himself, Ryan Newman may well have saved his future self's life twice. (air whooshing)
Return on investment. When Dominique Harrison-Bentzen
lost her bank card after a night on the
town in Preston, England, the prospect of finding
a way home with no cash seemed like a daunting, impossible task. But when a homeless man named
Robbie noticed her distress, he offered Dominic his last three pounds for her to get a taxi home. It was the only money he had to his name, but to him the safety of the
young woman was more important. Dominique was so touched by the gesture, she started a funding page for the man whose story soon spread
across social media. Before she knew it, Dominique had raised an astonishing
32,559 pounds for Robbie and the rest of the homeless
community in Preston. The money made a huge difference to the lives of countless people living rough in the town, and it all came from a
humble offer of three pounds. (air whooshing)
Bags full of karma. This next story comes from a commenter on our previous entry in this series, who shared his tale of meeting a woman on a long train journey. She was headed to the same town as he was for her
granddaughter's birthday. But when they arrived
at their destination, the scorching summer heat took
its toll on the older woman, and the commenter noticed her
struggling to keep balance. Determined not to let her struggle alone, he booked her a cab and rode with her to her daughter's house, making sure she arrived safely before heading home himself. Three months passed, and his good deed was
all but forgotten to him, until he lost his backpack
containing some valuables at an amusement park. With no luck finding it, he
was on the verge of giving up, when a woman entered the
lost and found office with her family. They'd found his backpack. As soon as they entered, our
commenter was dumbstruck. He instantly recognized
the person holding his bag, as the daughter of the
woman he'd helped months ago on that hot summer's day. It seems when good deeds
come naturally to you, karma returns them by the bag full. (air whooshing)
Benevolent busman. Curtis Jenkins is a school
bus driver from Texas who understands just
how profound a good bit of personal encouragement
can be for children. This ethic guides his
unique approach to his job, which sees him giving
personally selected presents to the kids who ride his bus on special occasions like their birthdays. Curtis firmly believes that
matching the right gift to the right people can inspire
truly positive outcomes. For example, one young
girl wrote a short story and shared it with Curtis. In return, he printed
the story's front cover onto a t-shirt for her, in the hopes that it'd inspire
her to keep writing books. With thoughtful actions like these, it's not surprising the kids see him as an inspiring father figure. One kid whose parents divorced even stated he wished his dad could
have been more like Curtis. The bus driver never sought
any reward for his efforts, all of which came out of his own pocket, but his kindness was returned in 2019, after his story gained
national media attention. An anonymous viewer
reached out to the school and gifted Curtis with a brand new car. On top of that, he received a promotion, and now teaches others how to have better student relationships. If only every bus driver was like Curtis. (air whooshing)
Keys, cars, and karma. In 2012 Reddit user pusher91 shared a story of how a
chihuahua changed his life in the most unexpected of ways. While driving he spotted a
poster for a lost Chihuahua. 20 miles later, the little
fellow from the poster ran out in front of his car. Narrowly avoiding flattening the pooch, he picked it up and took
it to its owner's house. The owners cried tears of joy at the return of their furry friend and pusher91 felt pretty good
about the whole thing too. As he went to pull away, though, his car stalled and wouldn't restart. The old hunk of junk was dead. But this turned out to be
a blessing in disguise. Noticing the flat-lining vehicle, the chihuahua's owners offered a solution. Their daughter had just graduated college, and they were looking to sell her car. In their eyes, their beloved
pet was payment enough, and so they gave him the car in return. Who'd have thought that chihuahuas would end up being karma's
currency of choice? (air whooshing)
The man for the job. After a long period of
struggling to find work, a fellow by the name of
Jimmy, a trained mechanic, finally landed an interview. While waiting at the bus stop on the morning of the interview, Jimmy spotted an elderly man struggling to get his car up and running. Though, he didn't have much
time before his interview, Jimmy couldn't bear to
watch the older man struggle and offered to help. After fixing the car up,
the old man was overjoyed. He offered Jimmy payment,
which he refused. Keen to repay Jimmy's
kindness in some way, the old man offered to
drive him to his interview. Seeing as he was running late, Jimmy accepted, the old
man dropped him off, and with a slightly odd
knowing smile drove off. Walking into his interview, Jimmy felt a little self-conscious. His hands were still a little
dirty from fixing the car and the only suit he could afford wasn't as well fitting
as the other candidates. But none of that mattered in the slightest when he entered the
office for his interview, because who was sitting
there waiting for him, but the general manager of the company, the very man whose car he just repaired. With his strength of character
already demonstrated, he was hired on the spot. (air whooshing)
Trashtag treasure. Cleaning up litter laying in natural areas can be a thankless task, and as is the nature of volunteering doesn't tend to pay in a monetary sense. But for Redditor mortys_mind_blowers who was inspired to
clean their local beach, after that hashtag
#trashtag trend of 2019, the payout was as financial as
it was emotionally rewarding. They found this Australian $50 note among the litter on the beach which made it difficult, yet
meaningful morning's work just a teensy bit better. (air whooshing)
Bikers blessing. When several members of the
Milwaukee Irons Motorcycle Club were involved in an
accident and Chili, Indiana, Daryn Sturch, an off-duty
nurse didn't hesitate in pulling over to help. With the assistance of her young daughter, she made sure the bikers were safe and relatively comfortable while emergency services
were on their way. They never forgot Daryn's help and stayed in touch with her on Facebook. A year later, when the bikers saw posts from Daryn showing her
daughter's lemonade stand, they knew exactly what to do. To the amazement of both
Daryn and her daughter, an enclave of more than 30
leather-clad motorcyclists turned up to the lemonade stand creating a spectacle that
made international news. With their bikes parked nearby, they filled up on fresh lemonade, making Daryn's daughter's day and returning Daryn's help
in a way she'd never forget. (air whooshing)
Just the ticket. Usually on the occasion, we
give money to the homeless, and we don't expect anything in return, except maybe a warm, fuzzy feeling. But when Brandon Sedin gave a
few dollars to a homeless man at a mall in Boise, Idaho, his return on investment was colossal and almost instantaneous. After his donation, he
headed into a food store where his eye was caught by some scratch and win lottery tickets. Though, he rarely bought lottery tickets, for some reason the urge seized
Brandon on that afternoon, and he picked some up. Expecting little, he scratched away and was shocked to discover he'd won the store's
top prize of $200,000. Usually good karma can't be
cashed in quite so literally, but after this I've got
a feeling Brandon Sedin will be giving to the homeless more often. Who knows, maybe it'll happen again? Do you have any of your own
good karma tales to share? Send them across to karma@beamazed.com, and I may feature yours
with a shout out next time. Thanks for watching. (gentle melodic music)
