The news these days is often depressing at worst and frustrating at best. It’s easy to get caught up in the spin cycle and let it get us down. Never fear… The News Blender has you covered. Once a week we feature Something Good and, in return, all you have to do is tell us something good that has happened to you this week, something you are thankful for, a joke, a cute animal story, an inspiring tale of heroics, a Random Act of Kindness… SOMETHING good.
This week we look at a quiet man who changed the lives of 33 people.
Dale Schroeder, a simple, shy, unassuming Iowan, grew up poor and unable to go to college, CNN reports. For 67 years, he worked as a carpenter at a Des Moines millwork company. Mr. Schroeder never married, had no children, and lived frugally. His friend, and lawyer, Steve Nielson says Dale was a “blue-collar, lunch-pail kind of guy” who had two pairs of jeans – one for work and one for church.
Before he died in 2005 at the age of 86, Dale walked into Nielson’s office and told him he wanted to create a scholarship to help Iowan kids, like him, who couldn’t afford to go to college. Nielson was shocked when Dale Schroeder told him he had saved nearly $3 million.
Since 2005, 33 people have benefited from Dale’s generosity and have been able to start their careers with no college debt. The one string attached, says Steve, is the request to pay it forward. If the scholarship recipients emulate Dale Schroeder’s kindness and generosity, Dale’s legacy will live on.
The 33 recipients of Dale’s scholarship, who have dubbed themselves “Dale’s Kids”, gathered recently to remember Dale. They are doctors, teachers, and therapists now and their lives have been indelibly marked by a quiet, frugal man they never even met. When Dale died, his obituary stated he had no descendants, but the 33 people he helped get a start in life are his legacy.
Dale’s legacy reminds us that acts of generosity, large and small, are Something Good and that we can always pay forward kindness that has been given to us.
Now it’s your turn… Tell us Something Good!
