This Woman Purchased a Bag From the Goodwill and it Transformed Her Life Forever

Thrift shopping is so much fun. First, the hunt for vintage items is thrilling as you have no idea what you’re going to find. Secondly, nothing can describe the feeling of satisfaction when you stumble on a rare item you’ve always wanted.

Sarah was an Oregon resident, a bargain hunger and thrift expert. Only a few things made her as excited as visiting Goodwill and scouting for the best second-hand deals. She even ran an online business where she sold vintage clothes from charity shops to other fashionistas.

Most charity shops get their products from different types of people. In some cases, they’re from owners who had no idea how valuable the items are. Other times, it’s a loving donor in a great mood to bless a stranger with something pricey or was too busy to find a buyer willing to pay its worth.

Goodwill, a non-government organization, is one of America’s most popular thrift stores. True to their name, they’re well-known for reselling the countless donations they receive at incredibly low prices. Goodwill has also extended their goodness to helping people struggling with finding work by providing employment, job training, etc.

Let’s rewind to the day Sarah made the unexpected finding. It was like every other day, and she had started by checking “Sarah’s Southern Oregon 2nd Hand Deals” on her Facebook page. Then, she stepped out to get new items for her business.

Sarah just wanted to go about her thrift shopping as she had always done. But she had no idea fate had something else in store for her. It didn’t take long before she noticed a stylish, designer diaper bag sitting pretty.

Every good thrifter has one essential quality — the ability to notice and make a good judgment about any thrift item. Sarah knew at first glance that this would be a lucky deal, but she still needed to inspect it closely before she made up her mind.

Based on her experience, she knew the diaper bag would cost a fortune. Maybe, somewhere around $200. But imagine her shock when she looked at the price tag, and $3 came staring back at her.

As Sarah purchased the cheap designer bag, she noticed it was heavier than it looked. She couldn’t figure out why. But she brushed the thought aside and went about her thrift shopping. She was a busy business person and had a lot to tick off her list.

Sarah was unloading the items from her thrift shopping when the beautiful design bag caught her attention again. She was excited to upload photos of it on her website for everyone to admire. But, at this point, she also remembered what she had brushed off earlier — the weight of the bag.

“I was cleaning it and just noticed something heavy shaking around in there,” Sarah said in an interview with a news channel. She decided to thoroughly search the bag fold by fold and compartment by compartment to find out where the mysterious noise was coming from. She discovered nothing.

Sarah started looking for clues as she now realized this was no ordinary bag. After a long time of intense searching, she finally found something that might provide answers to this puzzle. Close to the bag’s interior pockets, in its inner lining, was a little hole. It was so tiny that she couldn’t fit her fingers conveniently into it.

Quitting wasn’t an option for Sarah. So, she kept expanding the hole until her hands could get in. She wanted to search through every part of the bag’s lining to figure out what the noise and heaviness were all about.

Upon placing her hand inside the hole in the bag’s interior lining, it struck an object. She wasted no time pulling the object out and couldn’t believe what she saw. It was a tiny but beautiful blue Sony camera, and she had no idea it had been in the stylish bag all this while.

Sarah was surprised and confused at the same time. She had no idea what the proper next steps were. Of course, she was going to look through the pictures to discover the owners. But did she also have to return it to Goodwill to get it sorted?

Sarah needed to make up her mind. So, she decided to look through the photos. They were pictures of an adorable kid and his mom, and she started to get emotional as she admired them.

In today’s world, where doing the right thing is no longer the norm, Sarah could have kept her discovery to herself. But she knew better than to be the reason for someone else’s pain.

Sarah knew she had to get the camera across to the true owners. But how was she going to do that when she had no idea who they were? Where was she going to start the search from?

Suddenly, an idea struck her. She was going to leverage the power of social media to spread the word. Luckily, she had an impressive Facebook following, so that wouldn’t be much of a problem.

“I’m not sure if this is ok to post here, but I purchased a diaper bag at Goodwill and found a blue Sony Cybershot camera inside with photos. Does anyone know who this family or the people in these pictures are? I want to make sure they get their camera and most definitely their SD card,” she wrote on her Facebook.

Sarah had no idea how interested her followers would be in helping her fulfill this mission. The shares and likes kept increasing with each passing second as everyone wanted the post to go viral.

Sarah had no idea that the surprises she had experienced in recent times were far from over. She just wanted to return the camera and carry on with her life as she knew it. But fate had something else in store for her.

Sarah wasn’t going to give up at this point. She had gone too far to throw in the towel. So, she decided to jog Katie’s memory by showing her more pictures. Fortunately, her efforts paid off.

Sarah and Katie agreed to meet at a local Target to exchange the cameras. But the story was nowhere near the end.

As the time approached for them to meet, the two women felt a range of emotions rushing through them.

Sarah learned the camera had been missing for about seven years with no trace. That was a pretty long time, and Katie had decided to forget about it. She didn’t believe she would ever see her precious blue camera again.

Of course, Sarah was surprised. She had no idea that the toddler in the pictures was now seven years old. Katie’s heart also melted when she saw old pictures of her adorable son. It was such an emotional period for her, and she couldn’t wait to return home and spend quality time reminiscing.

Beautiful stories like this are meant to be shared, and the news channels couldn’t agree more. Before long, newspapers carried Sarah’s story – it went viral, gracing the headlines of many newspapers in the state.

For Sarah, tracking Katie and returning the camera was the only option she had. She couldn’t have lived with herself knowing she had someone else’s property she never paid for. Sarah knew the pictures were priceless and held sentimental value for the owner.