Man on the way to pawn wedding ring helped a 'blind' stranger. Days later, the universe gifted him $100,000

Curtis Dixon had been living without electricity after his lights were shut off, and in desperation, he decided to pawn his wedding ring just to pay his bills. As FOX 2 Detroit reported, on his way into American Jewelry and Loan in Detroit, he was approached by a man who looked like he was blind and asked for help standing up. What Dixon didn’t know was that the stranger was Zachery Dereniowski, who goes by @md_motivator on social media, known for surprising everyday people with life-changing acts of kindness. In his video, posted on May 13, which garnered 47.2 million views and over 5 million likes, Dereniowski revealed that he planned to help Dixon in return for his kind gesture.

When Dereniowski asked if Dixon could spare a few dollars, Dixon said, "I’ll have a couple of bucks when I come out here. I’m going to pawn my wedding ring, man. My lights were shut off yesterday. Yeah, I’ll give you a couple of bucks. It wasn’t until Dixon returned that Dereniowski revealed who he was, and he had been testing Dixon’s heart. "I’m like, 'Whoa.' I’m testing him, 'How many fingers?' He says two. After that, my life just changed," Dixon later recalled. Dereniowski first covered the cost of his lights, then gave him $5,000, with American Jewelry and Loan chipping in $2,500 as well. However, the real shock came when he got a brand-new car and a total of $100,000 raised by people around the world who had been moved by Dixon’s selfless act of kindness, as shared by Dereniowski in another video.

This type of financial windfall has been proven time and again to genuinely transform lives. In Vancouver, a project called the New Leaf Project gave people experiencing homelessness a one-time lump sum of CAD $7,500 (about USD $5,800). Many recipients used the money for rent, bills, food, and transportation, improving their housing stability and even saving money. A year later, they were noticeably better off. "I’m just blessed. I’m truly blessed," Dixon said, visibly overwhelmed by the generosity that had come his way.

Dereniowski added, "We need more people like Curtis in this world. Everyone can do these small acts because the small acts are what matter. That’s where all this money came from. Everyone who had a small amount to give wanted to give to you because they felt your heart." Les Gold, from American Jewelry and Loan, shared how deeply he was affected by the entire experience. "You watch Zach and he gives away tens of thousands, if not millions of dollars. Life-changing to these people, and it’s just so wonderful. When we walked outside, I was crying because it brought out such emotion... the love they get with each and every one of Zach’s giveaways is indescribable."

When Dereniowski asked Dixon why he helped him, he simply said, "Because God told me to help you, first and foremost. I would do it for you, I would do it for anybody else," he said. The video hit many viewers, who shared their heartfelt reactions in the comments. @lowkey_p_ commented, "Curtis probably done good things his whole life and good karma finally met him." @ishmallywally said, "I just know them grandbabies ain't never seen they poppop cry like that." @norrisbrikho chimed in, "Curtis deserved every single dollar of that."

You can follow Zachery Dereniowski (@md_motivator) on TikTok for more content on acts of kindness.

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