Delivering thank yous, and one apology, to Benny

Everyone wants to thank Benny, either for giving them hope or for giving them inspiration.

One thankful recipient also wants to apologize.

It seems that Rob Whelan unknowingly caught Benny red-handed slipping one of his signature $100 bills through the cracked window of a parked car in front of his house in the Morningside neighborhood.

"I looked out and saw a gentleman peering into my mom's car," Whelan said. "We've had some break-ins, and I had never seen him before."

Whelan hollered at the man and began to approach, but the startled man walked away. As Whelan followed, the man eventually turned around, mentioned the $100 he put in the car, and then kept walking.

By the time Whelan realized what had happened and who he was confronting — he was familiar with the legend of Benny because his mother found one of the $100 bills in a shoe box at Fred Meyer — it was too late.

"I jumped in my truck and drove around the block because I wanted to apologize, but he was gone," Whelan said. "I could pick him out of lineup. I don't want to spill who he is. I just want to apologize to him. I think what he's doing is very cool."

No one wants to jeopardize Benny's identity. He's no doubt been seen before, because he has been spreading his generosity for so long (three years), so methodically (one $100 bill at a time), and in so many locations (17 stores, seven different fairs, festivals or events, and a handful of neighborhoods). Some only catch a glimpse of him, usually right after he's slipped a $100 bill into their shopping cart while their back was turned.

Imagine, for a moment, a world without Benny. I did a few weeks ago, when an obituary was submitted to the Statesman Journal for a philanthropic man nicknamed Benny.

Our Benny has playfully given away more than $31,000, based on reports that come directly to me or through our online submission form. While he occasionally deposits $100 bills in parked cars and shopping carts, he hides most of them in items at local stores.

When I received a copy of that obit, I immediately emailed my source close to Benny and awkwardly inquired about his well-being. More than an hour passed before I received a response. Our Benny is alive and well.

His $100 bills continue to be found by those who need them or pay them forward. Some of the more recent ones have been donated to support the work at Doernbecher Children's Hospital and Willamette Valley Hospice and to provide books at Straub Middle School and summer camp scholarships at Capital Park Wesleyan Church. Others have been used to help individuals and families, whether it be to take a course at Chemeketa Community College or contribute to an adoption fund.

Frankie Osborne, who makes and sells jewelry at Salem Saturday Market, can attest to the power of a single $100 bill, which a customer found in her booth last month.

"For me, a Benny comes with a karmic connection," said Osborne, a retired teacher. "The money wasn't mine, I didn't really need it, but I'd been given an opportunity to put it to use where it would be needed."

A few weeks prior, a young couple had stopped by her booth, both former students of hers at Parrish Middle School. They shared with her that had gotten married and were expecting their first child in August. During the conversation, Osborne learned they wanted to use cloth diapers, because of the overall cost savings and the environmental benefits, but were worried the upfront cost was too high.

She figured a hundred bucks wouldn't cover an initial bulk purchase, so she used it to start a diaper fund. She pledged 10 percent of her gross sales for the rest of the month, and a half-dozen friends pitched in. She had a collection jar on her table during the May 30 market and halfway through the day discovered another Benny inside.

"Sales have been good," Osborne said, "perhaps because the karma spreads."

Last weekend, she presented the couple an envelope containing $500 cash.

"Forward This" appears Wednesdays and Sundays and highlights the people, places and organizations of the Mid-Willamette Valley. Contact Capi Lynn at clynn@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6710, or follow her the rest of the week on Twitter @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnSJ.