Spreading cheer, $5 at a time: Destin Library patron pays it forward with random act of kindness

After finding a $100 bill in the road while walking her dog, a regular patron of the Destin Library decided to use books to spread the good luck. 

The patron, who asked to remain anonymous, was thrilled to find the $100, but wanted to pass on that “thrill of the find” to others. 

So, she went to the bank and had them change the $100 into fives. She then brought the $5 bills to the Destin Library and asked if library workers could somehow anonymously hand them out to other patrons. 

The library came up with the idea of making bookmarks and wrapping them with a $5 and a note that simply says, “Thanks to a generous donation by a grateful patron, we humbly give you this special bookmark.” 

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“We showed her what we were going to do and she loved the idea,” said library assistant Amy Adams. 

As of late Friday, the library assistants had slipped eight of the 20 bookmarks wrapped in a $5 bill into books as folks checked out. 

“There’s no rhyme or reason to it … just a person checking out a book,” Adams said. 

Adams said the donor just really loves the library and visits there often and wanted to “do a simple thing” and pass on “that same little rush she got” when she found the money. 

So far, no one has commented on finding the money attached to their bookmark, Adams said. 

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“But we made it very plain on the bookmark that this is yours and it’s part of a donation,” she said. “It’s just a really cool, super nice thing that somebody decided to do, and we’re happy to be a part of it.

“It’s fun for us, too. Makes us feel good to do it even though it’s not our money or our idea,” she said. "It’s a random act of kindness.”