Adrian Rodriguez was 17 when he found a stranger’s purse in Chula Vista, California, and took the time to return it. He said he expected nothing in exchange.
But the June 2022 act of honesty led to a thank-you that reached far beyond the woman whose belongings he had found. By the following month, a fundraiser recognizing him had reportedly passed $17,000.
A shopping-cart mistake, followed by a knock at the door
Eliana Martin had left her purse in a shopping cart at Ralphs. It contained cash and credit cards. When she realized it was missing, she began trying to cancel the cards, according to ABC7’s June 29, 2022 report.
Rodriguez found an address and delivered the bag, handing it to someone at the house before leaving.
The return was captured by a Ring doorbell camera. After seeing the footage, Martin and her friend Melina Marquez wanted to find him and express their gratitude.
They met him in person, and Marquez organized a GoFundMe. In his interview with ABC 10News, Rodriguez explained that he had considered leaving the purse at the store before deciding to bring it back himself.
“I just gave back her purse,” he said.
The reward came afterward
The fundraising total grew as the story spread. ABC7 initially reported more than $3,000. An Aleteia article dated July 17, 2022 reported that donations had exceeded $17,000.
Those are snapshots from the time, rather than a confirmed final payout or a current campaign total.
Aleteia also relayed Rodriguez’s explanation that his mother had taught him to act honestly even when no one was watching.
The sequence matters. Returning the purse was his decision; rewarding him was a decision other people made afterward. What began with recovering someone’s belongings became a public expression of appreciation for a teenager who had quietly done the right thing.