Joey Prusak, a 19-year-old Dairy Queen manager, witnessed a blind man drop a $20 bill while standing in line. A woman who was standing behind the man in line picked up the $20 bill and stuck it in her purse. Joey came out from behind the cash register and confronted the woman, “I’m going to ask you politely to return his money.” She said it was hers. Joey told her, “If you’re not going to return the money, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Joey then walked up to the blind man, took $20 out of his wallet, and said, “On behalf of myself and Dairy Queen, we want to set things right.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J27Ty9iyJvg
Now, if that isn’t impressive enough, Joey then… went back to work and didn’t tell anyone what he did. He didn’t brag about it to his boss, take $20 out the cash register to reimburse himself or do some celebratory touchdown dance. He merely went back to work. However, a customer who witnessed the entire incident wrote a complementary letter to the Dairy Queen Corporate Office. As you know in the world of social media, one thing led to another, and the story went viral.
Ordinary people wanted to recognize Joey for his integrity and honesty, so they started dropping by the Dairy Queen to give Joey $20. Warren Buffet, the second richest man in the world, called him on the phone, to commend him. Buffet, then invited Joey, who is majoring in business, to attend the annual share-holder’s meeting via his private jet. My guess is that Joey will be offered a nice six figure job after he graduates from college. Not a bad $20 investment.
Author’s Perspective #1: One of the week 5 (honesty) ethical dilemma questions is, “Imagine that you found a paper bag at school containing just over $300. Nobody saw you pick it up, and there was no identifying information on or in the bag. How would you handle this situation?” I then ask a follow up question, “What would a person of strong character do?” I use this follow up question to point out the difference between “what we would do,” and “what we know to be right.” The “right” thing is so obvious it hurts. There are no qualifications, “what if,” “maybes” or “buts.” We all know what a person of strong character would do, but unfortunately, most of my students qualify and quibble. Joey Prusak did not. When the moment arose, he boldly did the right thing at every step in this scenario. In fact, it is textbook – it could not have been drawn up any better.
Author’s Perspective #2: On some level, I have to agree with Joey when he says that he doesn’t understand what the big deal is. He just did what he would have done any other day. But, that’s the point, isn’t it? This points to his integrity and his beliefs about fairness, right vs. wrong and honesty. He is being celebrated right now because we see story after story about some fool who steals, cheats, or lies, and those cumulative stories cause people in this society to doubt humanity, and what it is becoming. People like Joey Prusak, remind us that society still has character, integrity, decency and humility. Joey teaches us that there is still a right and a wrong. The lady in line was wrong and Joey was right (period). For that, Joey is a positive role model, and I applaud him.
Author’s Perspective #3: I will be sending Joey Prusak a copy of the Role Models textbook and a $20 bill. There are 1,600 schools using the Character Development & Leadership Curriculum. I estimate that 2,500 classes are being offered this semester across this country. If every one of those classes gathered $20 ($1 from every student) and sent it to Joey, that would be a total of $50,000. He has pledged to give all donations to charity. Given his integrity, I trust him to pass the money on to a good cause. Please join me in sending $20 donations to:
Dairy Queen – C/O Joey Prusak – 1800 Main Street – Hopkins, MN 55343
Your Turn: Tell me your thoughts about this story and my commentary.
(1) respond via this blog, (2) comment on Facebook page (character development & leadership) or (3) tweet to @CDandLeadership using #CDandL)
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
That was a really good thing to do. People these days do not care whether or not the money that they have picked up from the ground is someone else. If you have seen someone drop something say like money on the ground or maybe a wallet then you would pick it up and kindly return in back to them, that would be the right thing to do. You shouldnt have to make such a big deal of this. Since people dont have manners like this then others want to reward this act as much as possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7Vx71lR7qI Agreed. Those who try to take money and claim it’s their’s deserve to pay for their crimes.
Integrity is a very nice thing to do, especially for those of the specially challenged of a field in the real world,…whether or not it’s right or wrong,…. money may make the world go ’round,..but so does love, and this employee showed the greatest of signs that point to love.
he has a great personality and shows him that how he was raised and he showed that he can also care for other people and there feelings and showing them that he understand what they are going through
in this situation he was right
I thought what Joey did was very kind of him and the right thing to do. He did the right thing by confronting that women, asking her to leave, and giving that man twenty dollars out of his own pocket. Joey showed real integrity. He did the right thing. Applause to Joey.
integrity is not a trait you inherit but a trait you choose to have, and it is amazing. Its good to see that there are some good people in the world, because that’s hard to find these days. Everyone just cares bout themselves but its the people like this that keep the world turning.
Integrity is something that you choose to do, here this person chose to do the right thing. It is great that there are still great people in this world that show good character.
This guy is a good guy and deserves an award.
This story really proves how doing the right thing helps yourself and others!
It was so nice that this man decided to return the money. That blind man didn’t know any better. More people should try to be like the dairy queen worker. He definitely deserved the reward.
This took a lot of courage from Joey and I appreciate what he did and why he did it. While some people may want to do that they might not feel like they can because they don’t want the attention or the trouble if it is to arise.
I think what Joey did was very humble. Just like young men and women should be nowadays.
With Joey Prusak being so young, it is amazing to see that he has such integrity to do the right thing. Integrity is not something someone is just born with. People learn to do the right thing and choose to do the right thing. Noticing that something is wrong towards someone else and it is not affecting you in any way, but still doing something to fix it and aid the situation shows a person of strong character.
He did the right thing. :^)
I think that Joey did the best thing that he could do in that situation. It shows that Joey has a good heart and an even better character. Now that this story has gone viral the lady that took the money probably feels super bad. I think that it shows her how bad her character was in that situation!
My thoughts are that this man did a really good thing for the blind man because even though he did not have to help the man he did a good thing with what he did. Joey is a very kind man with good manners. Most people these days would not have said anything and just let the woman take the money and not have done what he did so what he did was amazing not many people like that. So he showed integrity and did the right thing.
I think that Joey did the right thing, and even went a step farther by using his own money to reimburse the man . The commentary from the authors gave a very good perspective.
That’s nice of him to do, it was the right thing for him to do. That shows how much integrity he has.
Integrity is something that you choose to do, here this person chose to do the right thing. It’s good to people like that in the world we need people like that to make the world better.
He was really nice and did the right thing
joey did the right thing by confronting the women. joey showed very good integrity.
I think Joey’s actions and choices were the right thing to do. Many people these days are selfish and don’t care about others. And, also they don’t think before they make an action. Before you think about making a wrong choice, think about how you would feel if someone did that to you. Everyone has feelings in this world.
I think that Joey did a very good thing. Not many people would return a dollar someone drooped, let alone ask someone else to give the money back. We need more people to stand up for other people just like what Joey did.
The guy did the right thing. I’m glad that he has enough compassion in him, to give back a blind man his money.
I think he deserves everything that he’s getting. He is a polite person and a very respectful human being. It’s good that there’s still some good people in this world. I liked the story in every way, and it makes me want to do same good too.
That was a really good thing to do. People these days do not care whether or not the money that they have picked up from the ground is someone else. If you have seen someone drop something say like money on the ground or maybe a wallet then you would pick it up and kindly return in back to them, that would be the right thing to do. You shouldnt have to make such a big deal of this. Since people dont have manners like this then others want to reward this act as much as possible.
He did the polite thing Im glad he did that he showed alot of integrity.
What he did was amazing, he really did the right thing and that’s rare to find these days. He could have easily just pretended to not see anything but instead he chose to do the right thing. He really does have integrity and that’s something very honorable.
I believe Joey did a very good thing. Most people think its okay if nobody knows or notices that you found or took money. But, it is what you know and think is right in the situation. It is all up to you to do the right thing, because someone might be missing that money and need it for something important. You could make their day by just returning what is rightfully theirs, or you could be like Joey and not expect anything in return and ending up having a bright future ahead of you.
This is a very good story because it is showing that there are still good people out in the world. Not everyone is greedy and self-centered. This boy was very generous for giving the blind guy $20 after that woman was greedy and he did tell anyone about it.
This is a good example of integrity and an example of respect because even after the woman began to get disrespectful and curse at Joey, he never got loud with her and he still treated hr with respect.
Author
How cool is that. Good for you?
This is a good story, he was so sweet to him
This shows that integrity and honesty goes a long way. He could have simply just went on with his work, or he could have confronted the lady a different way, like scream or yell at her. But he still treated her nicely and with respect and then did that act of kindness. And someone saw and then he got rewarded. That shows that whatever you do, good or bad, will come back to you later.
Joey did the right thing. He showed that he has good integrity and that their is still good in the world. He set an example for other people that when you do the right thing, even if no one is watching, good things tend to happen in return. Just by giving that man the $20 back he was able to meet with Mr. Buffett, and it is definitely going to help him in the future.
I think Joey showed very strong character. He did something very different what anyone would’ve done. How many people would’ve actually done the right thing instead of the easy way out by just not saying anything and avoiding confrontation.
I think he did the right thing by doing what he did. It takes some guts to go up to someone after that happens and to take money out of your own wallet and give it to the man that dropped it. What he did was right and that he didn’t brag about it to one single person at all and just went back to work like nothing happened at all.
its nice to know we still have beautiful people with kind hearts that help others and it takes a big person to take from money they may need and give it to someone and he stuck up the blind man because she was a horriable perosn for taking from a blind man but joey has alot of integrity for sticking up for the blind man and still treated the woman with respect.
I think he did a lot of good things. First he never disrespected the woman, even though she got disrespectful. Then he gave up his own money because the lady wouldn’t give it back. Last he didn’t go and brag about it to his frriends or his boss. He just went back to work and went on about his day.
It takes strong character to do what Joey did, he didn’t do all that for the money he’s getting. He did it out of kindness. Joey also donating most of his money is another act of strong character, he works at a dairy queen and is in college, he probably does not have much money on him and him donating and doing the right things just out of kindness makes me have a lot of respect for the man.
I think Joey did a good thing, and made a good choice. His character and integrity were superb, and he knows how to stay calm in situations, and keep his cool.
It takes strong character and integrity to make the decision that Joey made. It honestly seems like a simple choice to most people but it isn’t always. You should never do the right thing to get a reward, but he ended up getting something out of his choice to help that other man.
I think Joey did a great thing, he showed integrity. He got praised for it not knowing that he would and never even told anyone about what he did and they noticed.
I think this is amazing that a man who probably gets payed dirt cheap and took his money and gives it to a blind man and didn’t even think twice about it and didn’t even think about getting money from his work.
This story could inspire a lot of people. If you are an honest person and you always do the right thing, then good things will come to you.
I feel what Joey did was an action of good character because instead of not saying anything he kindly asked to give the blind man his money back and she lied. He kept a calm voice and kindly asked her to leave and gave the blind man a $20 from his on wallet and and got recognized for something he didn’t think was a big deal but others did. I feel this inspires a lot of people to do the right thing and be honest.
I think that Joey had an outstanding act of integrity without him realizing that is was so important. He was just trying to do what was right, and it went viral. Stories like these are great examples of people doing what’s right, even when they don’t think people are looking.
This was an amazing display of honor and integrity; imagine how many scenarios like this happen in the US yearly. Taking $20 out of his own pocket to give to the blind man was something most people would never think about doing. I was nice that Mr. Buffet did what he did for him.
I think that was a very kind thing to do and to put himself out there and confront the women was probably a very uncomfortable situation but he still did what was right.
The fact that he stood up for someone was amazing and he stood up for someone. He didn’t expect anything back was cool and he was just a dairy queen employee.
This a great example of integrity. I think it was really sweet of him to take responsibilities in his own hands.
I think Joey did the right thing, he had more integrity than most people would. Most people wouldn’t give up their $20 to help someone else out. What he did was amazing and showed a lot of character.
What I think is it is not good to steal other peoples money if its not yours. If a person dropped a bill or change on the floor and you know they dropped why wouldn’t you ask who money that is. Its just selfish and careless.
it’s the right thing to do. you know how things could’ve gone and you helped. a lot of people wouldn’t have done that anyway.
What he did was amazing, he really did the right thing and that’s rare to find these days. He could have easily just pretended to not see anything but instead he chose to do the right thing. He really does have integrity and that’s something very honorable.
He did the right thing by returning the money and confronting the women
I think that man did good to take his money to replace something someone stole.The woman was a real doosh to take money from a blind man.
The blog did a good job of capturing Joey’s story. He was a good person, showing good integrity while the woman looks foolish. It was a great act of kindness because he did not boast about his deed, nor try to take advantage of the situation.
Joey is a prime example of what integrity is his morals are in alignment with his actions.
That was a really good thing to for Joey to do. People these days don’t really care whether or not the money that they pick up from the ground doesn’t belong to someone else. If you have seen someone drop something like money on the ground or even a wallet then you should pick it up and kindly return in back to the owner, that would definitely be the right thing to do. That shouldn’t be a problem giving something back that doesn’t belong to you. Since people do not have manners like this then people wouldn’t be recognized like Joey.
That was a great thing to do. Especially when your in college and money is tight, and you’re willing to give someone your own 20 dollar bill because a person is taking advantage of a person with a disability.
I think what Joey did was very kind. He has very good integrity and was a good example.
I think this was an awesome thing for Joey to do. It’s always nice to hear a positive story rather than a negative one. He has so many good qualities. Returning the money to the blind man, using his own money, not making a big deal about, keeping his calm, and donating to charity. I do think the cops should have been called on the older lady. Besides that, thanks Joey for being a great person! 🙂
I think Joey was very smart about what he did. I think he did the right thing by not bragging about it or talking about it. He showed everyone what they should do on the daily.
That was a good thing for him to do. We need more people in the world like him.
It’s an amazing thing to do and even better that he would give his own money to him. We need more workers like this.
That was a great thing for Joey to do. Even better that he would give his own money to the blind person. We need more workers like this.
Joey was a nice guy and did a nice thing. He spent his own money to be kind and has the integrity everyone should have.
he has a great personality and shows him that how he was raised and he showed that he can also care for other people and there feelings and showing them that he understand what they are going through
I think this is a very noble thing to do. Most people just clock in to get paid, and then clock out- but this 19 year old boy clearly has compassion and cares about Dairy Queen’s customers. Not only did he confront the woman who took the blind man’s money, but he repaid him by taking twenty dollars out of his own pocket. It has to be hard to do something like that when obviously you’re going to school and paying student loans, all while going to a minimum-wage job and spending long hours there dealing with many crazy customers. Honestly, in my job, you see so much go down. Many times, you get forced into something you don’t want to have an opinion on because you’re the “authority” just because you work there. I know I would be sort of upset, but confronting the woman could lead to a nasty fight with her and that just starts a bad day in the making for me.
The man from dairy queen has integrity.
We need more people like him. There are a lot of people out there that get away with it because a lot of people are afraid to act. I respect him a lot.
This speaks volume towards his character. Having integrity not only means you have courage to keep your mind and actions on the same level, it means the character you hide behind closed doors is the same that you set forth for the world to see.
Joey showed his true colors and personality. He didn’t act selflessly, but showed consideration and kindness to a peer.
I think this is a very good thing because even though the guy was blind he still returned the money out of his own wallet.
Joey is the perfect example of someone who has a strong character and great integrity!
I think this is really cool, because not everyone can act on their thoughts and do what he did. A lot of people would just act like nothing happened.
I love that his first instinct was to walk up the lady to kindly, and quietly, ask her to return the money, then reimburse the blind man when she wouldn’t. From what we read, he didn’t stop to think about what other people would say or hope that someone else would see it and deal with it, he saw something he knew was wrong and corrected it, but at the same time he didn’t try to draw attention to the woman nor to himself. He wasn’t looking for praise and he wasn’t hoping to humiliate or shame the woman. It really shows who he is as a person and that it’s completely real, not an act.
What Joey did is very honorable. Although I would hope that most people would at least try to tell the lady to give the money back, very few would actually take the money from their own wallet to give to him in place of the lost money. Joey has a lot of integrity and he deserved all of the good attention he got from this.
Joey is a very kind man with good manners. He showed great integrity in what he did, and didn’t expect anything to come from it. We hope that others would do the same, but most probably wouldn’t.
I believe that Joey showed his character through his actions. Many people know what the right thing is, but when it comes to actually showing integrity, most will not follow through. So, Joey truly showed that he had integrity.
This guy good
We love Joey
The Dairy Queen worker didn’t have to give the blind man money but he showed integrity by trying to get the money back for the blind man and the lady wouldn’t give the money back so Josh gave the blind man 20 dollars.
This guy is really cool for doing that. That is some good integrity right there. He had made almost a full living by being a MEGA CHAD and doing the right thing.
This guy means a lot to some people because what he did could have inspired people to do some good for others
Joey is an example for all people to look up to. He has a strong character, and its admirable because nobody could force him to be that way, he chose to live like that, and that’s the hardest thing of all.
This guy means a lot to some people because what he did could have inspired people to do some good for others and good savings
I read about Joey Prusak, a 19-year-old Dairy Queen manager, who saw a blind man drop a $20 bill while standing in line. A woman who was standing behind the man in line picked up the $20 bill and stuck it in her purse. The women refused to return his money, saying it was hers. Joey asked her to leave and then placed his own $20 in the blind mans wallet. I think he did the right thing by confronting that women, asking her to leave, and giving that man twenty dollars out of his own pocket. Joey showed real integrity. Because of this, people wanted to recognize Joey for his integrity and honesty, so they started dropping by the Dairy Queen to give Joey $20.
That is a really good thing to do because that money could have been used to help their family or to provide food for themselves.
I think that what Joey did was a very nice thing to do. This story can be tied to integrity because he was honest and did the right thing even though there was no seen reward.
I think that what Joey did was a very nice thing to do. This story can be tied to integrity because he was honest and did the right thing even when there was no seen reward.
i think this man is a vary good man and deserves every thing
Joey did something a lot of people would not have done because they didn’t see anything or they didn’t care. We don’t know what that $20 meant to the old man it could have been the money to buy his food for next week or something.
I think the worker did an amazing thing by giving money to the man that got $20 stole by an older lady. It was the right thing to do, and he was very compassionate about it. I also find it even more amazing that he didn’t tell anyone about it, and didn’t brag! Props to him!
Joey is a good person and honest too the one lady was selfish who knows if that 20 was all the money he had left or if he is very rich but it doesn’t matter its good that he did the right thing.
I LIKE DQ!1. I think an homeless person would buys alcohol or drugs with the $100.
2. Yes, that all homeless people are not on alcohol and drugs.
3. I would probably do the same thing Josh did, just to see if the person that i meet is a little like tom.1. I think an homeless person would buys alcohol or drugs with the $100.
2. Yes, that all homeless people are not on alcohol and drugs.
3. I would probably do the same thing Josh did, just to see if the person that i meet is a little like tom.1. I think an homeless person would buys alcohol or drugs with the $100.
2. Yes, that all homeless people are not on alcohol and drugs.
3. I would probably do the same thing Josh did, just to see if the person that i meet is a little like tom.1. I think an homeless person would buys alcohol or drugs with the $100.
2. Yes, that all homeless people are not on alcohol and drugs.
3. I would probably do the same thing Josh did, just to see if the person that i meet is a little like tom.1. I think an homeless person would buys alcohol or drugs with the $100.
2. Yes, that all homeless people are not on alcohol and drugs.
3. I would probably do the same thing Josh did, just to see if the person that i meet is a little like tom.1. I think an homeless person would buys alcohol or drugs with the $100.
2. Yes, that all homeless people are not on alcohol and drugs.
3. I would probably do the same thing Josh did, just to see if the person that i meet is a little like tom.1. I think an homeless person would buys alcohol or drugs with the $100.
2. Yes, that all homeless people are not on alcohol and drugs.
3. I would probably do the same thing Josh did, just to see if the person that i meet is a little like tom.
Joey is a good person and is a very honest person and that lady isn’t the best person and didn’t show much integrity
He did the right thing and karma worked in his favor. So moral of the story is to do what is best and karma will come back. He had integrity because he didn’t have to do that and he wasn’t expecting anything in return.
The employee does the right thing
It was very sad that the woman took advantage of the mans blindness and took his money for herself.
If I found $300 on the beach, I would hang on to it and see if anybody goes to the general area to look for the paper bag, then I would give it to the people who were looking for it. if nobody returned to the spot to find the bag after some time, I would just put it back and hope that the owner finds it.
in this article, it talked about a manager that witnessed a blind man drop $20, and then the woman behind him picked it up and continued to lie saying it was hers, so he then asked her to leave and he went into his wallet and grab $20 out and gave it to him. I feel like that was such an honorable thing to do especially because if it happened most people wouldn’t even do anything about it… Joey did the right thing and karma came back and hit him with good.
it is not are to siley for a bind bint wane he is nis
it is not are to smiley for a bind bit wane he is nits
This is a good example of integrity because he was nice to the man and didn’t let the lady get away with what she did and then proceeded to give the men money from his own pocket. by doing this other people appreciated it and wanted to give back to him and might have given him an amazing job opportunity.