'It was a miracle': Victoria seniors surprised by doorstep money delivery

VICTORIA, B.C. -

Joanne Parks says her day couldn’t have been more ordinary – until it suddenly turned extraordinary.

“When I opened the door, there it was,” Joanne recalls with wide-eyed wonder. “Fifty dollars.”

A crisp $50 bill had been slipped under her door.

“It was quite strange,” Joanne remembers thinking. “Mysterious.”

There was absolutely no reason for anybody to give her any money at all. So Joanne started asking around.

“That was even stranger,” Joanne says.

Turns out her neighbour, Veda Mata, had a $50 bill deposited on her doorstep as well.

“It was a surprise,” Veda laughs. “It was a miracle!”

It was the sort of reaction that had apparently been reverberating around the hallways of their low-cost housing building all day.

“I later learned everybody got a $50 bill.” Joanne says 18 seniors on fixed incomes received money. A total of $900.

“Who does that?!” Joanne asks. “I mean I would, but [I didn’t].”

Nobody is taking responsibility, leaving everybody wondering who in the building did do it.

“Because you can’t get in [the building] without knowing somebody and pressing the buzzer [on the front door],” Veda explains.

Although there are security cameras everywhere, I’m told they’re reserved for catching criminals red-handed, rather than revealing benefactors with red bills in hand.

“It’s a peculiar set of circumstances,” Joanne says.

While the ‘who’ and ‘why’ remain unanswered, there’s no question Joanne and Veda are filled with gratitude.

“It was a very kind and generous thing to do. This is a lot of money for us,” Veda smiles. “So bless them.”

“This will be remembered,” Joanne says. “This is special.”

While the money mystery is yet to be solved, the plan for their priceless gifts is to pay it forward.