One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure, as the adage goes, and this was certainly true for a homeless man who survives by sifting through rubbish.
Adam Gillian is a frequent visitor to an antiques shop in Edmonton, Alberta, where he frequently sells the treasures he discovers while “binning,” as he describes it.
On one of his visits to Curiosity Incorporated, he handed over something that neither he nor the shop owner understood was true treasure.
Adam had discovered an old animation cell in a garbage and brought it into the shop to sell.
When he sold it to shop owner Alexander Archbold, he received a tidy $20 for his framed photo of the Disney figure Bambi.
It wasn’t until Alexander placed it up for sale that he realized it was worth much more than $20.
Alexander wanted to make sure Adam got his fair portion for locating it, so he set out to find him – a difficult assignment when the individual is homeless.
After hearing from a friend that the business owner had some cash for him, Adam returned to the shop two weeks later. As a child, Alexander had witnessed his family’s financial difficulties.
“My mom worked three jobs for a while, and we didn’t have a home. We struggled with poverty and homelessness ourselves when I was a kid. And for much of junior high, we lived in motels.”
Alexander intended to surprise him with the money by pretending to interview him for his YouTube channel.
He began by asking Adam about his life, and he revealed that he had moved to the area due of his family, and that he had started out as a drywaller but had been homeless for the last three years, making money from “binning.” He also revealed that he had three foster children under the age of ten.
Alexander then delivered him half of the money for his extraordinary find, $1600, and not only did he give him the dollars to aid him and his children, but he also took him to a bank to open an account and, with his consent, put up a GoFundMe for Adam to help him even more.
“We didn’t mention it in this video but Adam did get the entire value of the piece,” Alexander added in an update to his YouTube video.
“We used the other half for food clothes and a ticket home. Additionally we were able to raise $18k through Gofundme.
“Adam is back to work full time, has reconnected with his children and friends and is doing well.”
