Salt Lake City Journalist Accidentally Raises $55K For Utahns In Need

It's not everyday that someone falls into philanthropy, but that's what happened to Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune.

It started when Larsen, a data journalist and NBA beat writer, tweeted in late November that he wanted to donate $165 after he had a big jar of spare change counted at the bank. Larsen wanted to find someone in need who could use the money, but also stumbled upon a group of people who also wanted to give.

People tweeted at Larsen that they wanted to kick in $10, $20, even $165 so he shared his Venmo and the donations just kept on coming in.

“I wanted to find a way to distribute the money that made it, that kind of met the original goal of why people sent the money in the first place, which was to help Utahns who needed help for whatever reason," he told Fox 13.

Larsen named the group of generous donors the Exclamation Point Aid Brigade, which raised a whopping $54,972. Keeping to his original mission, Larsen gave all of that money away.

He gave a few hundred dollars away to individuals who contacted him because they needed help with groceries or medical bills and to people who wouldn't be able to afford Christmas presents for their kids because they lost their job. $500 to $1000 was sent to area food banks and other aid groups.

"In all, it’s looking like we were able to help about 1,000 Utah families this holiday season, running the full gamut from basic necessities like food, water, and shelter to providing Christmas gifts for loved ones," Larsen wrote in a column explaining how the money was distributed.

That's not bad for a guy who originally wanted to donate $165.