SPOKANE, Wash. — The week didn’t start well for Christopher Matthews. He’s a carpenter and works for the Reclaim Project, an organization dedicated to helping men overcome addictions and transition from prison.
He received a call Sunday night and found out thousands of dollars worth of his tools had been stolen from the house where he was working.
Air compressors, nail guns, and batteries were all gone.
“You can go back to the old school hammer and nails, but production wise that’s, you know, not really applicable,” said Matthews.
Monday morning, 4 News Now met Matthews at the home in West Central Spokane where he was working and where the tools were stolen.
“You know, as much as I wanted to go home, curl up in a ball and stay hidden in my room and sulk in my sorrow, I had to get up and find that strength to show up to work and just continue going with the flow,” said Matthews.
The story aired Monday evening. Almost immediately viewers called the newsroom saying they wanted to help.
One of those callers was Maria Lee, owner of the Mac Tool franchise in Spokane.
“We have been blessed to be in the position that we’re in and we want to be able to give back to our community,” said Lee.
4 News Now put Lee and Matthews in touch with each other. The community was already in motion to help.
“What happened to him at this time of year, nobody needs to go through that,” said Lee.
Donations poured in from people throughout the community. Washington Trust Bank joined the outpouring.
Friday afternoon, Maria arrived at the home in West Central Spokane, where the bad week started, with a truck loaded with tools bound for the working hands of Matthews.
“I don’t even have the words to express how I feel. I mean, this is just incredible,” said Matthews.
He watched with amazement as Lee brought out box after box of new tools. Christmas came early.
“I can’t express how grateful I am at a time, you know, this time of year to have something like this come through for me,” said Matthews.
For Lee, it was the right thing to do.
“We wanted to be able to at least show him the good side of Spokane and there are good people. We want to make sure that for Christmas, he’s not thinking about how he has to recover from this tragedy and more as a blessing that’s happened,” said Lee.
For Matthews, it means being able to keep working and helping others.
“I am eternally grateful to all the donors,” said Matthews. “I just want to thank everybody, you know, for coming through at a time of year like this.
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