A Couple Recovering from Hard Times Drops $500,000 Check into Salvation Army Bucket

A Minnesota couple made a staggering, $500,000 donation to the Salvation Army, saying they had endured hard times and wanted to help others facing dark days this holiday season.

The donors, who wished to remain anonymous, dropped the half-a-million-dollar check into one of the charity's ubiquitous red kettles, setting a Minneapolis record for a single donation to the Salvation Army.

It was a remarkable act of paying it forward and paying it back, organization officials said.

"We are simply stunned and honored to have received such a generous gift," said Jeff Strickler, the organization's Minneapolis-St. Paul commander. "This is a true blessing."

The couple made the donation to honor one of their fathers, who served in World War I and was grateful to Salvation Army "Doughnut Lassies" who served coffee and doughnuts to soldiers in the field.

They also gave the large sum because in harder times, the husband and wife had to scavenge food from a grocery store garbage bin.

"You get to a point in life where it's time to take care of others, the way you were taken care of," they said, according to a statement from the organization.

For more stories and video from Inside Edition check them out online, or on FOX 29, weeknights at 6:30 p.m.