Man donates over $1,000 of change he found during daily walks to Ronald McDonald House

By Matthew Garcia

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    MIAMI (WSVN) — A man donated all the money he found while going on his daily walks to the Ronald McDonald House to help families with sick children.

Rob Gabner, 71, of Pembroke Pines, would go on a walk daily, collecting any loose change he found along the way.

“I walk seven miles a day. Three-and-a-half in the morning, three-and-a-half at night. Same route, and sometimes I find nothing, and then sometimes, I find a couple of dollars worth of change,” Rob said.

Over the last five years, the loose change and dollar bills he collected added up to $1,107.

“I just kept walking and looking and putting them in my pocket. Next thing I know, I got one bag filled, two bags, 10 bags, so I made up to 15 bags of loose change,” Rob said.

He didn’t plan to keep the money he found. Instead, he wanted to use the money to help others going through medical challenges. As a child, he said he had heart issues and needed several operations. That’s what motivated him to donate all the money he found to the Ronald McDonald House to help families with sick children.

“I know what it’s like for these young kids, I was only 7- or 8-years-old, everyone was playing baseball, you know, and I’m in my grandma’s dining room in a bed watching ‘Days of Our Lives’ as a kid, but that’s why I wanted to give it to Ronald McDonald’s, for the kids, so they can take care of them,” he said.

Thursday afternoon, Gabner donated all 15 bags of money, in what his wife, Barbara, described as living by the qualities he values: charity, donation and helping others.

“He’s been so uplifting to people in the community, people have seen him walking, it’s encouraged them to walk,” Barbara said. “And if he’s not out there walking, people will stop and ask me where he is and how he’s doing.”

Barbara also said this shows how even small actions can make a big difference.

“Grandpa’s putting his money where his mouth is. He’s trying to teach them what to do, and they’re picking up on it and they’re really internalizing it, it’s just a great thing,” she said.

Rob said he has a charity jar for his grandkids, where they would donate half of any gift they received. He also said spare change wasn’t the only thing he found on his walks. He found driver’s licenses, wallets, passports and even a new phone and helped return all of them to their rightful owners.

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