Mom accidentally donates to Goodwill a mug containing $6,500: 'I feel terrible'

An Atlanta mother made a mistake she wishes she could take back after she accidentally donated her son’s travel mug with $6,500 secretly stashed inside it to her local Goodwill.

Lindsay Preiss of Conyers, Ga., reached out to Atlanta news station WSB-TV in the hope that it could help track down anyone who had purchased the mug. Preiss said the mug belonged to her son, Devon Silvey, who had hidden $6,500 in cash inside it.

Silvey, 27, had collected the money after selling his car one recent Sunday. He couldn’t deposit the amount that day because the banks were closed.

WSB-TV reported that Silvey is moving to a new apartment. In a run to his parents’ house to pick up boxes, he put the mug with the cash in the cabinet, so that he didn’t have to drive around with it. Days later, Preiss donated it to Goodwill after cleaning around her home.

Preiss told the outlet that she is hopeful that the person who bought the mug will return it with its contents untouched.

“[I feel] like the worst mom in the world. I mean I feel terrible,” Preiss told the outlet. 

The family immediately contacted the Goodwill store after learning about the missing money, but the manager confirmed that the mug had already been sold, after scouring hours of surveillance footage and discovering that a worker had put the cup in a bin to be shelved.

“We would be very, very thankful if you brought it back,” Preiss said, knowing that her son worked hard for the money he received for his vehicle. “I’m just asking someone to please have it in your heart to do the right thing and give it back.”

The family is offering a monetary reward for the return of the cash.