We've all passed by — and, more often than not, passed on — the infamous red Salvation Army kettles that make an appearance during the holiday season.
But instead of simply breezing past that signature jingling, one generous Minnesota couple paused at a Salvation Army kettle outside of a grocery store in Rosemont over the weekend just long enough to drop in a personal check for $500,000.
What's more, they did it without making a scene.
In fact, the unsuspecting firefighter volunteers standing watch over the kettle didn't even realize until later that they'd received a donation of such massive proportions, a spokesperson for Salvation Army told NBC News.
But don't expect to see the couple take a bow for their selflessness. The charitable duo, who asked to remain anonymous when contacted by the Salvation Army, said they had simply hoped to honor one of their fathers, a World War I vet, and to pay forward some of the generosity they received when they were younger, when they lived off of discarded food from a local market.
"You get to a point in life where it's time to take care of others, the way you were taken care of," the couple said in a statement.
This story is part of NBCUniversal’s Season of Kindness. Together we can grow the good this holiday season. #ShareKindness