A billionaire gifted $1,000 to college students during graduation — but there was one catch

An unexpected announcement turned a usual college ceremony into a rather memorable event. The graduating class from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth was taken aback when billionaire philanthropist Robert Hale revealed that each student would receive a $1,000 cash gift. However, there was one condition for them to claim the generous gift. Hale handed every student not one, but two envelopes with $500 each. The second envelope with $500 came with a mission. It wasn’t theirs to keep.

Robert explained that the second envelope was meant to be passed on to someone else or an organization in greater need than the student receiving it, as reported by CNN. Each envelope was labeled either 'gift' or 'give'. During his speech, Robert said, "These trying times have heightened the need for sharing, caring, and giving. Our community needs you and your generosity more than ever." The announcement left the students and their families stunned but amazed. Robert, the founder and CEO of Granite Telecommunications, was invited as a guest speaker and was also joined by his wife, Karen, as reported by GOOD.

Robert brought about 3,000 envelopes. In his speech, he revealed that students from Green Elementary School in Fall River and Dali Elementary School in New Bedford helped customize them. One of the graduates, Wendy Humphreys, said that she and many others were surprised when Robert made the announcement. She said, “I looked at my friend and jokingly said, ‘he’s going to give us each $2,000 each,’ but I was completely kidding.” She added, “I can now scroll through GoFundMe and donate to causes that speak to me. I care a lot about abortion access and LGBTQ rights, so I plan to donate to those causes.”

The couple is well-known for their donations. For example, Karen once donated $10 million to help fund research on breast cancer, and Robert once donated $26.2 million to various charities in celebration of finishing the Boston Marathon. The billionaire shared that his giving spirit comes from growing up in a small town in western Massachusetts, where people always helped each other and cared for their neighbors, as reported by People magazine. This wasn't the first time Robert had been generous with students either. In 2023, he gave $1,000 to all 2,523 graduates of the University of Massachusetts Boston. He also gave almost the same amount to 230 Quincy College graduates in 2021.

Linda Santry, an event organizer, shared a heartwarming story about one of the University of Massachusetts students who received the gift from Robert. Santry stated, "One of our local graduates, who may not want to be named, but whose initials are MM, shocked me by giving her $500 to our Community Christmas Sharing program!! She has been a helper for many years, delivering gifts to families or senior citizens, and we are so grateful for all her help and for this donation for the coming Christmas season."