It seemed that life was finally giving her a break. A single mom down to her last $7 found a $1 bill in a grocery store parking lot. So she walked back into the store, bought a lottery ticket, and won $100.

Just like that, her luck began turning around.

Most of us in that position would probably keep the $100 and breathe a sigh of relief. But not Shetara Sims. At the urging of her 12-year old daughter Rakiya, she decided to donate all of her winnings to the family of a local Kansas City police officer wounded in the line of duty.

For the Sims family, the desire to pay it forward is personal. When Shetara's eldest daughter was killed in 2012, Kansas City police officers went above and beyond to support her family as much as possible.

"The detectives were really there for us. They were there for us more than anyone I can imagine. They did things they didn't have to do," Shetara told CNN. "They came to see my kids. They did a lot. They were fathers, therapists. They were everything."

Not wanting to make a fuss about her generosity, Shetara called the Kansas City Police Department and made her donation anonymously. She told the officers on the phone that she had been dealing with several hardships of her own, recently losing her job due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But in spite of what she was going through, Shetara felt that the family of the wounded officer needed the $100 more than she did. The police tried to convince her to reconsider, but Shetara was insistent. Since she didn't even leave her name and number, she assumed that brief phone conversation and her sense of inner satisfaction would be the end of the story.

It didn't take long, though, until the local police precincts were abuzz, touched by Shetara's kindness and gratitude. A group of officers became determined to find her to express their own thanks.

"To hear her call and just express thanks for no reason other than she's thankful, it's really impactful to us," Kansas City Police Department Sgt. Jake Becchina told CNN.

After finally locating Shetara, the Police Department decided to set up a GoFundMe page to help her family with their financial situation. They called the campaign, ‘Helping the Woman With a Heart of Gold," and the response was overwhelming—with strangers and officers donating more than $145,000.

"People like her are hard to come by," wrote Kansas City resident Chantale Childs on the police department's Facebook post that announced the campaign. "A person that would give to a stranger and not eat for herself… she deserves support. It's amazing to see my community come together for this person. Makes me proud!"

Last Sunday, Shetara and Rakiya visited the wounded officer's colleagues at work, some of whom were on the scene when "Officer T" was critically injured in the line of duty. In a Facebook post, the department expressed its gratitude for being able to connect with these generous souls: "It took a while to find them, but we're so glad we did."

Sgt. Jake said that it is kindness like Shetara's that really keeps police officers serving and protecting, even when times are tough. Her gesture may have seemed small at the time, but it ended up touching people's lives in a way she never could have imagined.

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