A billionaire gave $1,000 to University of Massachusetts Dartmouth graduates in May. The catch? You had to be there.Graduation day dawned on May 16 at the Franklin, Mass., home of Emma Yell and her partner, James Ristaino, but the rain was so heavy that it was hard to tell.They had both hoped to cross the stage that day and receive their University of Massachusetts Dartmouth degrees after years of combining coursework with care for their now-8-year-old daughter, Elena.The weather, however, was a problem. The rain-or-shine, no-cover ceremony meant that Elena, who uses tracheotomy and feeding tubes, would be exposed to the elements. The couple were not going to show up without her, and being there was just too risky.Graduation went on without the family, and it came with a fabulous surprise for the seniors who were there: Rob Hale, a local telecom billionaire, turned up with over $1 million in duffel bags and handed $1,000 each to graduates as they got their degrees. They were to keep $500 for themselves and give $500 to help a person or an organization that needed it more than they did.Because Ms. Yell and Mr. Ristaino weren’t there, they — like others among the 20 percent of the graduating class, which totaled 1,200 people, who missed the ceremony — did not get the money.“You’ve got to show up,” Mr. Hale told People magazine when the tale of the rich man doling out $100 bills drew an enormous amount of media attention.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

A Donor Gave Graduates a Big Cash Gift. Why Didn't They All Get One?

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.They had both hoped to cross the stage that day and receive their University of Massachusetts Dartmouth degrees after years of combining coursework […]

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Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.They had both hoped to cross the stage that day and receive their University of Massachusetts Dartmouth degrees after years of combining coursework with care for their now-8-year-old daughter, Elena.The weather, however, was a problem. The rain-or-shine, no-cover ceremony meant that Elena, who uses tracheotomy and feeding tubes, would be exposed to the elements. The couple were not going to show up without her, and being there was just too risky.Because Ms. Yell and Mr. Ristaino weren’t there, they — like others among the 20 percent of the graduating class, which totaled 1,200 people, who missed the ceremony — did not get the money.

Graduation day dawned on May 16 at the Franklin, Mass., home of Emma Yell and her partner, James Ristaino, but the rain was so heavy that it was hard to tell.A billionaire gave ,000 to University of Massachusetts Dartmouth graduates in May. The catch? You had to be there.

Graduation went on without the family, and it came with a fabulous surprise for the seniors who were there: Rob Hale, a local telecom billionaire, turned up with over million in duffel bags and handed ,000 each to graduates as they got their degrees. They were to keep 0 for themselves and give 0 to help a person or an organization that needed it more than they did.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.“You’ve got to show up,” Mr. Hale told People magazine when the tale of the rich man doling out 0 bills drew an enormous amount of media attention.