Frugal Carpenter Leaves Enough Money for 33 Kids to Go to College [VIDEO]

The incredible generosity of one man has paid off 33 times. An Iowa carpenter who lived a frugal life left behind enough money for 33 kids to go to college.

Dale Schroeder never went to college. He made his living as a carpenter but never married. He managed to save close to $3 million and when he died in 2005 there were no descendants to claim the money.

Schroeder's friend Steve Nielsen tells KCCI that Dale wanted to give Iowa kids who didn't have the means to go to school an opportunity to be successful. He says that recipients are asked to honor Schroeder's legacy.

"All we ask is that you pay it forward," Nielsen said. "You can't pay it back, because Dale's gone. But you can remember him, and you can emulate him."

Now, 14 years after Schroeder's death, the 33 kids he helped gathered around Dale's old lunchbox and dubbed themselves 'Dale's Kids.'