A fund set up for a Boston homeless man who turned in a backpack he found filled with more than $40,000 in cash and traveler's checks has raised more than twice that much. 
 
 Glen James flagged down a police officer Saturday after he found a backpack containing $2,400 in cash and nearly $40,000 in traveler's checks at the South Bay Mall. 
 
 The man who lost the backpack told workers at a nearby store at the mall and they called police, who later returned the backpack to him. 
 
 Midlothian, Va., resident Ethan Whittington read media accounts of James' honesty and started a fund for him on the crowd-funding website gofundme.com. By late Thursday afternoon donations were at nearly $111,000 and growing. 
 
 THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. 
 
 A fund for a homeless man who turned in a backpack with more than $40,000 inside has collected nearly $98,000 _ an overwhelming response that is a "statement to everyone in America," according to the man who started the donation drive. 
 
 Glen James flagged down a police officer Saturday after he found the backpack containing $2,400 in cash and almost $40,000 in traveler's checks at the South Bay Mall in Boston. The man who lost it told workers at a nearby store and they called police, who later returned the backpack to him. 
 
 Boston police honored James with a special citation Monday. After reading media accounts of James' honesty, a stranger, Ethan Whittington, started a fund for James on the crowdfunding site gofundme.com. By Thursday morning, $97,889 in donations had been made. 
 
 Whittington, a 27-year-old from Midlothian, Va., who is an accounts manager for a marketing firm, said he decided to try to raise money for James after reading about his honesty. Now Whittington says he's overwhelmed by the generosity of strangers. 
 
 "The fact that he's in the situation he is, being homeless, it blew my mind that he would do this (turn in the backpack)," Whittington said Wednesday. 
 
 "It's caught on like wildfire ever since," he said. "It's brought me a lot of hope. ... This isn't only about rewarding a great guy. I think it's a statement to everyone in America. If we come together and work toward one thing and work together, then we can make it happen." 
 
 Whittington said he's also encountered some skeptics who question whether his efforts to raise money for James could be a scam. 
 
 "It's almost kind of depressing, to do something for a great cause, and you've got the naysayers out there," he said. 
 
 "I just wish there was some way I could 100 percent reassure everyone. I would be publicly humiliated if I scammed people now." 
 
 Whittington said he has spoken with James on the phone and hopes to come to Boston soon to work out how the money will be distributed to James. He said his new fundraising goal for James is $250,000, up from the $50,000 he originally hoped to raise. ||||| Media caption "James said a medical condition made it hard for him to work, but God had always looked after him", reports Pia Harold 
 
 Donations of more than $110,000 (£67,000) have poured in from across the US for a Boston homeless man who returned a lost bag with $42,000 in it. 
 
 Glen James alerted police after he found the backpack containing cash and traveller's cheques last weekend, and the bag's owner was then tracked down. 
 
 A complete stranger later started an online fund for Mr James after reading media reports about his honesty. 
 
 The man, Ethan Whittington, now plans to meet Mr James to give him the money. 
 
 This isn't only about rewarding a great guy. I think it's a statement to everyone in America Ethan Whittington, Fund starter 
 
 Mr Whittington, who lives in Midlothian, Virginia, said he was so overwhelmed by Mr James' honesty that he decided to start the fund. 
 
 "The fact that he's in the situation he is, being homeless, it blew my mind that he would do this,'' Mr Whittington was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. 
 
 He said his idea of starting donations on a crowdfunding website for Mr James "caught on like wildfire ever since". 
 
 "It's brought me a lot of hope. This isn't only about rewarding a great guy. I think it's a statement to everyone in America. 
 
 "If we come together and work toward one thing and work together, then we can make it happen." 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr James, a former Boston courthouse employee, said that he would not have kept "even a penny" of the money he had found in the backpack - even if he were desperate. ||||| Glen James / CBS Boston 
 
 (CBS) BOSTON - First, Boston homeless man Glen James found a bag containing a passport, cash and travelers checks worth more than $42,000, and returned it - all of it - to police. 
 
 Monday, the city's police department honored James for his honesty. 
 
 Now, a Virginia man has helped raised nearly $100,000 for the homeless hero, according to CBS Boston. 
 
 Ethan Withington heard James' story and set up a fund on the internet fundraising website Go Fund Me. 
 
 CBS Boston reports his goal is to raise $250,000 so James can buy a house. 
 
 "When you hear stories like that it's something positive compared to the negative stories we're inundated with on a constant basis," Withington said. "It's hard to not want to help somebody. I want to make a positive impact on his life, not just hand him a $50,000 check." 
 
 The goal was to raise $50,000 but in one day, the site exceeded that goal and so a new goal was set. 
 
 The fundraising drive has so far garnered at least $88, 000 in contributions. 
 
 "I had no idea it would get as big as it has," Withington told CBS Boston. 
 
 "After all the stuff you hear on the news, you wonder about people," Withington said. "If we can get more people to do this we could completely change the world one person at a time." 
 
 Complete coverage of "homeless hero" Glen James on Crimesider ||||| A homeless man by the name of Glen James found $40,000 yesterday and promptly returned the backpack with all of its contents. Lets all chip in and help this man change his life. Every little donation helps. Lets be reassured that there is still hope and humanity in our great nation. See article below: BOSTON (CBS) "” A homeless man turned in a backpack with $2,400 in cash, $39,500 in travelers checks and a passport that he found at South Bay Mall in Dorchester. Boston Police officers at South Bay Mall were flagged down by the man in front of the TJ Maxx Store. The man said he found a black backpack that contained a large sum of money and a passport in the front of the store. Officers took the backpack and its contents. The Good Samaritan could only provide officers with his name and the address of the shelter where he currently lives, Boston Police said. Officers notified store security at the South Bay Mall about the backpack. Later Saturday night, police were contacted by an employee of Best Buy who said a customer lost his backpack. The passport matched the customer's identity and his backpack was returned to him.
– Whoever said no good deed goes unpunished probably never got six figures out of the act. But turning in a lost backpack with $42,000 in cash and traveler's checks inside has paid off for Glen James, who's raked in more than $130,000 in donations from across the country as of this writing. It all comes from an online fund, set up by a stranger touched by the Good Samaritan and homeless Bostonian, the BBC reports. "The fact that he's in the situation he is, being homeless, it blew my mind that he would do this,'' Ethan Whittington tells the AP. Whittington, 27, says the crowdfunding campaign on gofundme.com "caught on like wildfire" and he's talked with James on the phone about visiting Boston to hand over the money. Since hitting his $50,000 goal, the marketing accounts manager has bumped that number up to $250,000—so James can buy a house, CBS Boston reports. "After all the stuff you hear on the news, you wonder about people," Withington says. "If we can get more people to do this we could completely change the world, one person at a time."