(Image credit: Getty Images) 
 
 A secret philanthropist has been hiding envelopes stuffed with thousands of euros in cash around the tiny German town of Braunschweig. 
 
 So far, the donor has left 19 envelopes totaling 190,000 euros ( $250,256) in the village, about 145 miles west of Berlin, since November, according to some reports. One was found under a doormat and another was slipped behind hymn books in a church. 
 
 What is known about the anonymous donor is that the money comes in blank white envelopes, sometimes with directions on how to spend the donation. The largest gift was $13,218 (10,000 Euros), and the first recipient was a man who had thousands of euros stolen in a burglary. 
 
 The most recent beneficiary was Eva Reulette, a hospice worker who found 10,000 eruos under her doormat. "We couldn't believe it" she told DPA news service. "We had just been talking about how great these donations are." 
 
 Michael Knobel, a manager of a hospice which specializes in comforting the terminally ill, also got an envelope. He told the BBC, "This person gives money for good causes, like hospice, kindergarten or churches." 
 
 Another donation went to the family of 14-year- old Tom Neumann, who had become disabled after a swimming accident. The boy's mother, Claudia Neumann, was said astounded by the generosity. 
 
 "I was driving when I heard the news. I had to park on the side of the road. I was speechless. For someone to act so selflessly…was astonishing," she said. 
 
 There is much speculation as to whether the generous gifts are an old person nearing the end of his/her life, or even a few people working together to reward those who are less fortunate without seeking anything in return. 
 
 ABC News' Dimitrije Stejic and Susanna Kim contributed to this report. 

 A great mystery is gripping Germany. In the town of Braunschweig, somebody is giving money away and lots of it. 
 
 They leave it in envelopes in batches of 10,000 euros and he or she often leaves the money where it might not be found. 
 
 Stephen Evans reports from the scene of the mysterious generosity.
– One man in the small German town of Braunschweig was slipped an envelope filled with cash after he lost thousands of euros in a burglary. Another family, whose son was disabled in an accident, discovered a similar envelope. A hospice worker found yet another white envelope with $13,218 under her doormat. No one knows who is distributing the donations, but the mystery philanthropist has left 19 envelopes with a total of $250,256 in them around town since November, ABC News reports. Some of the envelopes have been hidden in more anyone-can-find-it places like behind the hymnals in a church. Sometimes directions are included for how the money should be spent. One recipient tells the BBC, "This person gives money for good causes, like hospice, kindergarten, or churches." Says the mother of the injured boy, "I was driving when I heard the news. I had to park on the side of the road. I was speechless. For someone to act so selflessly … was astonishing."