JUST when you think the villains of the recession like the Bernard Madoffs and the greedy bankers have worsened the economic situation, 'recession angels' want you to know that not all big-earners are out to rip off the hard-hit general public.

These are generous people who have taken their own money and given it to employees and their communities just as everybody else has been cutting back.

Perhaps the best-known recession angel is Mr Leonard Abess Jr, who was recently singled out by US President Obama for his generosity, said ABC News.

After selling his Miami bank, Mr Abess handed out US$60 million ($92m) in bonuses from his own pocket among 339 current employees - including executives, tellers, secretaries - and 72 former ones.

Cheques ranged from tens of thousands of dollars to more than US$100,000.

He said: 'My father was a banker. I grew up at the dinner table with tales of the Depression and tales of what a banker meant to a community, about responsibility, handling other people's money.

'And that these are your neighbours, the people you live with, you see all the time and you have to protect their money.'

There are many others who are generous like him.

Small-town 'stimulus'

Though Alabama pharmacy owner Danny Cottrell did not disburse money in the millions, what he did was enough to touch his neighbours and workers.

Mr Cottrell decided to dole out US$16,000 in bonuses to his 24 employees - every full-time worker got US$700 and every part-time employee got US$300.

To stimulate the economy in the small town, and he requested that his workers donate 15 percent to a charity or somebody who was in worse shape than they were, and then take the rest and spend it at local businesses.

To track the local impact of his 'stimulus', Mr Cottrell handed out the bonuses in US$2 bills.

Ms Lonna Jackson, who has worked for seven years as a cashier at Mr Cottrell's pharmacy, feared the worst when he gathered the staff for the announcement.

But when he announced the bonuses, she told ABC News: 'We sat there, mouths opened. Some cried. We were all just in shock.'

With her US$700, Ms Jackson donated money to a neighbour in need and then bought fabric for her sewing group, which makes baby blankets for neonatal units at area hospitals. She plans on spending the rest of the money on car tyres.

And as cashier at the pharmacy, she has seen plenty of those US$2 bills circle back to Mr Cottrell's business.

She said: 'I just hope there are more people out there like him.'

There are - like the doctor in a Minneapolis suburb who decided to give free medical check-ups to existing patients who lost their insurance because they were laid off.

Dr K Anthony Shibley, whose clinic does physician and gynaecology work, said: 'It's not going to kill us to do a little extra work. They probably already have enough bill collectors calling them.'

Then there's also Mr Scott Tuttle, president of Livin' Lite Recreational Vehicles, who has been organising a giant food distribution programme with Feed The Children.

He expects to give food and care packages to 6,000 people spread out over eight towns in northern Indiana. After coordinating with area churches, truck drivers and the food donors, he then got his hands dirty by packing up boxes with other volunteers.

How much time has he put into the effort?

He told ABC News: 'I don't know. I haven't kept track of it. It's been a significant amount of time, but it's worth it.'

There's also Mr Timothy Tucker - who used to work at high-end restaurants in Seattle and Dallas, catering to well-to-do Americans - who has decided to teach the less fortunate to cook for themselves.

He hopes that once they learn various culinary skills, they can land jobs at local restaurants.

'We've never seen anything like this before,' he said of the current economic climate.

His classes, taught through the Salvation Army, also feed 400 people a day at a homeless shelter.

He said: 'Here, we are able to cook great food and use it to heal people's lives. It's a much bigger thing in life than cooking incredibly beautiful food for people who have a lot of money to pay for it.'

This article was first published in The New Paper.