Springfield Secret Santas Pay Off Layaway Bills for Needy Families (Check out these headlines!)

KSPR ^ | 12/17/11 | Mary Moloney

[Libloather]

Springfield Secret Santas Pay Off Layaway Bills for Needy Families
December 17, 2011 | Mary Moloney, KSPR News Reporter

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Good Samaritans have found a way to help needy Springfield families this holiday season. About a dozen people walked into the South Campbell Kmart and paid for the presents of strangers whose gifts sat on layaway.

"One young man came in who had gotten a $500 bonus from work. He just thought it was a great thing. He's even posted it online challenging his friends to do the same thing and he's come in and paid off several people's layaways," said sales manager Mike Gray. "It just creates a little joy during this joyous time of year."

With one act, bills in the hundreds of dollars dwindle down to one cent. Employees said the reactions of unsuspecting families are priceless.

"She just couldn't talk. She was crying and was God Blessing us. I said 'Don't God bless us, we're just the people who have your layaway!"' Rita Tillery, Kmart layaway associate explained excitedly.

[Libloather]

Occupy pukes donate? Oh, I think not. They wouldn't be caught dead in a Kmart or Walmart.

Real-life 'Secret Santas pay off more than $1,000 worth of Christmas layaways at Kmart

Another layaway angel hits Kmart in Davenport

Secret Santas help Kalispell Kmart shoppers

Secret Santa stops by another Montana Kmart

'Secret Santa' helps customers at Yelm Wal-Mart

More donors pay off gifts at Missoula Kmart

Bay Area Secret Santas Pay Off Layaway Accounts

$ecret $anta provides very Merry Christmas for Walmart layaway customers

Layaway angels also helping families with Christmas at Tri-State Kmart stores

Clinton man joins ranks of 'Layaway Angels'

Layaway angels making season brighter

Dozens get layway help at Ohio Kmart

Secret Santa Delivers Christmas Early For 27 Walmart Customers

Dozens get layway help at Blue Ash Kmart

Secret Santas pay off layaway bills for strangers

Layaway Gifts Balances Paid Off

Anonymous People Pay Off Wal-Mart Layaway Accounts in Big Spring

[Califreak]

I’ve been wondering if it’s some kind of coordinated publicity stunt for K-Mart.

Good news anyway though.

[RnMomof7]

Also in Buffalo .....

[rightwingintelligentsia]

I think it’s a great gesture, but I wonder how K-Mart knows whether the customers getting their layaways paid off are indeed “needy”?

Or is it pretty much a given that anyone who has to use layaway at Christmas is?

[Bigh4u2]

“Or is it pretty much a given that anyone who has to use layaway at Christmas is?”

For the most part, I’d say yes.

Although I’m not sure the word ‘needy’ is correct.

Let’s just say ‘monetarily challenged’.

:)

[knittnmom]

Not many stores still offer layaway. Wal-Mart and K-Mart, as far as I know, are about the only chains that still offer it.

[yellowhorse]

you cannot worry about whether the person who put the merchandise on layaway is worthy of your gift. What ever you do is on you and your worry only deprives you of the warmth and satisfaction of helping someone. You do this act of kindness for your own well being and the fact that it is a good and right thing to do. Why destroy that by questioning and worrying about whether some unworthy person reaps a windfall. It is on them, not you. Don’t destroy that wonderful feeling and ruin your own happiness. Remember this: “It is always better to give than receive.”

[cripplecreek]

Seems to be a lot of it going around this year.

My sister manages a billing call center. The other day she had a 97 year old woman call about some $100 bill that she couldn’t pay and whatever service she had was going to be shut off. The next call she took was a man who wanted to pay $100 dollars to pay the bill of some needy person. She reinstated the elderly woman’s service.

[Grammy]

It is happening here in Target as well. Also, there was a news story last night about a man who is walking around in Goodwill, and randomly handing people $100 bills.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

I don’t worry about it at all—just noting that the story uses the word “needy” numerous times, and as part of an appeal for additional donations.

[Califreak]

I’m glad to hear people are helping each other, but if this trend continues, government will probably try and do something about it.

[AppyPappy]

1. Layaway is also used to “hide” presents from kids
2. Sometimes, people never come to get their layaways. This is a good way to get people to come after them, hoping they were paid off.

[Califreak]

Best thing I can do when I’m all mopey is try to do something for someone else.

For some reason, it always makes me feel better-not in a smug and self righteous way, but like God is blessing me by helping to change my mindset-if that makes any sense...

[cripplecreek]

Last spring I bought a bag of groceries at Glenn Beck’s urging and gave it to a woman walking out of the unemployment agency.

I just told her that not all help comes with government strings attached and suggested that she consider attending a tea party event.

[mockingbyrd]

I’m guessing that KMart is one of the few places that still does layaway.

[goodnesswins]

YES...that’s what I am wondering....I don’t like rewarding people because they are “poor”.....some people are poor by their bad decisions.

[Terry Mross]

I’d like to know how they decide which accounts get paid off? I can see some lawsuits against K-Mart, Walmart etc. “You chose that man over me ‘cause he’s white and I’m (fill in the blank).

[Terry Mross]

I heard on the radio yesterday that some Walmart manager refused to allow some woman to pay off one of the accounts. As I said, if I walk into a Walmart and say “I want to pay off someone’s lay-a-way account” how does the manager decide which one gets paid?

[netmilsmom]

Here in Michigan, the layaway clerk was on tv. She said that the lady who paid off 2300.00 dollars worth of layaways asked for the top of the pile of layaway tags. The woman paying, picked the ones she wanted to pay. ALL had toys and none were over three hundred dollars.

[simplesimon]

I was watching dateline or something like that last night as I was trying to go to sleep and they had a segment on this. In one part of the segment, they skype’d a man who’d went in and paid thousands on his local kmart layaways.
His image was blurred and he said he didnt want to be identified and mentioned that he challeneged all of his friends to do the same thing.

I thought the same thing at first but now I do believe that people have caught on and have been blessed and so in turn, have blessed others ~