As the holidays near many families opt for the layaway plan Kmart offers as a means to pay for the gifts they wish to give to their children. Unfortunately though, most people still can’t pay off their bills and fear their kids will not have Christmas gifts.
The country’s economy has been shaky to say the least and many are unemployed and without means to make a holiday happen for their families. This year the Christmas spirit has hit and good Samaritans around the country are anonymously paying for some families’ layaway bills.
In Indianapolis one young father became the recipient of one of these generous gifts. As he stood in line at a Kmart store with his three young children, all bedraggled and with the knowledge that he wouldn’t be able to pay off his bill, a mysterious woman approached and said, ‘No, I’m paying for it.’
That Tuesday the woman who wished to remain anonymous stayed did not leave the store until she paid the layaway bills for as many as fifty people. She even handed out fifty-dollar bills to some people and paid for two carts full of toys for one family. According to Edna Deppe, manager at the Indianapolis store, the woman was doing it in the memory of her husband. The only thing the woman would tell those she helped was, ‘Remember Ben.’
In Omaha, one nurse, Dona Bremser, received a call at work from an employee at Kmart telling her someone had finished paying off her layaway account that still held seventy dollars. Similar calls were made to others in Nebraska, Michigan, Iowa, Montana, and Indiana. The holiday generosity started in Michigan according to Kmart executives, and somehow the news spread.
Although the good deeds are being taken care of mostly in Kmart stores, there are some Wal-Mart stores that have seen the phenomenon as well. As the Christmas spirit continues to spread many are shedding tears of joy and gratitude.
