A very generous birthday gift
Birthdays are typically spent with everyone around attempting to make you happy and celebrate your day. But that is quite the contrary for the Walmart donor, who celebrated a birthday last week, in Cleveland, OH.
According to Walmart employees, the mystery man expressed that he likes to do something special for others on his birthday, before walking into two separate Walmarts, and paying off their holiday layaway tabs completely.
What did that cost the birthday boy? A very generous $106,000.
Layaway collections paid off in full
Yes, you read right, over $100,000. The two locations, Steelyard Commons and Lorain, had some of the biggest layaway collections: Steelyard with nearly $70,000 in goods, and Lorain with $36,000. Which isn’t surprising considering how much money is spent on the holidays each year. Paid off items ranged from socks, to 70-inch TVs and lots of toys; all gifts I’m sure the anonymous donor could have made use of personally, but chose not to.
One woman, Tara Neal, had a ‘Frozen” themed bed for her 3 year old on layaway with over $80 remaining on the balance. Burdened with the thought of not being able to pay it off in time, she was relieved and grateful when she received a call from Walmart, letting her know it had been paid off. Neal, is a mother of four kids, and is just one of the many households feeling the financial pressure of the holidays weighing on their shoulders.
Huge random acts of kindness
Cathie Cromwell is another, who felt the pressure, but was also helped by this anonymous angel. “I just cried” said Cathie, while picking up her son’s gift, “It’s amazing someone would have this much compassion during the Christmas season to help us. To help people who maybe wouldn’t have had Christmas”
Walmart responded to the mysterious giving angel by saying, “Christmas is a time of year when many people go above and beyond to give back to their neighbors and communities. When customers anonymously pay off others’ layaway items we’re reminded of the amazing things people will do to support each other. We’re proud to be a small part of these random acts of kindness.”
The spirit of the holidays
Christmas is indeed a time of year when people go above and beyond to give back, and this mystery angel has done just that with his selfless birthday donation. And not just any donation; a donation that will keep the holiday spirits alive, and the memories fond, in hundreds of homes across northern Ohio.
