'Layaway Angel' Pays Off $106K at 2 Ohio Walmarts

'It's such a blessing to know there are still people out there [who] care'
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 16, 2015 9:28 AM CST
'Layaway Angel' Pays Off $106K at 2 Ohio Walmarts
In this May 9, 2013, file photo, a worker pushes shopping carts in front of a Walmart store in La Habra, Calif.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

There's a secret Santa in northeast Ohio who likes to celebrate the season every year in a special way. This year, he decided to spend it paying for other people's purchases, plying his philanthropy at two different Walmarts by contributing more than $106,000 to pay for the socks, big-screen TVs, and "tons and tons of toys" waiting for pickup in the stores' layaway sections, WEWS reports.

"When customers anonymously pay off others' layaway items, we're reminded of the amazing things people will do to support each other," Walmart said in a statement. "We're proud to be a small part of these random acts of kindness." And the company isn't the only one gushing about the person WJW calls a "layaway angel." "It's such a blessing to know there are still people out there [who] care," a mom of four who had a Frozen bed on layaway for her 3-year-old at one of the Ohio stores tells WEWS. "It's like … a real Santa to me." (Last year, this same holiday spirit hit Massachusetts.)

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