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MsSissy
xoxoxo
Member since 3/07 39159 total posts
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Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
What a fantastic story!
Link to story
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The young father stood in line at the Kmart layaway counter, wearing dirty clothes and worn-out boots. With him were three small children.
He asked to pay something on his bill because he knew he wouldn't be able to afford it all before Christmas. Then a mysterious woman stepped up to the counter.
"She told him, 'No, I'm paying for it,'" recalled Edna Deppe, assistant manager at the store in Indianapolis. "He just stood there and looked at her and then looked at me and asked if it was a joke. I told him it wasn't, and that she was going to pay for him. And he just busted out in tears."
At Kmart stores across the country, Santa seems to be getting some help: Anonymous donors are paying off strangers' layaway accounts, buying the Christmas gifts other families couldn't afford, especially toys and children's clothes set aside by impoverished parents.
Before she left the store Tuesday evening, the Indianapolis woman in her mid-40s had paid the layaway orders for as many as 50 people. On the way out, she handed out $50 bills and paid for two carts of toys for a woman in line at the cash register.
"She was doing it in the memory of her husband who had just died, and she said she wasn't going to be able to spend it and wanted to make people happy with it," Deppe said. The woman did not identify herself and only asked people to "remember Ben," an apparent reference to her husband.
Deppe, who said she's worked in retail for 40 years, had never seen anything like it.
"It was like an angel fell out of the sky and appeared in our store," she said.
Most of the donors have done their giving secretly.
Dona Bremser, an Omaha nurse, was at work when a Kmart employee called to tell her that someone had paid off the $70 balance of her layaway account, which held nearly $200 in toys for her 4-year-old son.
"I was speechless," Bremser said. "It made me believe in Christmas again."
Dozens of other customers have received similar calls in Nebraska, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana and Montana.
Message edited 12/16/2011 2:15:43 PM.
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Posted 12/16/11 2:15 PM  |
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labonnevie
sometimes 1+1= 4 <3
Member since 8/09 3869 total posts
Name:
the lucky one
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
what a nice story!!
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| Posted 12/16/11 2:21 PM |
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PotofLuck06
Our Baby Boy Is Here!!!
Member since 11/06 13241 total posts
Name:
Betsy
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
Stories like this always make me smile and give me hope in humanity!!
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| Posted 12/16/11 2:32 PM |
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Jonsgirl04
Love my two girls! xoxo
Member since 9/08 6079 total posts
Name:
Stephanie
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
Yes I heard a similar story where someone went to Walmarts and Kmarts paying off random Layaways just leaving a penny left. The penny had to be left so the store could still hold it. What a generous woman and God Bless all the Real Santas out there doing things like this!
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| Posted 12/16/11 2:36 PM |
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jam11308
Member since 11/07 7273 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
I read this earlier today & it made me misty 
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| Posted 12/16/11 2:45 PM |
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ItsTime2011
Meh...
Member since 1/11 2148 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
This made me cry. I am such a sap 
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| Posted 12/16/11 3:26 PM |
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tink23
Step by step....
Member since 6/11 1061 total posts
Name:
Lori
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
Posted by ItsTime2011
This made me cry. I am such a sap
I'm tearing up...what a wonderful story 
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| Posted 12/16/11 3:44 PM |
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missfabulous
#mommyneedswine
Member since 6/09 10031 total posts
Name:
Colleen
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
What a sweet story!
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| Posted 12/16/11 3:57 PM |
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leesah85
LIF Infant
Member since 12/11 136 total posts
Name:
Lisa
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
Posted by PotofLuck06
Stories like this always make me smile and give me hope in humanity!!
yeah, ITA!
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| Posted 12/16/11 3:58 PM |
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babyonboard11
In love with my little man!!
Member since 8/10 1841 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
Posted by leesah85
Posted by PotofLuck06
Stories like this always make me smile and give me hope in humanity!!
yeah, ITA!
ITA
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| Posted 12/16/11 4:00 PM |
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lvdolphins
My Loves!
Member since 5/05 46292 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
That's so awesome.
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| Posted 12/16/11 4:08 PM |
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CkGm
They get so big, so fast :(
Member since 5/05 13848 total posts
Name:
Christine
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
Posted by ItsTime2011
This made me cry. I am such a sap
Totally! Made me want to run out to our local Kmart and buy off someone's layaway.
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| Posted 12/16/11 4:14 PM |
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MrsSunflwr29
LIF Adult
Member since 3/06 1093 total posts
Name:
M
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
Posted by CkGm
Posted by ItsTime2011
This made me cry. I am such a sap
Totally! Made me want to run out to our local Kmart and buy off someone's layaway.
Me too...But how would you someone go about doing this? Do you say I have $50 and would like to donate it towards someone layaway. How would you even know what they layaway had or if the person at the register was going to take it?
In this story the woman paid for the mans stuff with him right in front of her.
This story sets all the bad stories out there right...well most anyway...
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| Posted 12/16/11 4:19 PM |
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Xelindrya
Mommy's little YouTube Star!
Member since 8/05 14470 total posts
Name:
Veronica
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
Hrmm..
How does one do that?
Do you just walk into a Walmart and pay a random layaway.
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| Posted 12/16/11 4:24 PM |
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Xelindrya
Mommy's little YouTube Star!
Member since 8/05 14470 total posts
Name:
Veronica
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
Posted by MrsSunflwr29
Posted by CkGm
Posted by ItsTime2011
This made me cry. I am such a sap
Totally! Made me want to run out to our local Kmart and buy off someone's layaway.
Me too...But how would you someone go about doing this? Do you say I have $50 and would like to donate it towards someone layaway. How would you even know what they layaway had or if the person at the register was going to take it?
In this story the woman paid for the mans stuff with him right in front of her.
This story sets all the bad stories out there right...well most anyway...
ditto.. i'd like to toss some help to someone. I'm not rich, I have a lot of debt, My daughter is only getting 3 gifts but if I could help, I would.
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| Posted 12/16/11 4:25 PM |
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My4GirlsMyLife
My 4 girlies
Member since 2/08 9702 total posts
Name:
Valerie
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
I have tears in my eyes ! What a wonderful story !
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| Posted 12/17/11 1:29 PM |
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DirtyBlonde
*****
Member since 11/07 7344 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
This made me cry - but in a good way.
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| Posted 12/17/11 1:31 PM |
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Sparrow
LIF Adult
Member since 11/10 6826 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
Totally awesome!
Just wondering though . . . Knowing nothing about layaway, I'm trying to figure this out- Say the person knows they can't complete their payments, what happens to the money they've paid and the items? And what if the person realizes they just can't afford to pay off their items so they just don't go back, can that happen? How would they know that someone paid it off? 
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| Posted 12/17/11 2:32 PM |
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drpepper318
MIR MIR MIR!
Member since 6/07 8274 total posts
Name:
me
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
That is really sweet! Wish I could do that for someone. Nice to hear stories like that.
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| Posted 12/17/11 10:01 PM |
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MsSissy
xoxoxo
Member since 3/07 39159 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
Posted by Sparrow
Totally awesome!
Just wondering though . . . Knowing nothing about layaway, I'm trying to figure this out- Say the person knows they can't complete their payments, what happens to the money they've paid and the items? And what if the person realizes they just can't afford to pay off their items so they just don't go back, can that happen? How would they know that someone paid it off?
I don't think there is a time frame to pay it off. But I believe if you can't pay it off you loose your deposit.
As for how the customers know someone paid it off. One news story I saw showed an employee calling the customer and telling them their balance was paid off by a stranger. And the only thing they wanted was for the customer to pay it forward and do something nice for someone else.
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| Posted 12/17/11 10:06 PM |
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springchick
make a wish
Member since 5/08 3566 total posts
Name:
justask
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
My understanding of layaway is that you get like 3 or 4 weeks to pay it off. They charge like $5 or something like that for opening a layaway if you can get out they return you your money minus the layaway fee ($5) and the cancellation fee in some stores (like $10-15)
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| Posted 12/17/11 10:15 PM |
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MsSissy
xoxoxo
Member since 3/07 39159 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
Posted by springchick
My understanding of layaway is that you get like 3 or 4 weeks to pay it off. They charge like $5 or something like that for opening a layaway if you can get out they return you your money minus the layaway fee ($5) and the cancellation fee in some stores (like $10-15)
I haven't done layaway in years, but I know I took longer than 4 weeks to pay if off. Guess they changed that.
Here is a link to Kmarts layaway terms They give 8-12 weeks and there is a fee.
And here is the link to Walmarts Pretty much the same terms.
Message edited 12/17/2011 10:29:28 PM.
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| Posted 12/17/11 10:18 PM |
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headoverheels
s'il vous plaît
Member since 6/07 42079 total posts
Name:
LB
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
 Love this
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| Posted 12/17/11 11:33 PM |
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thisisme
LIF Adolescent
Member since 3/06 560 total posts
Name:
ME
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
Well, I'd love to know how it happens because I just found out someone did this for me! And I feel bad because, as nice as it was and as much as I'm not rolling in money, I can afford what I put on layaway. So I'm going to find out how to pay it forward and do it for someone else
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| Posted 12/18/11 8:12 AM |
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MsSissy
xoxoxo
Member since 3/07 39159 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anonymous donors pay off strangers layaway
Posted by thisisme
Well, I'd love to know how it happens because I just found out someone did this for me! And I feel bad because, as nice as it was and as much as I'm not rolling in money, I can afford what I put on layaway. So I'm going to find out how to pay it forward and do it for someone else
That is amazing!
Would love to know how you paid if forward if you're willing to share
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| Posted 12/18/11 8:16 AM |
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