Layaway Angels Surprise Families With Gifts of Generosity

By: Rowena Li - Email

Posted: Sun 8:55 PM, Dec 23, 2012

"Big dreams, small payments," that's the slogan for the Kmart layaway program. And at the Hastings Kmart, a few angels made those payments even smaller for some families.

They're called layaway angels, anonymous donors surprising unsuspecting families with gifts of generosity.

"Yesterday we had a layaway angel that come in, and you know, $800, and that's just tremendous," said store manager Rodney Keesee.

Keesee said he almost thought they weren't going to have any layaway angels this year until someone showed up on December 14.

"It just really seems like once somebody starts doing the layaway angel, all of a sudden it just catches and it really takes off," Keesee said, noting that angels have paid off 12 layaway contracts in the past 10 days.

"Most of it is disbelief at first, like are you kidding me? Really? There were some people you could really genuinely see they were really touched," Keesee said of those who received the gifts.

And some on the receiving end also paid it forward.

Keesee explained the story of one woman who did so: "She didn't felt like she was really needed to have hers paid off. So what she did is, the amount she was going to use for her layaway, she put it towards somebody else's layaway, which is really the whole point. People opening up their hearts, acts of kindness during this time of year."

Even those who didn't get their layaways paid off said the holiday spirit of layaway angels is infectious.

"I think that's great. I hope I can do it some day," said Doug Wood of Hastings.

Those who would like to be a layaway angel can do so until Kmart stores close at 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve.