Kmart Customers Embrace Spirit of Giving

In my 34 years of life, I have never seen something quite like this. According to John Tunison of the Michigan-based Grand Rapids Press, a random shopper at a local Kmart SHLD did something very Christ-like and very Christmas-like this holiday season. She paid off a total stranger's debt. Three of them, to be exact. Kmart has a neat layaway policy that lets shoppers reserve items and then pay off the items in a set amount of time. It's sort of like a credit card purchase, except without interest, and the store holds the item until the shopper has finished paying for it. It's a great program and really drives a lot of good bargains at the retailer. While many shoppers utilize the program, it is most helpful to lower-income folks. It lets them do their Christmas shopping when there is a sale, and then pay off the items slowly, a few dollars at a time, until their balance is gone. I would wager that, for a lot of families facing tough times, this plan makes the difference between a good Christmas and a bad one. Well, what this stranger did was go into her local Kmart and, after buying a cart full of toys for the Toys for Tots program, march over to the layaway counter. But rather than utilize the program for herself, she paid off the accounts of three total strangers. She remains totally anonymous. Of course, this has spurred a series of similar acts at the store, as word spread of the story. As of Thursday, random generous souls have paid off $3,500 worth of Christmas goods for about 20 accounts at the store. Before anyone gets upset about people catching a break (as hard as it is to believe, some people get upset about things like this) keep in mind that the accounts that were paid for all contained things like children's clothing, toys for small kids, and so forth. No one got a free big screen TV or anything crazy like that. This is just old-fashioned Christmas spirit, with neighbors pitching in to help one another. There are few things more beautiful than this. Tunison relays one tale in his story that I thought was particularly heart-warming. One older woman came to the counter to pay on her layaway account. She was one of the ones whose account had been paid down by strangers. She owed all of 40 cents on the account now, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Her husband had just been laid off work, and times were getting tight. That random stranger made a huge difference in this woman's life. I'm not going to lie — the first time I read this story, I cried, because it's so beautiful and heart-warming. And apparently, that sentiment is spreading. In Hastings, Michigan, at another Kmart, a woman walked in and paid off $5,000 worth of other people's layaway accounts. She had heard of the story and wanted to chip in where she could. Folks, I support a lot of people and things. I talk an awful lot about politics (it's sort of my job) and I make it a point to not come out and ask people to donate money to this cause or that candidate, because I just don't think it's fair to their opponents. But in this case, I have to make an exception. If you live anywhere near a Kmart, and you have some expendable cash this Christmas, please consider paying it forward and doing for others. Stop in, pay off someone's Christmas layaway account. You could be making one family's dark holiday season a lot brighter, and in the process, do yourself some good. Is there any better feeling than playing Santa at Christmas time? I don't think so. Now get to it, friends! To find a local Kmart, click here or call 866.562.7848 Like my stories? You can subscribe for my free newsletter here. Read more of my stories at Benzinga. You can also reach me by email john@benzinga.com or on twitter @johndthorpe.