Anonymous donors pay strangers’ Christmas layaway accounts

At Kmart stores across the country, anonymous donors have been paying off strangers' layaway accounts, buying the Christmas gifts other families couldn't afford. Kmart representatives say they did nothing to instigate this. The benefactors generally ask to help poor families who are squirreling away items for young children (like toys and children's clothes). The good Samaritans seem to be visiting mainly Kmart stores, probably because Kmart is one of the few large discount stores that has offered layaway year-round for about four decades, with stores holding onto merchandise purchased by customers who choose to pay off their balance slowly over several weeks. A Wal-Mart spokesman said a few of his stores in Joplin, Mo., and Chicago have also seen some layaway accounts paid off, although the bulk of the action has been happening at Kmart stores.

The Detroit Free Press, 12/16/2011