Families surprised with $25K layaway payoffs by generous secret Santas
Christmas came early for families across the country who learned that their layaways were completely paid off, a surprise totaling tens of thousands of dollars.
Twenty-three families at a Burlington department store in New York City's Harlem neighborhood were surprised with the early Christmas gift on Dec. 9. Store associates rolled in with shopping carts filled with children’s toys and clothes from the families' layaway accounts.
One recipient of the generous gesture, Mahogany, who works in construction and did not want to disclose her last name, couldn’t hold back her tears.
"This is like a relief off my back because I don’t know when I’m going to get my next job because I’m on the list waiting," she said.
Abraham Mercedes, another customer who had his family's layaway account paid off, attended the surprise with his son after his wife received a call from Burlington saying it wanted to celebrate its customers.
“It’s a huge emotional time for us now. Seeing all the smiles on the kids' faces, it’s worth it,” he said. “It’s an amazing treat for us ... We’re super happy, super stoked.”
"GMA" teamed up with the nonprofit group Pay Away the Layaway this holiday season. To learn more about how to become a Secret Santa to a family in need, visit the Pay Away the Layaway website HERE.
The secret Santas behind this holiday magic are Lee Karchawer and Ian Bel, founder and co-founder of the organization Pay Away the Layaway, a nonprofit to which people can donate to help pay off layaway accounts at stores around the world.
“There’s nothing I find that really compares to that feeling, especially that instant where they say that whatever baggage they were walking in with, whatever challenges they had, it just completely disappeared,” Bel told GMA.
Random acts of kindness often inspire a chain reaction. Karchawar started Pay Away the Layaway in 2011 after he read a story about an anonymous man who paid off $25,000 in children’s gifts and toys on layaway.
“Our mission is to inspire hope and spread kindness, and we do that by sharing a nice gesture during the holidays, but we hope that it turns into many more kind gestures by all the recipients,” he said.
The organization helped pay off layaways for more than 50 families who had accounts at the Burlington store, totaling close to $10,000 in layaways.
“It’s a very rewarding feeling to know that you’re helping someone and they can use that money to do something else with it,” said Ebony Dasareth, a manager at the store. "So anytime we can do something that puts a smile on our customer’s face, we’re all for it.”
Pay Away the Layaway will host nearly 70 events worldwide this season with a goal to raise $500,000. In 2018, the organization raised close to $365,000 after a three-day segment on "GMA."
“Especially this time of the year, we find that so many people want to contribute to what we’re doing because kindness really is contagious,” Karchawer said.
The kindness of strangers was felt in Norfolk, Virginia, Wednesday, when military families learned their layaways were paid in full too.
Servicemen and women from the Naval Station Norfolk gathered with their families at the local Navy Exchange store to learn which one of them won a raffle to have their holiday layaway plan paid in full.
Instead, the 62 families were surprised with the news they would all have their layaway plans paid off, taking home nearly $15,000 worth of items.
“I’m happy for everybody,” said one recipient, a single mom who started her layaway plan in October. “Everybody deserves it.”
"GMA" teamed up with the nonprofit group Pay Away the Layaway this holiday season. To learn more about how to become a Secret Santa to a family in need, visit the Pay Away the Layaway website HERE.
ABC News' Bettina Goolsby contributed to this report.
