Just days before Christmas, an anonymous man paid off about 50 layaway accounts totaling roughly $8-thousand at a Delaware Burlington store. One of the recipients was Shatyra Streeter, a Wilmington single mother and seasonal Burlington employee, whose $110 layaway for clothes and shoes for her three-year-old daughter was unexpectedly cleared. She describes the moment as “a real blessing,” calling it “a Christmas miracle.”
The man, who wants his identity to stay private, says the act is part of a holiday tradition started by his mother 25 years ago. He has continued the practice each year after her death nine years ago and now includes his teenage son to pass along the same values. “I am very fortunate. I don’t need another thing in my life, but there are plenty of people who do,” he says, adding that paying the accounts makes him emotional.
Burlington store manager Devin Riley says he recognized the man from previous years and escorted him to the layaway area, where the man selected items to pay off, preferring those meant for children. Purchases ranged from $38 to several hundred dollars, and some of the paid accounts belonged to store employees. After the man left quietly with his son, Riley personally called each customer to share the news and he says some of them were moved to tears.
Source: DELAWARE ONLINE
Photo: RomarioIen / iStock / Getty Images
