NEWS

11/18/14

FOX 13 Reports:

OLDSMAR (FOX 13) -

It started as a quick stop at Walmart.

"We had $300 to pay on one particular gift," Lynn Stein said Tuesday.

What happened next at the Oldsmar superstore captures a moment of what makes this season magical. Stein's husband was handed a letter at the Walmart layaway counter.

A local company paid off their gift, and $12,000 worth of other layaway accounts.

"I immediately started to cry. I was like, 'No way! Someone actually did that for total strangers?" Stein said.

The layaway angel was specific in his strategy. Walmartemployees say he paid off 55 families' balances, all of them from Oldsmar.

"He wanted to give back to the community that he's in and that he does business with," Walmart Assistant Manager Karyn Castaodi said.

John Sanders of Jamson Labs & Power Kleen Corporation is the man behind the mission. He says his reasoning for the random act of kindness was simple.

"Our theory was if people had it on layaway, they were maybe struggling a little bit for theholidays," Sanders said.

He was right. His wife found out firsthand, as she waited at the counter to pay off the presents.

"A lady walked up and said that she wanted to cancel her layaway because her husband had just lost his job. And they wouldn't be able to do it. That one story alone was enough," he said.

Now, the very same Walmart employees who helped hand-pick the Oldsmar accounts are handing out Christmas wishes come true for dozens of families.

"They're very overwhelmed. The emotions coming through these families is unbelievable. From tears, to joy, for making something happen for a young child," Castaodi said.

A simple 'thank you' isn't enough. The random act of kindness is now a catalyst of Christmas cheer.

"We give to family, our friends, churches, employees. But to give to total strangers? That is a true gift. That is amazing," Stein said.

The Oldsmar Walmart says they've had Good Samaritans pay off layaway items before, but they say this company's gift was by far the most they've ever seen.

Read More at:http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/27416561/metropolitan-ministries-sets-out-to-help-more-than-20000-this-season