Happy Holidays, everyone! And boy, is it a happy holiday for hundreds of families across the country today. Many who owed hundreds of dollars on Christmas layaways at places like Kmart and Walmart are finding that a "Secret Santa" is taking care of their bills. It's truly a great example of the kind of generosity that warms my heart, particularly during this time of year.

Apparently, news that Secret Santas were paying off layaways at Kmart stores nationwide first began to surface over the weekend. Anonymous donors with deep pockets were giving struggling families a Christmas miracle, of sorts, by paying off layaways on all sorts of merchandise, including children's toys. Some are calling them layaway angels, and that seems to be a perfect description to me.

This is an incredible story, it really is. In a time when so many families are worrying about whether they'll be able to feed, clothe and even house their children, to have someone anonymously step up and give them a hand is fantastic. I'd read about the instances at Chicago-area Kmart stores, but today, I learned that this "layaway angels" phenomenon is now spreading to my own state. In the town of Haleyville, Alabama. Haleyville is a wonderful small farming town and unfortunately, on April 27, 2011, it was among the many Alabama towns hit by powerful, devastating tornadoes.

Families who were already struggling were suddenly left with nothing but their lives (and they were the lucky ones, believe me). With Christmas fast approaching, many of them turned to the Walmart layaway program to help them pay for kids necessities and even a few Christmas toys.

That's where an amazing, anonymous donor stepped in. Local media reports that this man, who definitely does not want to be identified, paid off Walmart layaways in Haleyville totaling a whopping $11,000 - that covered the bills for about 70 families! Walmart says when the families came to pay for their items, they were told what happened and got a message from the donor that they "share a kindness with others."
Sniffling yet? Yeah, me too. Paying it forward is something that Southerners know a lot about. It's part of our communities and it's one reason why some of our hardest hit tornado cities are taking care of so many who lost so much. I only wish I had an extra $11k - I would gladly do the very same thing.