December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas!
I thought I would post this cute picture and also post a heartwarming story that shows what the whole Christmas Spirit is really about.
Layaway Angel Saves Christmas
Posted By: George Warren
CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA - While Santa Claus gets most of the credit for delivering toys at Christmas, three young children in Citrus Heights can thank a "layaway angel."
Mike and Liberty Gawthorne put their children's toys on layaway at Sears last month hoping they'd find the money to pay for them by Christmas.
But as the December 23rd payment deadline approached, Liberty Gawthorne was ready to return to the Sunrise Mall store to pick up her cash deposit instead of the toys.
"One of our biggest issues was our groceries," Gawthorne explained. "We don't even have anything for our Christmas dinner."
In the meantime, a man approached store employees offering to pay one family's layaway balance. The staff chose the Gawthorne family without knowing the extent of their financial troubles.
After a 19-year hiatus, Sears reintroduced the layaway plan this holiday season to help shoppers struggling with tight budgets. Sears said anonymous benefactors have contacted a handful of stores offering to pay off layaway balances. One store manager coined the term "layaway angels."
Sunrise Mall Sears manager Kathy Nichols said the Citrus Heights layaway angel, like the others, wished to remain anonymous. She said the layoff balance he paid was just over $100.
Liberty Gawthorne said she was shocked when Sears called on Saturday telling her she could pick up the layaway toys.
Gawthorne contacted News10 in an attempt to thank the layaway angel.
"It was a present to us to be able to give to our kids," she said. "It was a present to have somebody be so thoughtful."
News10/KXTV
Have a Safe and Merry Christmas!