Layaway angels spread their wings across the nation

In Framingham, Mass. a woman paid off the layaway balances at two local Toys R Us stores, which totaled over $7,000. The woman said she was the founder of Sofia's Angels Foundation, named after her mother who passed away from breast cancer.

In San Antonio, a woman paid off over 250 layaway accounts at a local Toys R Us store. Customer Chris Johnson, who was one of the lucky people who had his layaway account paid off, wanted to thank the woman, saying, “It’s a blessing like no other.” A store employee said one woman cried when discovering that her layaway account had been paid off by an anonymous donor.

In Tulsa, an anonymous donor paid off the Walmart layaway accounts for over 120 people. The donor also included a $100 gift card with each layaway order, so that customers could buy something for themselves.  The layaway angel made a generous donation to the Salvation Army for its Angel Tree.

In Gastonia, N.C., a layaway angel handed out a $100 bill to each of six shoppers in line at a local Walmart layaway counter. The man who handed out the money walked out of the store without comment. WSOC-TV learned that four of the six recipients are single mothers and one is a grandmother. The grandmother was about to cancel her layaway order because she needed the money for diapers.

At a Pennsylvania Walmart, a man who wanted to be identified only as Santa B. spent $50,000 to cover the layaway balances on about 100 accounts. The man presented a cashier's check on the same day that the unpaid layaway orders were to be canceled.

And in a story that inspired other layaway angels, a woman in Bellingham, Mass. paid off the layaway accounts at an area Toys R Us store. The woman ended up paying for $20,000 worth of layaway items for 154 customers.