West Virginia residents who shopped at a Walmart in Ohio County were treated to a big Christmas surprise by a local church, WTRF reported.
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, dipping into a trust fund bequeathed to it more than 100 years ago, paid layaway bills at Walmart for shoppers.
“The criteria for this was that the people had to be residents of Ohio County, either Wheeling or Triadelphia, and they needed to have children,” said the Rev. Mark Seitz, rector of St. Matthew's. “They needed to be buying toys. So the layaways that we were paying off were toys for children for Christmas. And the manager went through and found people in those two communities and as far as I know, they are not going to be told who did this, just that it was done for them.”
The trust was bequeathed to St. Matthew’s by a family whose daughter had died, WTRF reported.
The parents specified that the money must be used for children at Christmas.
The church had hoped to remain anonymous, but through social media, word got out, WTRF reported. The church did not reveal how many layaways were paid.
St. Matthew's also does outreach with food and toys for families through their food pantry, plus they are giving to the Children's Home of Wheeling and the Crittenton Home, WTRF reported.
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