The Secret Santa stopped by the Middletown Walmart at 2900 Towne Blvd. on Monday and paid off nearly $5,000 in layaway purchases, according to Dooley.
This was the second year in a row the Secret Santa has paid off the layaway accounts. He is also believed to be the same person who paid several thousands of dollars worth of layaway purchases last year at the Walmart in Franklin.
“This has happened at other Walmart stores in the area and he’s partnered with other stores,” said Dooley, who has been the store manager for the past 14 months at the Middletown Walmart. “We have good Samaritans do similar things at other times during the year.”
“People are ecstatic when they come in to make their final payoff,” Dooley said. “It’s really overwhelming to them and they are very grateful.”
On Monday, the same Secret Santa did the same thing at the Walmart near the Dayton Mall.
Late Monday afternoon, Ceceli Abernathy was at the cash register at the Dayton Mall Walmart when she was told that Secret Santa had quietly erased her $50 deficit for toys she purchased for her daughter.
“Oh My God! That is so wonderful!” the Kettering resident said, hugging the jolly man himself. “I got my layaway paid off by a Good Samaritan.”
She called it a beautiful gesture.
“I’m blown away right now. I can’t believe it. That is amazing. You really filled my heart with a lot of love.”
Not too long after his visit to the Miami Twp. store, the Secret Santa contacted our newsroom to file the following note from the “North Pole”:
“I had to make an unexpected business trip but I didn’t want to let this xmas tradition die in only it’s 4th year. I passed the torch (and money) on to two friends that I have complete trust in. I have a general guideline and left them to it). I got word just today that they did the following Walmarts — Middletown (paying off $4,400 in layaway purchases) and Dayton ($5,600).
“Looks like it’s 10k [sic] down…40k to go!” he said.
He tells us he has budgeted $40,000 for different causes in the region.
Staff writer Drew Simon contributed to this report.
About the Author
