Police Department Walked Into Walmart and Paid Off 26 Layaway Accounts for Unsuspecting Buyers
Along with making donations to food pantries and packing shoeboxes with gifts for children in faraway places, there’s been a trend taking off over the years that is reserved mainly for those of means.
Not everyone has hundreds of dollars they can hand out on a whim or a couple thousand they can drop on making purchases for unsuspecting families — but there are those who can and do.
On Dec. 9, the Dade City Police Department teamed up with one such anonymous donor in order to spread Christmas cheer in the form of paying off Walmart layaways.
It was an excellent opportunity for a generous soul to ease the burdens of struggling families as well as for the police department to show their goodwill towards their fellow men (and women and children).
“In Dade City we are blessed to have community partners who have graciously donated funding which allows us to give back to our citizens in a number of ways at Christmas time,” the police department shared on Facebook.
“This morning, Chief James Walters and his staff were able to pay off the layaways being held at the Dade City Walmart. Twenty-six (26) accounts, totaling over $4,300.00, were paid off. The surprise and joy from the recipients was wonderful to behold.”
Walters called each family when their tab was paid off to tell them the wonderful news, and he said the message was received with great joy.
“Each call made a lasting memory, not only for the recipients, but the givers, as well,” he said, according to the department’s Facebook post.
“[These families] said they had given up, or they didn’t know what they were going to do,” he told Good Morning America.
“To relieve the anxiety, and stress and worry of a parent, you can’t put a figure on that.”
They made sure to give credit where credit was due, publicly thanking the “anonymous benefactor,” and the post ended wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.
“We want to thank our anonymous benefactors who, along with our Dade City Police Foundation, do so much for us all year long. This support is magnified even more at this time of year when so many are in need of help.”
Walters didn’t miss the ways in which this outreach functioned as a boost in their PR.
“At the end of the day, there’s a huge percentage of interactions that we have with the public that are not positive,” he admitted. “[The holidays] are an opportunity to have some outreach and affect some lives in a positive way.”
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