Group Pays Off Layaways At Local Walmart
NORTH MIAMI (CBSMiami) – "I have some good news for you," North Miami Beach Wal-Mart Store Manager Jose Moniz told a layaway customer on the phone. "Secret Santa came by today and paid off the rest of your layaway balance today at the store!"
"No way!" the excited woman replied.
"The rest of your balance is paid off," Moniz said.
"Thank you so much! Tell Santa 'Thank you so much!'" she said.
Moniz called several of his store's layaway customers Wednesday to tell them their balances are now zero.
It was all made possible by a $500 donation from The South Beach Athletic Club and payofflayaways.org.
Chyvone Washington said that if something like that happened to her, it would be a Christmas dream come true.
"It would be like the best thing," Washington said.
"You go through things in life, you never know. Something like that to happen would be a gift from God. You'd be appreciative to it and be grateful to that person. If that did happen to me, I would be extremely happy," she said with a big smile on her face.
Ulrick Noel's $162 balance was paid – and he couldn't be happier.
R.S. Schmitt from the South Beach Athletic Club hopes people will be inspired by this. Like last year, once his club gave its first donation, it triggered a ripple effect.
"What happens with a ripple effect is you have where in Hialeah last year, $5000 was donated, then Pembroke Pines there was like $2500 donated and up in Orlando $2000 donated," Schmitt said.
If you'd like to help you can go to www.payofflayways.org.
