Christmas arrived early in Melbourne’s south-east, thanks to a secret Santa who paid off $10k worth of lay-by orders for Kmart customers.
It’s the season of giving and this anonymous donor spared no expense, helping ease the financial pressures of hundreds of shoppers this Christmas. Among the lucky recipients was Kiandra Balazs, a mum of two young children who “instantly burst into tears” when Kmart shared the good news with her over the phone.
You may want to get your own box of tissues before you continue reading.
“When I got that call it was just instantly like – fantastic, now I don’t need to stress about that, we don’t have to chip into our grocery money this week,” she told 9News.
Taking place in Melbourne’s Cranbourne Park Shopping Centre, this random act of kindness was warmly welcomed by Kmart employees who were instructed by the donor to “choose lay-bys that were Christmas-inspired or contained items for children.”
Kate Thiedman from Kmart told 7NEWS, “I think the intent behind the donation was alleviating some of the financial pressures for families.”
Other customers at the store were also touched by the stranger’s generosity, some saying they wish they could also chip in.
“It’s pretty amazing, those people that did it are pretty amazing, I wish I was able to do that for other people,” one shopper told 7NEWS.
According to Thiedman, this generous stranger hasn’t been the only shopper to offer support to those in need this year. “We really have a lot of people coming in and supporting our Kmart wishing tree appeal that do it in smaller amounts but every year they support those in need,” she said.
Balazs had ordered $300 worth of presents for her kids, including bikes and a number of toys, which she’s since picked up in preparation for Christmas Day.
“That selfless act has done more for my family than I can even begin to explain,” the young mum told 9News.
“Thank you so much for the bottom of my heart for helping my family out this Christmas.”
It sounds like we don’t really need the myths and fairy tales around the holidays because people are kind enough on their own. Either that or Santa is real and he’s a bloody legend!
