Or just good people who "get it". No religion. No preaching. Just giving from the heart:

Secret Santas pay strangers' layaway bills at Kmart

PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. â€” Christmas came early for three people in West Michigan when a stranger picked up the tab on some presents. It happened Monday night at the Big Kmart on the 4000 block of Plainfield Avenue in Plainfield Township. A woman, described only as "being in her 30s," walked up to the layaway desk, pushing a shopping cart full of toys she planned to donate.

"This lady came up randomly and said, 'Can I, you know, pay off some people's layaway?' " said Dannell Goddard. Goddard works at Kmart in the layaway department. She told 24 Hour News 8 that when she first heard the request, she was a bit confused.  

"I was like, 'Well, are you trying to pick them up? 'Cause you can't pick them up if you don't have an ID,' " Goddard said. "And [the mystery woman] replied, 'Nope, I just want to help people.' "

The woman looked through several of the 800 or so layaway contract tickets at the store. She randomly picked and paid the bill on three of them. She paid about $500 between all three of them and left a $10 balance on each of the accounts.

The woman's only requirement was that there were toys in the layaway orders.  

"It was really crazy the way she did it. She was so excit

Chapin had put about $200 worth of toys on layaway for her son, David, Monday afternoon. She said she hoped she'd be able to pay off the balance by the week before Christmas.  

Then she got a call from Kmart that changed all that.

"They said that someone had paid $180 on my layaway and there was only $10 left," said Chapin. "I thought it was a joke."

Chapin wanted to say thank you, but the only clue to the woman's identity was a message on her receipt that read, "Happy Holiday from a friend."  

"I thank her. It's the best gift that I ever received, and it's the gift of believing in people," said Chapin. "And believing that there's good out there, 'cause you don't always see that."  

The entire layaway order was for 12-year-old David, who has autism. Chapin told 24 Hour News 8 she was so excited she gave her son one of those toys, a brand new LEGO set.

Chapin has her own name for her family's Secret Santa. She calls the woman "an angel" for her family. She said that angel gave her family a far bigger gift than the toys themselves.  

"Even though we're all in the same boat, nobody's thinking about anyone else, it's every man for himself," said Chapin. To have somebody come along behind, and just do something that's totally unnecessary but so appreciated, it just really made a difference."

Postscript: The day after the story aired on 24 Hour News 8, another secret Santa went to the Plainfield Kmart and offered to pay off 13 more layaway bills — to the tune of about $2,000. It was the largest layaway payoff in the history of the store.

[url=http://]LINK[/url]

......there are the unwilling good Samaritans.  I can't imagine having this sort of cash laying around or stashed in a jacket and not remembering.

Man accidentally donates $13,000 to Goodwill

Remember when you were a kid and your mom bugged you about emptying your pockets before putting your jeans in the wash? Well, here's another reason to check your pockets.

Recently, an 80-year old Illinois man generously donated several suits to Goodwill, but forgot to check his pockets beforehand. When he returned home, the man realized that he had accidentally donated over $13,000. It is unknown as to why he had that kind of money in his pocket in the first place.

The man, who has requested that he remain anonymous, has since contacted Goodwill and explained his dilemma. While employees have been searching the racks of clothing thoroughly, the money has not been found.

The man has offered a reward of $1000 for the return of his money, no questions asked. His wife suffers from stage-4 cancer. Although they are grateful for their community's support, the couple has declined the offer of donations.

LINK

There is also the other side of things. The kids, what they ask for and why. How seasoned Santas know what to say, especially in these tough times:

Kids to Santa: A job for mom and dad

RALEIGH, N.C. - A job for their mom or dad. Money for the heating bill. Food or a place to live. Maybe gloves or boots.

More and more, Santas say the children on their laps are asking for less for themselves — and Santa is promising less as well.

With unemployment stubbornly high, more homes in foreclosure and the economic outlook dim, many children who visit Santa are all too aware of the struggle to make ends meet.

"These children understand the conditions around the home when they ask for stuff," said Richard Holden, a 69-year-old Santa from Gastonia, N.C. "They understand when there are other children in the family, they need to be cautious or thoughtful of them as well and not ask for 10 to 12 items."

Cliff Snider, who's been playing Santa since he was a teenager, agrees.

"I think the parents are saying, 'It's an economic thing. Just list two to three things you really want to have,'" he said. "Parents are trying to encourage the children to be thrifty."

And the 64-year-old Snider does his best to help out. When he gets a big-ticket request, he typically responds: "There's an awful lot of children asking for that this year. What else do you want?"

At the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School, Santas learn lines like, "Wow, that's a big gift. Is there anything else you might like?"

These days, though, Santas are having to use it less and less.

"I think it's becoming more popular not to have that long list," said Tom Valent, dean of the Howard Santa school in Midland, Mich., which gets more than 3,000 letters to Santa a year and just graduated its 75th class. "Families are teaching their children to be as much of a giver as a receiver."

Starlight Fonseca has been teaching her five children, ages 5 to 14, "that we're not the only ones who have to cut things back. We're not the only ones struggling."

The 31-year-old mother and her husband Jose had been relying on a stipend from the University of Texas law school that Fonseca lost when an illness made it impossible for her to keep her grades up. She'd hoped to graduate in May but was unable to attend school this semester and can't get student loans due to poor credit.

Fonseca tells her kids that "to make it fair for everyone, Santa has to cut back for everyone. ... We paint it in a way that Santa is doing the best he can to make everybody happy at Christmas."

Hard on older kids It's especially hard for the oldest children.

"They were two little kids who used to be excited about Christmas, and now they know every gift under the tree should have gone to the utility company," she said. "It shouldn't be that way, but that's where we are now."

Of course, Santas still see some kids like the 9-year-old who pulled out a BlackBerry and showed Snider photos of all the things he wanted. "It cracked me up," he said. (This kid and parents need to see my OP!)

Holden's response to a long list is to say something like, "Why don't you narrow this down just a little bit and choose two or three items you would really like?" Sometimes he'll even mention prices, and say, "With things like they are, Santa Claus will do what he can to help you get what you like. But we can't make you any promises."

Tim Connaghan, who runs the International University for Santa Claus in Riverside, Calif., conducts an annual survey among the 500 Santas he employs. The economy has become such a big issue that Connaghan asked them for advice on how to handle some of the questions kids were asking about unemployed parents or having to move.

"Let's all hope your dad will find a new job, or you will get into a new home," is one recommended response.

"Acknowledge the problem, give them a positive response and say, 'Santa loves you, too. Maybe I could get something special for you,'" said Connaghan. "It's that quick, usually. But the hope is that when the child leaves, he feels a little better."

Connaghan recalled the night he and other Santas took some needy children shopping. One boy wanted to buy toilet paper because his mother was taking napkins and paper towels from a fast food restaurant for toilet paper.

"He wanted to buy her real toilet paper — a common, everyday item that we all take for granted," Connaghan said. "And this child is thinking this is a Christmas gift."

Holden has had children ask for things like heat at home. He'll tell the child Santa will do what he can, then try to let the parents know about agencies that might help.

One child returned a year later and "said she wanted to thank Santa for getting her some help when they didn't have food or a place to stay." Someone had overheard the conversation with Santa and helped the family.

"There's more to being a Santa Claus than you think there is," Holden said. "You don't just go 'ho, ho, ho,' pat them on the back of the head and send them on their way. You get involved with them. ... You just make sure they feel loved and they feel special when they leave your lap."

LINK

I sure can't think of a better gift then that from the 2 generous ladies... I wished that I thought of it, but have given Checks in quite a few Christmas Cards and they go to the folks who I already knew they needed help and Christmas is the time to do it... I will keep this in mind for next year... Thanks for posting this Roseanne...