Rumor has it that the trend started back in 2011 at a Kmart store in Michigan, though no one knows for certain. Still, each year since then, at least a few people enter Kmart stores across the nation, like the one along Route 145 in Walnutport, with the express intent of donating money toward the layaway items of a total stranger.

"It's just something (where) people come in out of the blue and say 'I want to put money on someone's layaway or pay it off'," explains Walnutport Store Manager Dave Coppola.He added that though the number of donations is down a bit this year, some angels pay a certain amount, like $25, while others pay off the entire balance of an account, sometimes upward of $300.Coppola said most of these good Samaritans, referred to as layaway angels, request that the account selected contain items geared toward children, such as toys, so that they know they're paying toward an account where children are included.Layaway Associate Sandy Forte added that when an angel comes into layaway and asks to put money onto a stranger's account, the associates call whichever manager is on duty to come back to the department to select which account to pull.Though the store has no means of knowing the financial status of the people using layaway, Coppola continued, the managers do their best to search for someone who looks like they could use some assistance. And chances are, he added, that anyone using the layaway system will be appreciative of the extra help for the holidays.Coppola said that once an angel pays down, or off, someone else's layaway balance, the store gives that customer a call to let them know."When you call them," added Coppola, "the joy in their voices is … well, you can tell it's almost like a burden has been taken off them. It's like 'Wow, I don't have to pay on that layaway anymore? It's my merchandise? I just have to come in and pick it up?' They're very excited."Layaway Associates Forte and Nanette Getz added that other reactions from recipients have included complete shock, disbelief and even crying."They're overwhelmed," they said.Neither the recipients nor the angels ever know the identity of one another, though some recipients do try to find out."A couple people have asked for a member of management when they came in and asked a few questions about it, and we really can't give much information," said Coppola. "So we just say, 'Hey, somebody came in and wanted to do a nice deed'… and that's really all we (know)."