QUINCY, ILL. -- A Secret Santa is making Christmas a little brighter for at least one Tri-State resident.
Someone paid off a layaway account at the Kmart on Broadway, and one Hannibal woman was shocked when she went to pay off her balance.
Tiffany Conrad says she could hardly breathe when she learned her 267 dollar balance was just a penny. The layaway items included clothing for her almost 2-year-old son and her sister.
Conrad said, "Whoever is doing this, you guys are amazing, and it has helped me out tremendously this Christmas."
This is Conrad's first Christmas without her mother. Her mom lost her life to cancer last January. She said she had a house payment coming up, so she was planning to return some of the presents she purchased for her son, because she didn't think she'd be able to afford them this year.
Conrad said, "I didn't know whether to accept it. I was so excited, I didn't know what to do. I just broke down and started crying."
Richard Clouser is an assistant manager at Kmart. He says he's been seeing quite a few secret Santas this year.
Clouser said, "we've been getting at least two a day. When they come in to pay off a layaway, we pick layaway numbers. They don't know whose layaway they are. They can either pay them off, pay an amount on them do whatever they want to do. It's totally anonymous. We're just grateful. It's the true meaning of Christmas."
Meanwhile, Conrad has a special message for her secret Santa.
She said, "Thank you very much. I would love to meet you."
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKHQA