'Angels' Pay Off Kmart Layaway Balances

It appears a layaway plan would have been the way to go to knock out your Christmas shopping this year.

Why is that?

Well, there's a chance, albeit a limited one, that someone else would've paid your bill. 

A grassroots crew of anonymous donors has been hitting retail stores nationwide the last few weeks to help shoppers pay off their layaway balances, particularly those for toys.

Count Gloucester Township's Kmart store among those stores.

Talk about a "blue light special."

The so-called "layaway angels" have been showing their holiday generosity at the Blackwood Clementon Road store since Black Friday, according to assistant manager Jennifer Fennimore.

Some have visited the store in person to pay off a layaway plan, while others have called to inquire about make their donations.

It appears Kmart stores have been most frequently targeted by these benefactors, but the store denies it has anything to do with the phenomenon, which apparently started in the Midwest but had spread to at least 25 states by the weekend.

"It's been an organic development," Shannell Armstrong, a spokeswoman for Sears Holdings Corp., which owns Kmart, told San Leandro (CA) Patch. "We don't promote it. We're just trying to keep up with the reports that keep coming in."

Five to 10 "layaway angels" have visited or called on the Blackwood Clementon Road store each day in recent weeks, as Christmas draws nearer.

While she wasn't able to provide a total figure donated by the anonymous benefactors thus far on Wednesday, Fennimore noted the average donation coming in locally has been about $100.

Fennimore witnessed one "angel" pay off a customer's layaway plan in person as the customer waited in line. She said it was a touching moment.

"I think it's great that there are still people in this world who just want to do nice things for others," she said.

Kmart’s layaway program allows customers to make a down payment on a purchase—either 10 percent or $15, whichever’s higher—and have the item or items held until the bill is paid off (up to 12 weeks).

Kmart officials recommend that anyone who wants to be a "layaway angel" ask to speak to a manager or store associate so they can be walked through the process.