The heartwarming moment a kind stranger pays for 150 lay-bys at toy store ahead of Christmas – leaving hundreds in tears
- A kind stranger offered to pay for 150 lay-bys at a toy store in Tasmania, Australia
- Shoppers at Toyworld Launceston were ‘in tears’ after receiving the news
- Store owner Patrick Williams said the woman represented a local charity group
- The exact amount offered wasn’t disclosed but was ‘in the thousands’
- Mr Williams used a random draw system to fairly choose the lucky shoppers
- This isn’t the first time a heartwarming gesture has been offered at Toyworld
The heartwarming generosity of a kind stranger who covered the debts of 150 lay-by orders at a toy store has left thankful customers in tears.
With Christmas only a week away, shoppers visited Toyworld Launceston in Tasmania, Australia to pay for their items, but were baffled after being told it had already been taken care of.
Earlier this month a mystery woman representing a local charity group approached store owner Patrick Williams and offered to pay for the amount of 150 lay-bys.
Mr Williams told Daily Mail Australia he believes the group wanted to ‘give something back’ to the community, as many families often ‘do it tough’ during the busy festive season.
And rather than telling the shoppers the ‘wonderful news’ over the phone, he decided to wait until they came to pick-up the toys in-store.
Toy store owner Patrick Williams (pictured, second from left) was approached by a mystery woman representing a local charity group earlier this month who offered to pay for the amount of 150 lay-by orders
The exact amount given to the store wasn’t disclosed but Mr Williams confirmed it was ‘well in the thousands’.
‘It was a considerable, generous offer and many customers broke down in tears at the counter,’ he said.
‘We had between 700 and 800 people paying off presents in time for Christmas and so, to make it fair, we needed to put a cap on how much was offered to each lay-by.’
A random draw system was used to select the lucky 150 shoppers whose lay-bys were either partially or fully paid for.
‘The response has been wonderful,’ Mr Williams said.
He wasn’t too surprised at the offer because he’s heard of similar kind acts occurring at this time of year.
Another two Toyworld locations in the Queensland regions of Townsville and Gympie have also previously been approached by kind strangers looking to make a similar contribution.
A random draw system was used to select the lucky 150 shoppers whose lay-bys were either partially or fully paid for. Another two Toyworld locations in the Queensland regions of Townsville and Gympie have also previously been approached by kind strangers (Gympie Toyworld pictured)
In Townsville, 20 lay-by items were paid for by an anonymous woman, while in Gympie another mystery woman generously forked out hundreds of dollars to help out struggling shoppers.
The Gympie store owner Lorraine Broadley told news.com.au the employees were ‘very uplifted by the generosity’ of others.
It comes after every lay-by at Ms Broadley’s shop was paid for by an anonymous person last year.