Community Corner

'Tis a Season of Giving in Farmingdale

Anonymous donors pay off layaway accounts at Farmingdale Walmart.

The holiday spirit was at its best in Farmingdale this weekend.

Three anonymous donors paid off hundreds of dollars worth of items on layaway accounts at the Farmingdale , holiday presents that shoppers were saving towards.

"They didn't even know the people," customer service manager Michael Balestrieri told Newsday. "It was truly unconditional. It was basically unconditional love for your fellow man."

Find out what's happening in Farmingdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Two donors came in Sunday, took out $500 cash and said they wanted to pay off outstanding layaway accounts with lots of toys, explaining to managers that God blessed them with a good year and they wanted to help families that "were trying to give their children a better Christmas."

Another anonymous donor came in Saturday to pay off a specific shopper's layaway account. 

Find out what's happening in Farmingdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Walmart Manager Renny Ramsaroop told Patch that this is the first year the store has done layaway, and that he estimated more than 800 customers used the program this season to finance holiday shopping.

Staff members said when the customers were notified their layaway accounts were paid off there was shock and tears of joy.

Do you know other stories of selfless generousity this holiday season? Tell us the stories in the comments.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here