'Angels' at Elmhurst Kmart Pay for Gifts for Needy

In 36 years with Kmart, Kevin Awe only remembers one time when, as a goodwill gesture, a person paid off a stranger's layaway account.

This holiday season it's happened four times at the store Awe manages at 265 S. Route 83.

"We've had four individuals come in and help someone who is in need," Awe said Wednesday. "They kind of swooped down like angels."

Elmhurst now joins the list of towns around the country to report anonymous donors visiting a Kmart store. Stores in at least 12 different states, including Illinois, have had it happen recently.

"It's kind of contagious," Awe said, noting media coverage might have spurred some to act.

Awe said his donors have looked for accounts with children's toys or clothes. Donors paid the full balances in all but one instance, with the other involving a donor making a $100 payment.

"It's fantastic. I've been with the company a while and I had it happen once," Awe said.

The Elmhurst Kmart opened in April.

Here are Patch stories on donations at other Kmarts around the country:

Cedar Falls, IA

Edgewater, MD

Huntington, NY

Moorestown, NJ

San Leandro, CA