CONCOURSE, The Bronx (WABC) — Giving thanks this holiday week are 64 customers who had put up $200 worth of merchandise on layaway at a Burlington in the Bronx. They got a phone call on Tuesday.
“They told me to come in from 3 to 5. I didn’t know it was getting paid off,” said Jetane Webster.
Holiday gifts for the kids are among the goodies now paid in full – and some of the earliest to show up got to meet a New York football Giant, whose foundation called Jream helped out – Kayvon Thibodeaux.
“I’m really proud of my team and Payaway for coming together and spreading some holiday cheer,” Thibodeaux said.
Webster is a Saints fan, but joked that she is a Giants fan now.
“I appreciate him,” Thibodeaux said.
Beverly Smith is a fan.
“I don’t know anything about football, just half time. But I know who he is. Please tell him thank you and happy holidays from the bottom of my heart,” she said.
Most stores that once had layaway now offer payment plans after the purchase instead, but in the few that still do it, the nonprofit Payaway surprises families each year.
“Last year alone, we paid off over 2-thousand layaway balances. So it’s something people really utilize and need especially around the holiday season,” said Julie Sullivan of Pay Away The Layaway, “You’re not going to pay interest on a layaway. They put that away. It’s a contract. They make periodic payments on it and then they’re able to take it home, right before the holidays.”
The magic elves who help pay for it all include corporate donors and workplaces that do holiday fundraisers and make this their cause. Pay Away says it is planning many more events like this throughout the holiday season across the country and in the New York area.
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